NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION

1. NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION It’s a Universal Code… though much is culture specific

2. What is Non-verbal Communication? It’s all the non-verbal stimuli–both intentional and unintentional–that convey messages to each other. Examples….

3. In this picture, an experienced flight attendant demonstrates a facial expression she uses at work. Is she performing genuine warmth, or is it concealed irritation? a. Genuine Warmthb. Concealed Irritation Source: http://nonverbal.ucsc.edu/index.html

5. Is there a 'universal language' of gestures? • Universally accepted facial expressions for most of our basic emotions– (p 210) • Sadness • Fear • Anger • Disgust • Happiness • Surprise • Interest (Ting Toomey, S. & Chung, L.C., 2005, Understanding Intercultural Communication. Los Angeles:Roxbury)

6. Exercise in pairs

10. a. I don’t believe you. The number of unique international gestures is astonishing. Despite the growth of international communications media, unique gestures -- such as this French gesture for 'I don't believe you‘-- are alive and going strong.

11. Uses of Nonverbal Communication • Helps us judge internal states • Create impressions (first 10 seconds in job interview count the most) • Managing interaction Your nonverbals offer the other person clues about the conversation….when it’s his/her turn to talk and so on.

12. Functions of Nonverbal Communication • Repeating (saying “stop” verbally and w/ hand) • Complementing (“Good job, Max” plus pat on back) • Substituting (no words. “Saying” Shhhh by putting finger to lips, or using thumbs up) • Regulating (telling child to stop with a stern look, or nod your head to show agreement and that your partner should continue speaking) • Contradicting (nonverbals that send signals opposite from what you are saying verbally) “Though we may lie with our lips, betrayal oozes out of us at every pore.” Freud

13. Why learn about NVC of other cultures? • More is said and expressed nonverbally than verbally. --Smiling and shaking hands tells us a culture values amiability. • Bowing tells you another culture values formality and rank and status. • Hindus greet palms together and tilt heads down slightly showing “I bow to the deity in you”

14. 2 Categories of Nonverbal Communication: Body and Setting • BODY: Appearance • how we appear to others Overweight—can reduce income, lower chances for marriage, generally less educated. • Skin color • Judgments of beauty “….'Beauty in the eyes of the beholder' in completely correct from a psychological viewpoint as our own preferences change with time and so do our desires, aesthetic sense and perception of beauty.” Reflections in Psychology - Part I - by Saberi Roy (2009) • Attire • Body Movement (Kinesics—study of how movement communicates); how you hold yourself when you sit, walk, stand; Samoan: Sit lower than elder; Saudi Arabia Ankle to knee cross is rude; • Posture • Sitting Germany & Sweden: Slouching is sign of poor manners and rudeness; poor upbringing USA: Women often hold their arms closer to their bodies than do men. • Gestures Pointing is Ok in USA; rude in much of Asia

15. Asian cultures consider the following as lacking in self control: • Raising one’s voice in anger • Using animated gestures to tell a story • Patting someone on the back for a job well-done

16. Facial Expressions • 3,000 plus, according to our film. • The Smile • Americans: a sign of happiness or friendly affirmation, used with great regularity • Germans: used with more discretion, only around those you really know and like • Japanese: can also mask an emotion or be used to avoid answering a question.

17. “If Looks Could Kill” • What do some cultures refer to when they say “the evil eye?” • Japan—prolonged eye contact rude, threatening, disrespectful • Out of 186 cultures, 67 believe in the evil eye. Do you? Child's "Evil Eye"

18. Paralanguage How something is said and not the meaning of the words. “The tones of human voices are mightier than strings or brass to move the soul.”—German poet • Vocal qualities • volume, pitch, rhythm, tempo, resonance, tone) • Vocal characterizers • Laughing, crying, yelling, moaning, whining, belching, yawning • Vocal segregates • Un-huh, shh, uh, oooh, mmmmh, hmmmm

19. 2) Setting Proxemics: The flow and shift of distance between you and the person you’re interacting with • Personal space • Intimate, casual-personal, social, public • Individualistic cultures demand more or less space? (US, England, Germany and Australia) p 217 • Some co-cultures have their own special use of space. Prostitutes, prisoners, women (closer proximity to others than do men). • Seating • Furniture arrangement Learned on both the conscious and unconscious level A person’s use of space is directly linked to the value system of their culture.

20. Punctuality • How late is late for a business appointment • in Britain and U.S.? (by the boss? By the secretary?) • In Arab countries? • How late is late for a dinner invitation • in Britain? • In Italy? • Ethiopia? • Japan? (p 220 quote) • In Latin America, late to appointment is sign of respect. Considered rude to be on time in Chile! “Punctuality messes up schedules” in Spain. • Nigerian expression “A watch did not invent man.” • Germany—Tardiness perceived as rudeness. Promptness is almost an obsession for Germans! • Reaction to punctuality is rooted in our cultural experiences.

21. Glimpse a Business meeting with Past, Present or Future Orientation • Past:Why don’t we look at how much success we had with a similar merger with a Japanese company five years ago? • England, China Japan • Present: Just wait a second. It really doesn’t matter what we did five years ago. The key is what we want to do now! • Filipinos, Latin Americans—love living in the moment! Casual, relaxed lifestyle; relationships important • Future:Only worrying about what is going on now is shortsighted. For this company to make money, we need to think about what this merger will mean in the future. • Most Americans are here. You can hardly wait to finish what you are doing so that you can move on to something else. • Produces a low tolerance for extensions and postponements. What you want, you want now! • Less regard for past social or organizational customs and traditions.

22. M-Time and P-Time • Monochronicview (M-time) sees time in sequential pattern; believes time is a scarce resource which must be rationed and controlled through the use of schedules and appointments, through aiming to do only one thing at a time. • Values punctuality, good organization, a good use of time. • Germany, Austria, Switzerland, America • Polychronic view (P-time) considers people and human relationships the agenda, not keeping to a schedule. • Collectivistic • Holistic view of life • Turkey, African countries, Latin Americans, Polynesia, Mexican Americans, Samoans (“coconut time”—not necessary to pick coconuts; they’ll fall when the time is right.”) African Americans (BPT—Black People’s Time” or “hang-loose time.”) “For Africans, the person they are with is more important than the one who is out of sight.” (see chart p 224)

23. Silence “Silence is also speech.” –African proverb • Silence can show agreement, lack of interest, injured feelings, or contempt. • “Will you marry me?” followed by silence… • In English…uncertainty • In Japanese…acceptance • In Igbo…a denial if the woman kept standing there and acceptance if she ran away! • Eastern tradition views silence as good. Words can contaminate an experience; • inner peace and wisdom come only through silence. “Silence is a friend who will never betray.” • Means of avoiding conflict—If don’t agree with speaker, they stop conversing. • Linked to credibility “It’s the duck that squawks that gets shot.” –Japanese proverb • American Indians believe that silence, not speaking, is a sign of a remarkable person. They use silence as a gesture of respect to persons of authority, age, and wisdom.