Non-verbal communication skills of employees at the guidance center, Salah al-Din Agriculture Directorates in Iraq

Introduction

Communication is a basic human phenomenon that emerged with the development of societies, as it played a pivotal role in transferring knowledge and enhancing social interaction. Researchers believe that civilizational development depends on communication skills and the ability of humans to organize, which contributed to improving communication within societies [1] . Communication is defined as the process of exchanging information and ideas using symbols, signs, and words, which contributes to achieving a common understanding between individuals. Murari and Sasidhar (2024) confirm that communication enhances self-identity and affects social thinking and behavior [2] . Communication is also defined as the method of trading data and concepts between two or more parties utilizing different implies, such as words, signs, facial expressions, body movements, and tones of voice. It depends on two basic elements: the sender and the receiver, as the sender transmits the message through a communication channel, and the other party receives and understands it. Communication is an essential foundation in various areas of life [3] . Communication goes beyond words. In direct meetings, words constitute a small part of the message. According to the scientist Albert Mehrabian, 93% of conveying meaning is done through non-verbal means. More than half of the information transmitted depends on body language, tone of voice, and facial expressions. When there is a discrepancy between words and non-verbal signals, the recipient tends to believe the non-verbal signals as the most expressive of the true meaning [4] . Therefore, non-verbal communication skills are critical factors in the success of agricultural extension, as they affect the ability of agricultural extension workers to communicate knowledge and enhance their interaction with farmers. Several studies have indicated that the weakness of these skills may limit the ability of extension workers to influence farmers' behavior and increase their adoption of modern agricultural practices [5] . Therefore, there is a need to study, The level of these skills, and the extent to which personal and professional factors affect their development, with the aim of improving the quality of agricultural guidance and promoting sustainable agricultural development [6] . Communication can be either verbal or non-verbal. Verbal communication often refers to the words we use in communication, while non-verbal communication refers to communication produced by means other than words such as the eye, body language, or vocal stimuli. Through non-verbal communication, feelings and emotions are often better conveyed than verbal communication [7] . Non-verbal communication is an essential element in the agricultural guidance process, as it contributes to enhancing the clarity of guidance messages and reducing misunderstandings between guides and farmers, especially in societies that rely on signals and movements more than words. Visual communication, hand movements, and facial expressions help in conveying feelings and intentions effectively, which increases farmers' acceptance of instructions. The appropriate tone of voice also enhances the degree of listeners' interest and interaction [8] . In addition, www.extensionjournal.com maintaining appropriate personal distance plays an important role in building trust and respect. When these skills are used effectively, the efficiency of extension programs improves, which contributes to raising agricultural awareness and increasing productivity [9] . Non-verbal communication is one of the main pillars of agricultural extension operations, as it contributes significantly to enhancing farmers' understanding of extension messages, especially in rural environments where individuals may face difficulties in absorbing complex technical information through verbal language alone. Non-verbal abilities such as facial expressions, body dialect, tone of voice and signals play a imperative part in improving the process of knowledge transfer and facilitating communication between agricultural extension workers and farmers, which increases the effectiveness of extension programs and contributes to achieving sustainable agricultural development [10] . In Salah al-Din Governorate, which relies heavily on the agricultural sector as a main source of livelihood and economic development, the role of agricultural extension in improving productivity and promoting sustainable agricultural practices is prominent [11] . From this standpoint, developing non-verbal communication skills among agricultural extension workers is essential to ensure that information reaches farmers clearly, especially in light of the cultural and educational diversity among rural residents [12] . For example, some farmers may find it difficult to understand scientific terms or technical instructions provided verbally, while they are more responsive to practical explanations that rely on visual gestures and kinetic representation [13] . Rural development plays a major role in supporting the agricultural sector as it is linked to the ability of agricultural extension to provide practical solutions to farmers to help them improve production and achieve sustainability [14] . Here, the role of non-verbal communication appears as an effective tool in gaining the trust of farmers, building strong relationships with them, and enhancing positive interaction between the extension worker and the farmer. The extension worker who has the ability to use visual communication and appropriate body expressions can have a greater influence on farmers' behavior and motivate them to adopt modern agricultural practices [15] . The weakness of non-verbal communication skills among agricultural extension workers may lead to misunderstandings, low levels of interaction with farmers, and thus reduce the effectiveness of extension programs. Therefore, improving these skills through continuous training and awareness of their importance is an essential step towards developing agricultural extension in Salah al-Din Governorate and enhancing its role in achieving sustainable rural development [16] . The research problem lies in the existence of a clear gap in the level of use of non-verbal communication skills among agricultural extension workers, which may negatively affect the quality of communication with farmers. Despite the importance of these skills in facilitating the transfer of technical information and enhancing trust between agricultural extension workers and farmers, there are indications that they are not being exploited sufficiently or effectively. The lack of specialized training in the field of non-verbal communication also increases the difficulty of dealing with farmers who may face challenges in understanding instructions. In addition, agricultural extension workers may not have sufficient awareness of the importance of body language, gestures and tone of voice in building positive relationships with farmers. This negatively affects productivity and hinders the achievement of the desired agricultural development. The present research aims to address the following question: -What is the degree of non-verbal communication skills among employees at the Guidance Center and the Salah al-Din Agriculture Directorate ?.

