Unit 6 Unit 6 Non-verbal Non-verbal

CommunicationCommunication

Unit 6 Unit 6 Non-verbal Non-verbal

CommunicationCommunication

By the end of this unit, you should be

able to: • Tell what non-verbal communication is and

what purposes it serves• Express puzzlement• Explain roles for using gestures in cross-

cultural communication• Describe various emotions revealed in facial

expressions• Describe rules governing eye contact• Describe rules governing proximity and

contact• Gain an awareness that successful cross-

cultural communication depends not only on what we say and the manner in which we say it, but also on the behavior we display

What is non-verbal

communication?

• Nonverbal communication will be defined as the process by which nonverbal behaviors are used, either singly or in combination with verbal behaviors, in the exchange and interpretation of messages within a given situation or context. (L. A. Malandro, 1983)

Classifications of non-verbal

communication : • body Language: posture, head movement,

facial expressions, eye behavior, gestures, handshaking, arm movement, leg movement etc.

• paralanguage: sound, pitch, tempo of speech, turn-taking, silence

• object language: clothing, personal artifacts, hair, etc.

• environmental language: time language, spatial language, color, light, signs and symbols, architecture, etc.

Gestures • Gestures are an important component of

non-verbal communication. This is mainly a matter of how we use our hands to convey a message. The language of the hands differs from country to country and a gesture which means one thing in one country may well mean something quite different to those living in another.

1. the ring gesture

• In America/Britain, it means sth. is good;• In Latin America it is used as an insult;• In Japan it means money;• In France it means zero or worthless;• In Tunisia: “I’ll kill you.”

2.The thumbs-up sign

• In Britain it means sth. is good and it is also used as a sign for hitch-hiking.

• In Greece / Sardinia it is an insult.

3. the single finger beckon

• In America it simply means: come here.• In Yugoslavia and Malaysia it is only

used for beckoning animals.• In Indonesia and Australia it is used for

beckoning prostitutes. i.e., ladies for the night.

4. the eyelid-pull• In France and Greece it means: see my

eye!• In England: don’t you think I can see it?

You can’t fool me.• In Spain and Italy it is also related to be

alert.• In South America it means you find a

woman very attractive.

5. The ear-tug • In Spain it means

someone is a sponger, i.e. Using other people’s money and never spending his own;

• In Greece it is a warning;

• In Malta it says someone is a sneak;

• In Italy it is used to call someone a homosexual.

6.The V-sign • palm to others:• In England: peace

&victory;• In Greece: hold up the

palm to someone’s face means insult.

• palm to yourself:• In England transforms the

meaning of insult.

Churchill

Facial Expressionssurprised fearful

disgusted angry

shocked horrified

revolted furious

grief-stricken embarrassed

proud ashamed

shy bored

confusedsuspicious

America Japanfull and open emotional expression

full and open expression of a number of different emotions is likely to be held in check

willingness to disclose personal thoughts and feelings openly

imposing one’s feeling on others threatens the maintenance of social harmony; displaying anger is much less acceptable among the Japanese

define themselves are different from, rather than similar to others

emphasize on consisting with other oriental cultures, open displays of joy or sadness is frowned upon

Eye Contact Eye contact is an important aspect of

body language. One could draw up quite rules about eye contact: to look or not to look, when to look and how long to look, who ant who not to look at, etc. And these rules vary from culture to culture.

Britain America Puerto Rico

the rule for dealing with strangers is that you must avoid staring at them but at the same time avoid ignoring them.

those who are communicating with one another demands eye contact. Not looking at the person could imply a number of things (fear, guilt…)

looking someone straight in the eye is well thought; someone to fail to meet the eye of someone accusing them of something is taken as a sign of guiltiness

it is considered disrespectful for a child to meet the eye of an adult.

eye movements in conversation means of ordering turn taking

Staring at people is considered rude; young children will be reprimanded by their parents if they look too long and too intensely at another person

Body distanceintimate distance ranging from direct contact to about

45cm, which applies to the closest relationships such as husband and wife

personal distance ranging from 45 to 80cm, which is usually maintained for conversations between friends & relatives

social distance ranging from 1.3to 2 meters, which covers people who work together or are meeting at social gatherings

public distance such as that kept between a lecturer and his audience

Body distance

1. Intimate 2. Personal3. Social4. Public

Case study

• Please analyze the case on Page 240. It is showing the different meaning of the gesture for beckoning someone in China and America. Sun Yan suddenly felt uncomfortable with her boss because of the beckoning gesture.

The mistake• The gesture for beckoning someone in

China is that the hand is extended toward the person, palm open facing down, with all fingers crooked in a beckoning motion. The gesture used by Mr. Black is one that is acceptable as a way of beckoning in his culture, whereas in China many would regard the gesture as impolite or improper.

Conclusion: Gestures can mean different things in

different culture.

Review • Time to review, but before you do let me

teach you one more thing about non-verbal communication. It has to do with the gesture the English use to wish good luck to one another or even to themselves. They do this by crossing the middle finger over the index finger of the same hand. Try it. That's fight. Now you'll have good luck with mastering what you have learned! I hope so. In fact I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you, too!

HomeworkCase analysis: Bill had just arrived from the United States to stud

y engineering at a Chinese university. In the first few days he met and moved in with his roommate Zemin. over the next few days he noticed that female students on campus frequently walked arm-in-arm or even holding hands .He noticed, too, that students of both sexes, but especially the boys, would huddle around newspaper displays in a fashion of close

contact. Bill felt rather uncomfortable and wondered how he would respond if one of his classmates were to put his arms around him…

Question: why does Bill feel uncomfortable?

The Key to the Question:

• He felt uncomfortable because of people are less concerned than Americans to maintain an invisible private zone around their bodies which others may not cross. The students of both sex walked arm-in-arm and huddled is much more acceptable in China than in America.