The role of nonverbal and verbal communication in a multimedia informed consent process.

OBJECTIVE Nonverbal and verbal communication elements enhance and reinforce the consent form in the informed consent process and need to be transferred appropriately to multimedia formats using interaction design when re-designing the process. METHODS Observational, question asking behavior, and content analyses were used to analyze nonverbal and verbal elements of an informed consent process. RESULTS A variety of gestures, interruptions, and communication styles were observed. CONCLUSION In converting a verbal conversation about a textual document to multimedia formats, all aspects of the original process including verbal and nonverbal variation should be one part of an interaction community-centered design approach.