Research objectives

Importance of the research

This research is of great importance in the context of improving the level of non-verbal communication skills among employees in the extension center and the Salah al-Din Agriculture Directorate, as it helps in enhancing understanding and effective interaction between employees and farmers, as improving non-verbal communication skills contributes to conveying information more clearly and effectively, which enhances understanding and encourages the adoption of modern agricultural behaviors. It also contributes to developing the work environment by improving interaction between employees and the local agricultural community. Through this research, officials can identify points that need improvement to develop extension performance.

Defining the research community and sample

The research area included agricultural employees who hold a preparatory certificate or above working in (the headquarters of the Salah al-Din Agriculture Directorate and all its affiliated agricultural departments and the guidance center and its affiliated farms, Al-Dour Farm and Balad Farm), so that the total study community became (409) respondents (according to the official records of the Agriculture Directorate and the guidance center). A research sample consisting of (196) respondents was selected based on Krejcie's sample identification table, as this sample represents 48% of the total study community. The sample was drawn from the districts randomly, taking into account the proportionality in distribution to the various districts included in the research.

Measurement of independent factors 1. Gender:

The variable was measured at the following www.extensionjournal.com levels (female, male) and the following weights were given (1, 2) respectively.

Participation in training courses: This variable was

measured at the following levels (yes, no) and the following weights were given (2, 1) respectively.

Years of job service: It was assessed based on the

number of years the respondent has served. until the time of data collection. 4. Human skills: This variable was measured by specifying (10) paragraphs in front of which the following alternatives were placed (always, sometimes, rarely) and the following values were given (3, 2, 1) respectively, thus the skill level ranges between (10 -30) degrees.

Social interaction:

This variable was measured by specifying (10) paragraphs in front of which the following alternatives were placed (always, sometimes, rarely). The following values were given (3, 2, 1) respectively, and thus the theoretical range ranges between (10 -30) degrees.

Measuring the level of non-verbal communication aptitudes:

Non-verbal communication aptitudes were measured through (65) paragraphs, where each paragraph represents information related to this type of skills according to its own field. The scores were distributed to the specified fields with five alternatives for the answer being presented: (always happens, often happens, sometimes happens, rarely happens, does not happen) and the weights were given (5, 4, 3, 2, 1) respectively, so the total score for the answer ranges between (65 -325) points, as shown in Table (1) below:

Statistical methods:

In order to achieve the study objectives, it is necessary to tabulate and analyze the data and reach the results and display them in their final form. The following statistical methods were used (range, category length, frequency distribution, arithmetic Mean, standard deviation, Pearson correlation coefficient, Spearman correlation coefficient, ttest).

Comes about and Talk

The primary objective: To distinguish the level of nonverbal communication skills among employees in the Guidance Center and the Directorate of Agriculture in Salah al-Din in each of the following study areas: (eye communication skills, hand and body movement skills, facial expressions skills, personal distance skills, vocal diversity skills).

