NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION
Communication may be defined as
the transfer of thought, idea and belief.
Human beings are able to
communicate in a variety of ways besides the use of words. This type of
communication is called non-verbal communication.
The communication in non-verbal
format would be signals, symbols and gestures.
Within a single culture the
non-verbal symbols may have a single meaning but when people of different
backgrounds interact the interpretation of the symbols and gestures change or
they assume a new meaning.
Example of an American and an
Arab roommate
It is a common practice for a
young American to put up his feet on the furniture with his soles upwards. This
is strongly disliked by the Arab roommate. Showing of feet and particularly the
sole is unclean and is considered an insult. It is an unacceptable practice in
the nearly all-Muslim societies.
With the rapid globalization in
the past thirty years non-verbal communication has assumed a new meaning. Its
understanding and application has become necessary. The globalization of
business has thrown people of different cultures together, their success and
survival depends upon deciphering and understanding the signals and gestures of
different cultures.
There are many different modes of
non-verbal communication but we will look into three of them, these are:
- BODY LANGUAGE
a.
Eye contact
b.
Smiling
c.
Gestures
- TIME
- SPACE
BODY LANGUAGE
Among humans,
body language accounts for a large part of meaningful communication like the
way we sit, stand, gesture or orient ourselves in a group. Let us look at the
various aspects of body language.
Eye Contact
Eye contact in a
business environment is a very important aspect of body language. This is
especially important in international business setting. Different cultures
interpret eye contact in different perspective.
v
In the sub-continent eyes are dropped as a sign
of respect
v
Japanese are taught to look at neck
v
Americans consider eye contact as sign of
honesty
v
On the other hand Koreans consider prolonged eye
contact as rude.
These
differences of eye contact methods, in a multicultural situation often lead to
miscommunication.
Smiling
The tradition of
smiling varies from culture to culture. Smiling is one of the gestures, which
is liked on everybody’s face. It normally is a good opener in any conversation.
Smiling sometimes has a different connotation in different cultures.
v
Americans have a tendency to smile at strangers.
v
German’s smiles are reserved for friends only
v
Japanese smile when they are pleased or amused.
Japanese also smile when they are about to say, “That’s none of your business”.
Gestures
A gesture is defined as movement of hand or body to
express an emotion or intention.
There is no single gesture or body motion, which has
the same meaning in all the societies.
v
Let us look at the gesture, which in the western
society means “Well done!” or “Go ahead!” i.e. the thumbs up sign.
It is
considered a vulgar insult in Greece
and in the subcontinent.
v
Let us look at another gesture of forming a
circle with the thumb and the forefinger. This means “OK” in United States .
It is considered obscene in Italy .
In France and Belgium it
means, “your worth is zero”.
So in situation
where there is a mixture of different cultures and societies understanding and
interpreting gestures has become very important.
TIME
Time is assuming a major factor in non-verbal
communication. Let us look at the first case.
* How does a culture measure time?
Many Americans
measure time in a five-minute block.
So if someone is
late by five or six minutes for an appointment or an interview, that person has
to apologize for his tardiness.
Many cultures
measure time in 15 minutes or 30 minutes blocks and it hardly matters if you
are 30 minutes to 45 minutes late.
* Decision making time –
How much time do you require to make a decision?
Many western
societies believe that “time is money”.
These societies
are frustrated when they negotiate with people who take a leisurely approach to
making decisions.
In most cases
the leisurely approach is to establish a personal relationship before they
decide to do business.
SPACE
Use of space is
also one of the important aspects of Non-Verbal communication. There are two
aspects of space we’ll look into.
- Personal Space
How much
distance a person places with the other person when they are interacting in
everyday business?
Europeans,
Americans and most Asians want a bigger or wider space in a business setting.
On the other
hand Latin Americans, French, Italians and Arabs often prefer smaller space for
their business interactions.
Mixed-age and
mixed-sex groups take more space than same age and sex groups do. People of the
opposite sex usually maintain a bigger difference than a group of same sex.
- Arrangement Of Space
The second
aspect of space is the special arrangement.
Larger office
with a door indicates a higher status than does the office with no doors. A
desk in a common area is a symbol of lowest status in European and American
setting.
Opposite is the
case in Japan ,
where they consider individual offices as inappropriate and inefficient.
CONCLUSION
We have looked
over two aspects of non-verbal communication, the body language and time and we
find that same gestures and symbols have a different meaning in different
societies and cultures. Studying and understanding these has become very
important in multicultural business world.
Ø Communication
- transfer of ideas & Non-verbal – no words
Ø Non-Verbal
– gestures, single culture single meaning. Example: Arab
Ø Rapid
globalization new meaning – different cultures – deciphering
Ø Three
types: - Body language – Time – Space
Ø Body
language How we set gestures
Ø Eye
contact – different meaning – America : honesty – Asian:
lowered – Japanese: neck – Koreans: not prolonged – leads to
miscommunication
Ø Smiling
varies culture to culture –
well liked – Americans always – Germans friends – Japanese amused or pleased or
none of your business
Ø Gestures
– hand or body motion to express intention or emotion – different in
different societies
Thumbs up : go ahead well
done, vulgar in Greece
& subcontinent
Ok in US, obscene in Italy ,
Zero in France & Belgium
Ø
Time -
How time is measured
- Decision
making time
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