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Essay / Differences in nonverbal communication between different cultures
Nonverbal communication can vary from person to person and from culture to culture. An example would be pointing. In the United States we use the index finger to point, in Germany we use the little finger, while the Japanese find the idea of pointing with the index finger rude. Western and Arab cultures view direct eye contact as positive, believing that it shows a sign of interest. In Japanese, African, Latin American and Caribbean cultures, eye contact is avoided in order to show respect. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Handshakes are a common gesture among people. While in the United States there is no real preference as to which hand to use when approaching someone, it is a very big problem in Islamic and Hindu cultures to not touch with the left hand because it is used for toileting. Generally, Islamics do not consider handshaking between the sexes appropriate, but touching (kissing, holding hands) between people of the same sex is approved. (Knapp)All of these factors are important because people will have to interact with those from a different culture. Knowing this information can avoid insulting someone from a different culture. This is often the most important part of communication: the ability to convey feelings and meaning without words. I can tell you that I really don't like so-and-so, but without my posture, body language and facial expressions, you might not really understand. Nonverbal cues are very important because they make up the majority of our total communication with others, and they are so effective that it is possible to convey basic concepts across the universal language barrier. (J Nonverbal behavior;41(3).I don't need to know Mandarin to understand that a person is feeling sad. I don't need to know a single word of Russian to understand that a mother is happy with her child At the same time, body signals are so linked to our feelings and emotions that it is often impossible to hide them, no matter what we actually say. Without nonverbal communication, words cannot. are just words We use nonverbal communication to create physical appearance cues weigh heavily on this function, but kinesics, timing, and other cues can all contribute to how others perceive competence and. character. Additionally, non-verbal communication is used to manage facial expression, vocalics and even proxemics are used to signal turn taking as well as taking leave. categories a. kinesic c. paralinguistics and e. Touch, B). Body language C). The “how” someone said something rather than the “what” D). Related to time and E). Linked to distance. {(Meadors 38(2)}. An example of contact could be simply hugging your parents after opening a gift on Christmas morning without saying anything, they know you are grateful/liked the gift. Or a guy putting his arm around his date at the movies (he's in love with her), Giving someone the middle finger (he's angry, even if he didn't say it) is a gesture of. strong body language as well as a peace sign (promotes an ideology without saying anything). Slang such as: "Cool story, bro." uttered shows you that they don't care, just likeYelling at someone doesn't matter. They said it shows how angry they are. Being on time for a job interview shows politeness without saying it. Being late to a party shows that you are important without saying it. A girl sitting on her boyfriend's lap shows that she is comfortable. without saying it. Keeping a few feet of distance between you and a stranger shows that they don't know each other, without saying it. Body language is very important. It's how to decide if this person is telling the truth, if they're open and honest, if they're a nice person, if they're someone I wouldn't want to spend time with, etc. They usually look up to the right if someone is lying or their eyes start to look away. expand. But having dilated eyes can also mean that you find that person attractive, so your eyes dilate to see more of that person. People don't realize how much they betray themselves with a simple gesture. Example, arms crossed and held against the body tight, that means, I hear you, but I'm not listening, you have nothing to say, I want to hear; I'm done talking to you. Never really looking a person in the eye when you speak, looking down and looking away when someone asks you a question, means you may be hiding something. Much of the message someone conveys is often in their body language or tone of voice, not in what they say. (Janina,-0255-2). Often, nonverbal communications are more specific in what the person is trying to say than the verbal communication itself. If someone is not telling the truth, you can normally figure it out in their body language before telling the truth verbally. Nonverbal communication is very good on many occasions and requires a lot of observation and skill. An example would be when a surgeon communicates with a nurse using nonverbal communication. He never shouts or speaks to ask me to give me this or give me that. Seeing the expressions on the surgeon's masked face, the nurse in charge understands what the surgeon needs at any point during the operation. Another example would be a mother being able to communicate with her child non-verbally. For example, when visiting a neighbor's house, the mother can warn the child non-verbally, when the child tries to touch the television remote control or a stray glass on the teapot in the house without any noise in looking him in the eyes. With non-verbal communication, we can communicate things that would take many words to describe. You usually show your emotions while you do it. Some of them are quicker and more obvious than talking. Pointing out something dangerous is an example. It would be obvious from your body language that something is alarming you and you want them to look in that direction. If you didn't do this, it would take a lot longer for the person to look. We understand a lot of gestures like that of a cop who stops you at an intersection by raising his hands. You can see this gesture when it might be impossible for him to communicate with you verbally. They also usually overcome language barriers and allow you to communicate with anyone. Nonverbal communication is more important than verbal. Posture is important to convey what we feel. If you want to show that you feel good about yourself, you obviously wouldn't want to slouch or look at the ground. The body cannot lie, so if someone tries to tell you a false statement, their mouth may say untruths, but the body always tells the truth because it responds unconsciously.