The first field: The field of eye communication skills.

The comes about appeared that the most noteworthy score gotten by the respondents within the field of eye communication abilities was (70) and the least score was (24) with a common normal of (47.03) and a standard deviation of (6.72). The respondents were separated concurring to the extend law into three categories as appeared in Table No. 2: makes agricultural extension workers less dependent on them. In addition, work pressures and the abundance of tasks may also lead to providing guidance in a routine manner that lacks dynamic motor interaction, which weakens the persuasive effect of the message.

The third field: the field of facial expression skills

The comes about appeared that the most elevated score gotten by the respondents within the field of communication skills with facial expressions was (55) and the least score was (14), with a common normal of (40.37) and a standard deviation of (5.03). The respondents were divided according to the range law into three categories as shown in 4) shows that the highest percentage of respondents in the field of communication using facial expressions showed up within the medium category at a rate of (68.37%), taken after by the tall category at a rate of (16.33%), whereas the moo category came at a rate of (15.30%), which is the least rate. The result indicates that the level of facial expressions among agricultural extension workers in Salah al-Din Governorate is average and tends to rise slightly, which means that extension workers use facial expressions to an acceptable degree, but they may lack diversity or effective employment in conveying feelings and information. This slight increase may be the result of direct interaction with farmers, as the nature of extension work requires a minimum of facial expressions to show interest and interaction. Social customs may also sometimes make some extension workers less expressive, especially in formal environments or when dealing with a diverse audience. Communicating with a diverse group means that facial expressions may be interpreted in different ways according to the cultural and social backgrounds of farmers, which makes some extension workers prefer to maintain neutral expressions to avoid misunderstanding or affecting their credibility.

Fourth field: Personal distance skill field.

The comes about appeared that the most noteworthy score gotten by the respondents within the field of personal distance skills was (35) and the least score was (10), with a common normal of (27.17) and a standard deviation of (3.68). The respondents were partitioned concurring to the run law into three categories as appeared in Table No. 5: Table No. (5) shows that the lowest percentage of respondents in the field of personal distance communication skills appeared in the low category at a rate of (20.40%), followed by the medium category at a rate of (36.23%), whereas the tall category came at a rate of (43.37%), which is the most noteworthy rate. The result indicates that the level of personal distance skill among rural expansion operators in Salah al-Din Governorate are high, but the total of the low and medium categories is close to it. This indicates that extension workers take personal distance into account well, but they may face difficulty in adapting to different contexts. In some cases, the extension worker may need to approach the farmers to explain an idea or present a certain method in a practical way, which may require simple www.extensionjournal.com physical proximity, while in other contexts, the work may require a greater personal distance to maintain comfort or mutual respect. Therefore, there is a need to balance professionalism and Iraqi social customs that encourage closeness in social interactions as a sign of friendliness and respect. In the agricultural work environment, extension workers must maintain an appropriate distance with farmers to ensure the comfort of both parties without ignoring local customs.

Fifth field: The field of vocal tone skill

The comes about appeared that the most elevated score gotten by the respondents within the field of diversity skills or vocal tone was (45) and the most reduced score was (9), with a common normal of (22.99) and a standard deviation of (4.10). The respondents were isolated agreeing to the run law into three categories as appeared in Table No. 6: Table No. (7) shows that the results reflect a difference in the levels of non-verbal communication skills among agricultural extension workers, which reflects the extent of their awareness of the use of these skills and their importance in interacting with farmers, as the skill of personal distance obtained (77.62%), which is the first rank, indicating that extension workers are aware of the importance of controlling distance while interacting with farmers. These skills can be explained by the fact that they deal with individuals from different social backgrounds, which requires respecting personal distance to achieve comfortable and effective communication. The Iraqi environment may also affect this skill, as some individuals prefer proximity while talking.

As for facial expression skills (73.4%), it came in second place, which reflects the workers' awareness of the role of facial expressions in conveying feelings and support during guidance. However, a very high percentage was not recorded, which may indicate that there is a reservation among some extension workers in using exaggerated expressions to avoid misinterpretation or loss of formality.

