COM 263: Intercultural Communication Lesson 8 Short Answer

Identify and discuss three (3) characteristics of the relationship between verbal and nonverbal forms of communication.

How would you prevent the occurrence of the intercultural communication problems that are brought about by an unconscious and unintentional performance of nonverbal behavior that deeply offends members of another culture?

Is it easier to overcome problems related to nonverbal actions or verbal language? Why? Provide at least two (2) examples from your own life experience for illustration.

Discuss a situation where the nonverbal behavior of someone did not meet your expectations. How did you react? How might this have been a cultural problem?

Which one of the various types of nonverbal behaviors discussed in this lesson do you think is most important to a student of intercultural communication? Why?

Lesson 8 Nonverbal Communication
Instruction
View Glossary
The left hemisphere of the brain is used for verbal communication, while the right hemisphere
gives us the ability to communicate and understand nonverbal behavior.
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When we think about communication, we most often focus on how we exchange
information using words. While verbal communication is important, humans relied on
nonverbal communication for thousands of years before we developed the capability to
communicate with words. Nonverbal communication is a process of generating
meaning using behavior other than words. Rather than thinking of nonverbal
communication as the opposite of or as separate from verbal communication, it’s more
accurate to view them as operating side by side—as part of the same system. Yet, as
part of the same system, they still have important differences, including how the brain
processes them. For instance, nonverbal communication is typically governed by the
right side of the brain and verbal, the left (Andersen, 1999).
The content and composition of verbal and nonverbal communication also differs. In
terms of content, nonverbal communication tends to do the work of communicating
emotions more than verbal communication. In terms of composition, although there are
rules of grammar that structure our verbal communication, no such official guides
govern our use of nonverbal signals. Likewise, there aren’t dictionaries and thesauruses
of nonverbal communication like there are with verbal symbols. Finally, whereas we
humans are unique in our capacity to abstract and transcend space and time using
verbal symbols, we are not the only creatures that engage in nonverbal communication
(Hargie, 2011).
These are just some of the characteristics that differentiate verbal communication from
nonverbal. In this lesson we will discuss in more detail the principles, functions, and
types of nonverbal communication and conclude with some guidance on how to improve
our nonverbal communication competence.
Principles and Functions of Nonverbal Communication
As you’ll recall from Lesson 2, a channel is the sensory route on which a message
travels. Oral communication only relies on one channel, because spoken language is
transmitted through sound and picked up by our ears. Nonverbal communication, on
the other hand, can be taken in by all five of our senses. Since most of our
communication relies on visual and auditory channels, those will be the focus of this
lesson. But we can also receive messages and generate meaning through touch, taste,
and smell. Touch is an especially powerful form of nonverbal communication that we
will discuss in this lesson, but we will not get into taste and smell, which have not
received as much scholarly attention in relation to nonverbal communication as the
other senses.
To further define nonverbal communication, we need to distinguish between vocal and
verbal aspects of communication. Verbal and nonverbal communication include both
vocal and non-vocal elements. Table 8.1 “Vocal and Non-vocal Elements of
Communication” shows the relationship among vocal, non-vocal, verbal, and nonverbal
aspects of communication. A vocal element of verbal communication is spoken words—
for example, “Come back here.” A vocal element of nonverbal communication
is paralanguage, which is the vocalized but not verbal part of a spoken message, such
as speaking rate, volume, and pitch. Non-vocal elements of verbal communication
include the use of unspoken symbols to convey meaning. Writing and American Sign
Language (ASL) are non-vocal examples of verbal communication and are not
considered nonverbal communication. Non-vocal elements of nonverbal communication
include body language such as gestures, facial expressions, and eye contact. Gestures
are non-vocal and nonverbal since most of them do not refer to a specific word like a
written or signed symbol does.
Verbal
Communication
Nonverbal Communication
Vocal
Spoken words
Paralanguage (pitch, volume, speaking rate, etc.)
Nonvocal
Writing, sign
language
Body language (gestures, facial expressions, eye
contact, etc.)
Nonverbal communication is more instinctual and involuntary than verbal communication.
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Part 1: Principles of Nonverbal Communication
Nonverbal communication has a distinct history and serves separate evolutionary
functions from verbal communication. For example, nonverbal communication is
primarily biologically based while verbal communication is primarily culturally based.
This is evidenced by the fact that some nonverbal communication has the same
meaning across cultures while no verbal communication systems share that same
universal recognizability (Andersen, 1999). Nonverbal communication also evolved
earlier than verbal communication and served an early and important survival function
that helped humans later develop verbal communication. While some of our nonverbal
communication abilities, like our sense of smell, lost strength as our verbal capacities
increased, other abilities like paralanguage and movement have grown alongside verbal
complexity. The fact that nonverbal communication is processed by an older part of our
brain makes it more instinctual and involuntary than verbal communication.
Before we move forward, take a moment to consider the meaning of the following
verbal messages:
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Ajay tells his boss, “I have been having problems with my teenage daughter.”
Alice told her best friend, “I think David is cheating on me.”
The doctor told his patient, “I would like order some additional tests.”
After his graduation party, Matthew told a group of his friends, “I’m really
looking forward to starting college classes.”
Miguel whispered to his classmate, “I didn’t do my homework last night.”
Maria stated, “I did it.”
As speakers of English, the words themselves are pretty straightforward in terms of
meaning—even though we might not understand the entire situation or context of the
communication since we have limited information, right? Now, let’s consider our
perception of the same messages when we obtain “information” through nonverbal
behavior:
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Ajay turned his face away for a moment before explaining to his boss the reason
