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nonverbal communication in different culture
case studies in nonverbal communication
nonverbal communication in different culture
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Few people would argue that nonverbal language, including vocal tones and physical expressions, is negligible when deciphering just what another person’s message really means. Recent research over nonverbal communication has emphasized just how important this subset of behaviors is towards understanding meaning and maintaining civility in daily interactions. Individuals today should seek to improve their knowledge about nonverbal behaviors so they may handle future communications with fewer conflicts and misinterpretations. Nonverbal communication makes up the majority of all meaning gathered and interpreted by other individuals. According to Carmine Gallo, research has claimed that “55% of communication is visual (body language, eye contact) …show more content…
For instance, using immediacy behaviors “communicate[s] respect, responsibility, and caring,” and these three qualities are the central tenants of being civil and ethical (Lane 7). Communicators should smile, give compliments, employ confident and relaxed postures, use confirming responses when listening, etc. Confirming responses include letting the speaker know that the listener is paying attention to what he or she has to say, asking questions, paraphrasing, and showing concern to the speaker (“Confirming and Disconfirming Responses”). These considerations show “openness to the other person, helping that person to feel acknowledged and appreciated” (Lane 85). Another way of considering these behaviors is labelled by Dr. Jeff Thompson as the three “C 's of Nonverbal Communication: context, clusters, and congruence.” These refer to considerations individuals should take when interpreting a message. The individual should remember contexts like the relationship with the other person and their role in the conversation; the individual should cluster the nonverbal signals being received, so no single cue is being given unrealistic proportion and causing conflict; the individual should seek congruence between the words in the message, and the physical characteristics perceived (Thompson). These three C’s also show respect and care …show more content…
Conversations are filtered through both verbal communication, where we explain about our self to another person, and through nonverbal communication, where factors like facial expressions, gestures, paralinguistics, body language and posture, proxemics, eye gaze, haptics, and appearance convey our thoughts to others (Cherry). Misinterpretations may arise from one assuming that their conversational partner is being rude, and this can create conflicts and false accusations that can negatively affect a relationship. A key aspect of interaction management is to make eye contact with the person who is speaking (Lane 76). However, this is not practiced in many Middle Eastern and Asian cultures: in these cultures, eye contact is regarded as either unnecessary or even inappropriate (“The Role of Eye Contact…”). Thus, one must attempt to understand how their nonverbal behaviors may be interpreted, in order to respect another person in case cultural differences arise. Individuals should take the responsibility to check their perception of another’s nonverbal behavior. For example, when another is asked how their day went, and he responds with “It went great” but with a bitter, sharp tone of voice, be careful not to immediately assume that the other is upset and leap to the defense (“Geez, sorry I asked”). What you must do is check that the
Nonverbal communication surrounds us all the time. “Nonverbal communication is all aspects of communication other than words” (Wood, 2016, p. 135). It is not communication with words, but we use nonverbal communication when we talk. We use nonverbal communication without even realizing it in every facet of our lives. This type of communication can be challenging depending on someone’s culture. Something that means one thing in America, can mean something totally different in another country. It is important to know this so that you don’t offend someone from another culture (Wood, 2016, p. 149).
Nonverbal behavior is channeled by norms and most of us abide by them without being aware of them. Physical appearance, gesture and body movement, face and eye behavior, vocal behavior, personal space, touch, scent/smell, and time are all forms of nonverbal communication behavior. Norms differ amongst various cultures, ethnic, and geographic groups. There are endless ways and forms to violate nonverbal norms, and by doing so can lead to a barrier in communication, which are problematic to distinguish.
The presence of nonverbal messages in our communication is very important. Following the text, researchers have estimated it is up to “65 percent of social meaning we convey in face-to-face interactions is a result of nonverbal behavior” (131). The movie “Mrs. Doubtfire” is a typical example about the interactions among characters, also with audience. Several scenes in this movie show us the effects of nonverbal messages in communication, especially through the character Daniel, who disguises himself as a middle-aged British nanny in order to be near his children.
There are different types of communication (verbal, nonverbal, paralinguistic). Verbal communication is communicating with words. For instance, an individual speaks to another at a business meeting regarding profit margins. Second, nonverbal communication is communicating without the use of words but through gesture, body language, facial expression and eye contact (Baron, Branscombe, Byrne). Also these physical expressions can provide powerful and valuable information about others’ current feelings and reactions without the need of words. Lastly paralinguistic is defined as the use of emotional expression, gestures, and the location of the body in relation to the other's body, eye contact, and level of voice instead of verbally expressing these cues (Triandis). Additionally, paralinguistic is also known as paralanguage as a way to modify or nuance meaning, or convey emotion, with the use of pitch, volume, and intonation (Triandis). For instance, as described by Triandis’ article Culture and Communication, “in Bulgaria and south India a nod means "no,” and a shake of the head, means "yes".” It’s interesting how Triandis describes the amount of difficulty it was to compre...