Hand and body movement skills (71.8%) came in third place, indicating that workers use these skills well to support verbal content during explanation. This is attributed to the nature of agricultural guidance, which relies on providing field explanations that may require pointing to plants, equipment or agricultural processes using body movements to clarify the idea. However, their failure to reach a high level indicates that there is a difference in their use among individuals according to their experience or awareness of their importance. Eye contact skills (67.18%) came at a low level, indicating that workers are not aware of the importance of visual communication. The reason for this may be social influence, as direct visual communication may be interpreted in some cases as a challenge or disrespect in Iraqi culture, which may make some extension workers more reserved in using it continuously. The nature of work in the field may also lead www.extensionjournal.com to a lack of focus on continuous visual communication due to the need to monitor the surrounding environment or supervise agricultural activities while talking. The field of vocal tone skill (51.08%) obtained the lowest level, indicating that it is the least used among the other skills. This may be due to the focus on the content more than the method of delivery, as guidance workers may consider technical information more important than the method of conveying it vocally. The third objective: Determining the correlation between the level of non-verbal communication skills among employees in the guidance center and the Salah al-Din Agriculture Directorate and the following independent variables (gender, participation in training courses, years of guidance service, human skills, social interaction).

Gender

The comes about appeared that the largest number of respondents was within the male category, amounting to (143) respondents, while the smallest category of respondents was in the female category, amounting to (53) respondents. The participants were categorized into two categories, as illustrated in Table No. ( 8): (8) shows that 72.96% of the respondents were males, which is the highest percentage, followed by 27.04% females. To find the correlation among the levels of nonverbal communication skills among Agricultural extension workers in the Salah al-Din Governorate and the gender Variable, the Spearman's relationship coefficient was utilized, which had a esteem of 0.162. To ensure The (t) test was employed to assess the significance of the relationship, and its value was 2.286**, which is greater than the tabulated t value. This suggests a critical relationship at a probability level of 0.05. Thus, We dismiss the invalid theory which asserts that there's no relationship between them. level of non-verbal communication skills among Agricultural extension agentsin the Salah al-Din Governorate and gender) and accept the alternative hypothesis. This may be due to the following reasons due to the nature of the social and cultural role in the Iraqi environment, where men are more interactive in professional and field environments, which enhances their skills through continuous experience. In contrast, women may face social restrictions that limit their field interaction, which reduces the opportunities to develop non-verbal communication skills at the same level.

Participation in educational programs:

The findings indicated that the number of agricultural extension workers who participated in courses related to communication skills in general was only (44) employees, while the number of those who did not participate in this type of course was (152) employees. The participants were classified into two distinct groups, as illustrated in Table No. (9): 9) shows that 77.56% of the respondents did not participate in training courses related to communication skills and that only 22.44% of the respondents participated in training courses. To find the correlation among the levels of non-verbal communication expertise among agricultural extension workers in Salah al-Din Governorate and participation in training courses, Spearman's correlation coefficient was used, which had a value of 0.212. To ensure the significance of the relationship, the (t) test was used, and its value was 3.020**, which is greater than the tabular t value. This indicates the existence of a significant correlation at a probability At a significance level of 0.01, we reject the null hypothesis, which asserts that there is no correlation between the variables. level of non-verbal communication expertise among Agricultural extension workers in Salah al-Din Governorate and participation in training courses) and embrace the alternative hypothesis. This could be attributed to the fact that training courses provide a deeper understanding of the importance of nonverbal communication and provide the opportunity to practice and improve these skills practically. Training also enhances awareness of using body language effectively, which increases the ability of extension workers to interact successfully with farmers and achieve agricultural extension objectives more efficiently. (11) shows that 56.12% of the respondents had years of service in the first category, which is the highest percentage, subsequent to the second category at a percentage of 34.18%, during them third category had the lowest number with a percentage of 9.69%. To find the correlation among the range of non-verbal communication abilities among Agricultural extension agents in the Salah al-Din Governorate and the years of Pearson's job service coefficient de corrélation was used, that had a worth of 0.191. To ensure The (t) test was employed to assess the significance of the relationship., and its value was 2.710**, that is greater than The value of the tabular t shows the existence of a significant correlation at a probability level of 0.01. Thus, We reject the null hypothesis, which claims that there is no correlation between them. level of non-verbal communication skills among Farm extension agents in Salah al-Din Governorate and their years of service) and. accept the alternative hypothesis. This might be because of practical experience provides continuous opportunities to interact with farmers, which helps to develop the use of body language more effectively. Also, workers with longer service face a variety of communication situations, which increases their awareness of the importance of these skills. In addition, the accumulation of professional experiences enhances self-confidence, which is positively reflected in their ability to use non-verbal communication efficiently.

