State officials must be able to create a positive impression during the
communication process to maintain the dignity of the country they represent.
Paralanguage is one form of non-verbal communication that plays a crucial role in
conveying messages and arguments, thus supporting the communication process.
Therefore, this research aims to reveal the implementation of paralanguage
features and their functions. In this study, the data used are conversations by
panelists from The World Economic Forum 2023 discussing global economic
developments. Two panelists are state officials in Indonesia and Thailand, namely
Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan and Anutin Charnvirakul. The theory used is
paralanguage by DeVito (1988) and the function of nonverbal communication by
Knapp (1972). A qualitative approach is applied in this research with data
collection methods through observation, taking notes, and transcripts. Data are
analyzed using steps adapted from Miles, Huberman, and Saldana (2014). These
steps include data reduction, data display, and drawing conclusions/verifications.
The researcher included the unit of analysis regarding its importance to the
research. The researcher also used software named PRAAT to assist the analysis
process of some aspects of paralanguage. The research findings successfully
revealed that the panelists in the 2023 World Economic Forum used paralanguage
features as follows 1) Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, a) highness pitch, b) smooth
rhythm, c) thick resonance, d) normal and fast rate, e) vocal characterizers
laughing, f) loudness vocal qualifiers, g) vocal segregations 'uh', 'ee', 'uhm', '...',
'shh', and ‘eh’ 2) Anutin Charnvirakul, with a) lowness pitch, b) jerky rhythm, c)
thin resonance, d) slow rate, e) overly soft vocal qualifiers, f) vocal segregations
'uh', 'ee', 'uhm', '...', and 'shh'. The functions of those features found in this research
are 1) to accent, 2) to complement, 3) to contradict 4) to regulate 5) to repeat. The
results of this research can be useful as a reference for individuals with a
background in the field of politics to enhance their communication skills.