I don't think you're noticing the vast majority of communication as communication. The inner voice that narrates your experiences is a tiny portion of the whole, and if you practice at it you can notice more of what goes on outside its grasp.
Like, uhh, take a look at a crowded sidewalk sometime. A ton of people there collectively figure out how to communicate their intended motion and collectively decide how to plan out how to go about in a way that doesn't have collisions. It's an incredible amount of complex negotiation, and it happens at a pace that is far too rapid for discussion to help out.
Or better yet, take a partnered dance class or twelve. You'll quickly develop a very acute sense of how people use their bodies and what kinesthetic ideas they have for the music.
Like, uhh, take a look at a crowded sidewalk sometime. A ton of people there collectively figure out how to communicate their intended motion and collectively decide how to plan out how to go about in a way that doesn't have collisions. It's an incredible amount of complex negotiation, and it happens at a pace that is far too rapid for discussion to help out.
Or better yet, take a partnered dance class or twelve. You'll quickly develop a very acute sense of how people use their bodies and what kinesthetic ideas they have for the music.