Human skills:

The results showed that the highest score obtained by the respondents in human skills was 30 points and the lowest score obtained by the respondents was 16 points. The respondents were divided into three categories as shown in Table No. (12). (12) shows that 55.10% of the respondents were in the medium category, which is the highest percentage, preceded by the high category at a percentage of 37.25%. As for the low category, it is the lowest percentage of 7.65%. To find the correlation among the level of nonverbal communication Skills of agricultural extension professionals in Salah al-Din Governorate and the variable from human skills, Pearson's correlation coefficient was used, which had a value of 0.033. This indicates that there is no meaningful association at a probability degree of 0,05. Somit sind wir accept The null hypothesis posits that (There is no relationship between the level of non-verbal communication abilities among Agricultural extension agents in the Salah al-Din Governorate. human abilities). This may be due to the fact which an individual's possession of human skills such as cooperation and empathy does not necessarily reflect his ability to use body language effectively. This may be due to the fact that non-verbal skills depend more on training and practical practice and not just on personal characteristics. Also, the professional environment may impose restrictions that limit non-verbal expression, despite the fact that counselors possess high human skills, which explains the lack of a clear link between the two sides. This means that even if the counselor has high human skills, these skills may not be clearly evident in his non-verbal communication due to the nature of the work.

Social interaction:

The findings indicated that the respondents achieved their highest score in social interaction was 30 points and the lowest score was 16 points The participants were categorized divided into three categories based on the range legal regulations, since illustrated within the Table No. (13). (13) shows that 51.53% of the respondents were in the medium category, which is the highest percentage, followed by the low category with 38.27%. As for the high category, it is the lowest percentage with 10.20%. To find the correlation between the level of non-verbal communication Skills possessed by agricultural extension workers in Salah al-Din Governorate and social interaction, Pearson's correlation coefficient was used, which had a value of 0.458. To ensure the significance of the relationship, the (t) test was used, and its value was 7.175**, which is greater than the tabular t value. This indicates the existence of a significant correlation at a probability level 0.01-eko. Therefore, We dismiss the null hypothesis. that indicates that there is no correlation between the level of non-verbal communication trebetasunak among Agricultural extension workers in Salah al-Din Governorate social www.extensionjournal.com interaction) and embrace the alternative hypothesis. This could be attributed to the fact that social interaction enhances awareness of reading non-verbal signals and understanding their meanings, which helps improve communication and leads to more successful interaction in the work environment.

Conclusions

1. The results showed that there is a difference in the use of non-verbal communication skills among employees in the guidance center and the Salah al-Din Agriculture Directorate, as the personal distance skill showed the highest level. We conclude from this that they are aware of its importance in achieving comfortable communication with farmers. Facial expressions, hand and body movements also came at good levels, which reflects their role in supporting guidance interaction, although there was some reservation in their exaggerated use. In contrast, eye contact and tone of voice came at lower levels. We conclude from this the influence of cultural and social factors or greater focus on technical content.

Involving experts in training extension workers:

Hiring specialists in communication and non-verbal communication to organize advanced training courses and workshops, which ensures the provision of modern and innovative methods that suit the nature of extension work.

Including non-verbal communication skills within

the criteria for evaluating job performance: The Agriculture Directorate should include non-verbal communication skills as part of the criteria for evaluating the performance of agricultural employees, especially those assigned to extension units and the extension department, which motivates them to develop their capabilities in this field and makes it an essential element in improving the quality of agricultural extension.

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