In every society nonverbal communication is one of the most powerful tools that a person can use to interpret the message that is being delivered. Even though verbal communication is fairly straightforward, nonverbal communication allows others to sense the true emotions of the person that is expressing them. For example even though a person may say that they are not irritated, their usage of voice may display otherwise. Nonverbal communication not only reveals hidden messages, but it also complements, substitutes, and exaggerates verbal communication.
The first assignment examined communication, ethics and perception. Entering into this class, I can say that I definitely took communication for granted. I focused too often on analyzing what is said when communicating rather than fully listening. The ability to put forth ideas and information in ways that are verbal and nonverbal is amazing. When thinking about ethics in communication, the first thing that comes to mind is patient/doctor or attorney/client privilege. Next, are companies that make claims that are worded in such a way that if their products do not work exactly as advertised, their half-truths may not be considered illegal but they are definitely unethical.
Closing the door on an individual is very frustrating and rude toward the person it is affecting. This assignment has taught me that I need to be aware of how I portray nonverbal communication because it can leave a negative impression on someone, and it can also can harsh relations with individuals’. As a result, I feel that I have bettered my nonverbal communication skills, and I am hoping that these skills will help me properly portray myself in a positive
Nonverbal communication is rich in meaning. Everyone communicates through nonverbal gestures and motions. I realized that you can decipher a lot from an individual or individuals by just paying close attention to what they do, and that words are not really necessary. Watching two people interacting, I figured that they are really close by their space communication, eye language, and body movements.
Hickson, M. I. and Stacks, D. W. (1989). Nonverbal Communication: Studies and Applications. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown, 1989.
Good communication is an essentialvalue for successful relationships, whether personal or professional. Many researchers have stated that most of our communication is non-verbal. Non-verbal communication includes body language, facial expressions, gestures, eye contact, posture, and the tone of our voice. The ability to understand and use non-verbal communication is great skills that will help individualsconnect with others, when trying express feelings, handlingdifficultsituations and creating relationships with other in various places.Non-verbal communication is the body way of sending messages between people. These messages can be sent through emotions, gestures, engagement, voice tone, posture, and clothing.
During conversations, I have to put extra effort to maintain eye contact. One of the most important aspect of nonverbal communication is eye contact. The use of eye contact can be one of the most crucial and influential feature of our face. In America eye contact is essential “eye contact serves as a signal of readiness to interact and the absence of such contact, whether intended or accidental, tends to reduce the likelihood of such interactions”(Ruben & Stewart, 2015, 34). Eye contact shows that the person is interested in communicating with you, and has respect and appreciation for you. It gives the conversation a sense of flow. However the lack of eye contact can often seem disrespectful across culture. It is due to cultural comparison present regarding nonverbal communication. Every culture has its own altered
Harper, R, 1978. Nonverbal communication: The State of the Art. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
When we communicate, we can say a lot without speaking, through our body, our posture, tone of voice and the expression on our face all display a message. If our feelings don’t fit with our words, it is often the body language that gets heard and believed. Nonverbal communication is a rapidly flowing interactive process. Being aware and understanding the cues you may be sending along with the cues others send and pick up from your body language, may not be showing what you are really trying to communicate to others at that moment.
I learned a lot about Human Communication in this class when I read the chapter about Nonverbal Communication. Nonverbal Communication is the process of using messages that are not words to generate meaning. I learned that it happens every day. I also learned that is very hard to read or understand depending on the person you are speaking to or with. Verbal and Nonverbal codes work in conjunction with each other. The words we speak or say are used in conjunction six different ways: to repeat, to emphasize, to complement, to contradict, to substitute, and to regulate. I never knew until reading this chapter that we do these things all most every time we communicate. These are things I took for granted until now. I now know that I will pay
...tention to how people react to one another’s comments, guessing the relationship between the people and guessing how each feels about what is being said. This can inform individuals to better understand the use of body language when conversing with other people. It is also important to take into account individual differences. Different cultures use different non-verbal gestures. Frequently, when observing these gestures alone the observer can get the wrong impression, for instance, the listener can subconsciously cross their arms. This does not mean that they are bored or annoyed with the speaker; it can be a gesture that they are comfortable with. Viewing gestures as a whole will prevent these misunderstandings. Non-verbal gestures are not only physical, for example; the tone of voice addressing a child will be different from the way it is addressed to an adult.