Non-verbal Communication: The Messages of Action, Space, Time & Silence

1. Non-verbal Communication: The Messages of Action, Space, Time & Silence Book 1, Ch. 7 Silence is one of the great arts of conversation (Cicero)

2. Let’s play a game … (non-verbal messages)

5. Defining Non-verbal Communication • All nonverbal stimuli in a communication setting that are generated by both the source and his/her use of the environment and that have potential message value for the source or receiver • Critical meanings generated in human encounters are elicited by touch, glance, vocal nuances, or facial expression with/without the aid of words

6. Functions • Repeating • Say ‘ yes’ together with nodding the head • Complementing • Please with someone’s performance by saying it and pat his shoulder • Substituting • Put your index finger in your mouth as a sign for being quite • Regulating • Direct eye contact from a mother to her kid as a ‘no’ sign • Contradicting • Node your head but you say ‘ yes’

7. Nonverbal Communication • Nonverbal communication is influenced by: • Cultural background • Socioeconomic background • Education • Gender • Age • Personal preference • Idiosyncratic

8. Nonverbal Comm. & Culture • Understanding cultural differences in nonverbal behavior will allow us to gather clues about underlying attitudes and values • Smiling and shaking hands = culture value friendliness • Japanese bowing = the culture value formality, rank, status • Younger person bows, followed by the older person • Older person end it first, followed by the younger one • Younger person bows lower than the older one • The same age/position, bowing at the same time

9. Classification of Nonverbal Comm. • Body behavior • Appearance, movement, facial expression, eye contact, touch, smell, paralanguage • Setting • Space, time, silence

10. Body Behavior – Appearance • Kesanpertamabegitumenggoda • Love at the first sight • Don’t judge the book by its cover; but people did!!! • Skin color • Judgment of beauty • Attire • (clothing can be used to convey economic status, education, social status, moral standards, interest, beliefs system, level of sophistication

11. Body Behavior – Movement • Posture (bow in Japan; waiin Thai; Namaste in India) • Sitting • Gesture • Pointing (American using index finger, German using little finger, Japanese using the entire hand), • Idiosyncratic (the sign ‘ok’), • Beckoning, • Acceptance & understanding (nodding), • Amount & size of gestures

12. Body Behavior – Facial Expression [1] • Three faces: • Assigned face (the one that you are born with) • Face that you are able to manipulate • Face that changesby your surrounding and messages you received • Messages from facial expression: • Social submissiveness and dominance • How interest you are on something • Level of comprehension about the moment • Divulge whether or not your reactions are spontaneous or managed

13. Body Behavior – Facial Expression [2] • 6 pan cultural and universal facial expression: • Happiness, sadness, fear, anger, disgust, surprise • Expression of sadness shows by American, Japanese • As opposed to Chinese, Korean • Smiling: • American = smile means can be a sign of happiness or friendly affirmation and is usually used far more discretion • Japanese = smile is a mask an emption or be used to avoid answering a question; people of lower status smiling to denote acceptance of a command by people from higher status when in fact they feel anger with the order • Korean = too much smiling often perceived as a shallow person

14. Body Behavior – Eye Contact & Gaze [1] • Indicate degrees of attentiveness, interest, and arousal • Influence attitude change and persuasion • Regulate interaction • Communicate affect • Define power and status relationships • Assume a central role in impression management

15. Body Behavior – Eye Contact & Gaze [2] • American; expect the other party to look at their eyes during the conversation, tend to suspicious when others not doing so • Japanese; direct eye contact consider as rude, threatening, disrespectful • Many American considers Japanese eye contact as disagreement, disinterest, rejection • Indian; people of different socioeconomic classes avoid eye contact with each other • Egyptian; women and men who are strangers may avoid eye contact modesty and respect for religious rules

16. Body Behavior – Touch • Different culture assume ‘touch’ differently • Touch includes kiss • Japanese have no word of kissing, they adapt it from English read as kisu

17. Body Behavior – Paralanguage [1] • Vocal qualifiers • Volume, pitch, rhythm, tempo, resonance, tone • Arabs with high volume; strength and sincerity • Brazilian; speaking loudly to show interest & involvement • Thai; speak softly • Female speaks faster , uses shorter pause, uses greater variation in their voice than male

18. Body Behavior – Paralanguage [2] • Vocal characteristic • Laughing, yawning, crying, yelling, moaning • Moslem; sneezing is a blessed from God, so followed by Alhamdullilah • American; giggling and laughing as signs of relaxed and having good time • Most Asian; giggling and laughing sings of extreme embarrassment or discomfort • Vocal segregates • ‘uh-huh’, ‘shh’, ‘ooo’, ‘uuh’, ‘hmmm’ • Little meaning, used for substituting words

19. Setting – Space & Distance • Personal Space • German (individualism) vs Japan (collectivism) • Seating • Moslem, Buddhist, Christian sitting during the mass • Seating position during talking; opposite or side by side • Furniture arrangement • FengShui • French; in the office is centralized with supervisor in the middle • Japanese; participatory management style with no partition or wall

20. Setting – Time [1] 1. Informal time Punctuality (e.g. tolerable lateness) Britain & American 5 minutes Arab 15 – 50 minutes Italian 2 hours Japanese NOT AT ALL!! Pace American; doing thing faster (the invention of fast food) Indonesian; rubber time, alon-alonasalklakon 2. Past, present, future orientation

21. Setting – Time [2] MONOCHROMATIC • Do one thing at a time • Concentrate on the job • Take time commitments (deadline, schedule) seriously • Are low context and need information • Are committed to the job • Adhere to plans • Are concerned about not disturbing others; follow rules of privacy • Show great respect for private property; seldom borrow or lend • Emphasize promptness • Are accustomed to short-term relationship POLYCHROMATIC • Do many things at one • Are easily distracted and subject to interruption • Consider time commitment an objective to be achieved, of possible • Are high-context and already have information • Change plans often and easily • Are more concern with people close to them (family, friends) than privacy • Borrow and lend things frequently and easily • Base promptness on the relationship • Have strong tendency to build lifetime relationship

22. Setting - Silence • Cross-cultural differences are common over when to talk and when to remain silent • E.g. Will you marry me? • Silence in English can be interpreted as uncertainty • Silence in Japanese can be interpreted as acceptance • Americans believe that talking is an important activity and they are actually enjoy talking • Asians; • silence among family members means talking • Silence is often linked to credibility