he was late for work.
Alice started to drive like a lunatic.
When he saw the MRI images, the doctor looked stricken.
Although he was only 17, Matthew walked with the confidence of someone a
decade older.
Miguel fidgeted in his seat when his instructor asked him a question.
Maria looked down at her lap when the attorney asked her a question. She could
feel the eyes of the jury on her.
Do you now see a more complete “picture” of each situation? These brief examples
illustrate the nine principles of nonverbal communication we will discussion in this
section (click on the arrows to read more information about these principles).
Nonverbal Communication:
CONVEYS INTERPERSONAL MESSAGES
You’ve probably heard that more meaning is generated from nonverbal communication
than from verbal. Some studies have claimed that 90 percent of our meaning is derived
from nonverbal signals, but more recent and reliable findings claim that it is closer to
65 percent (Guerrero & Floyd, 2006). We may rely more on nonverbal signals in
situations where verbal and nonverbal messages conflict and in situations where
emotional or relational communication is taking place (Hargie, 2011). For example,
when someone asks a question and we’re not sure about the “angle” they are taking,
we may hone in on nonverbal cues to fill in the meaning. For example, the question
“What are you doing tonight?” could mean any number of things, but we could rely on
posture, tone of voice, and eye contact to see if the person is just curious, suspicious,
or hinting that they would like company for the evening. We also put more weight on
nonverbal communication when determining a person’s credibility.
In interactions where information exchange is the focus, at a briefing at work, for
example, verbal communication likely accounts for much more of the meaning
generated. Despite this exception, a key principle of nonverbal communication is that it
often takes on more meaning in interpersonal and/or emotional exchanges.
COMMUNICATES FEELINGS AND ATTITUDES
Steven Beebe, Susan Beebe, and Mark Redmond (Beebe et al., 1997) note that you
often react faster than you think. Your nonverbal responses communicate your initial
reaction before you can process it through language or formulate an appropriate
response. If your appropriate, spoken response doesn’t match your nonverbal reaction,
you may give away your true feelings and attitudes.
Is your first emotional response always an accurate and true representation of your
feelings and attitudes, or does your emotional response change across time? We are all
changing all the time, and sometimes a moment of frustration or a flash of anger can
signal to the receiver a feeling or emotion that existed for a moment, but has since
passed. Their response to your communication will be based on that perception, even
though you might already be over the issue. This is where the spoken word serves us
well. You may need to articulate clearly that you were frustrated, but not anymore. The
words spoken out loud can serve to clarify and invite additional discussion.
IS FLUID
Chances are you have had many experiences where words were misunderstood, or
where the meaning of words was unclear. When it comes to nonverbal communication,
meaning is even harder to discern. We can sometimes tell what people are
communicating through their nonverbal communication, but there is no foolproof
“dictionary” of how to interpret nonverbal messages. Nonverbal communication can
help or hinder the clear understanding of your message, but it doesn’t reveal (and can
even mask) what you are really thinking. Nonverbal communication is far from simple,
and its complexity makes our study and our understanding a worthy but challenging
goal.
Nonverbal communication involves the entire body, the space it occupies and
dominates, the time it interacts, and not only what is not said but how it is not said.
Nonverbal action flows almost seamlessly from one to the next, making it a challenge
to interpret one element, or even a series of elements. We perceive time as linear,
flowing along in a straight line. We did one task, we’re doing another task now, and we
are planning on doing something else all the time. Nonverbal communication is always
in motion, as long as we are, and is never the same twice.
Nonverbal communication is irreversible. In written communication, you can write a
clarification, correction, or retraction. While it never makes the original statement go
completely away, it does allow for correction. Unlike written communication, oral
communication may allow “do-overs” on the spot: you can explain and restate, hoping
to clarify your point. You can also dig the hole you are in just a little bit deeper. Oral
communication, like written communication, allows for some correction, but it still
doesn’t erase the original message or its impact. Nonverbal communication takes it one
step further. You can’t separate one nonverbal action from the context of all the other
verbal and nonverbal communication acts, and you can’t take it back.
As a result, nonverbal communication is a powerful way to contribute to (or detract
from) your success in communicating your message to the audience.
IS FAST
Let’s pretend you are at your computer at work. You see that an e-mail has arrived, but
you are right in the middle of tallying a spreadsheet whose numbers just don’t add up.
You see that the e-mail is from a coworker and you click on it. The subject line reads
“pink slips.” You could interpret this to mean a suggestion for a Halloween costume, or
a challenge to race for each other’s car ownership, but in the context of the workplace
you may assume it means layoffs.
Your emotional response is immediate. If the author of the e-mail could see your face,
they would know that your response was one of disbelief and frustration, even anger,
all via your nonverbal communication. Yes, when a tree falls in the forest it makes a
sound, even if no one is there to hear it. In the same way, you express yourself via
nonverbal communication all the time without much conscious thought at all. You may
think about how to share the news with your partner, and try to display a smile and a
sense of calm when you feel like anything but smiling.
Nonverbal communication gives our thoughts and feelings away before we are even
aware of what we are thinking or how we feel. People may see and hear more than you
ever anticipated. Your nonverbal communication includes both intentional and
unintentional messages, but since it all happens so fast, the unintentional ones can
contradict what you know you are supposed to say or how you are supposed to react.
CAN ADD TO OR REPLACE WORDS
People tend to pay more attention to how you say it than what you actually say. In
presenting a speech this is particularly true. We communicate nonverbally more than
we engage in verbal communication, and often use nonverbal expressions to add to, or
even replace, words we might otherwise say. We use a nonverbal gesture called an
illustrator to communicate our message effectively and reinforce our point. Your
coworker Andrew may ask you, “Barney’s Bar after work?” as he walks by, and you
simply nod and say “yeah.” Andrew may respond with a nonverbal gesture, called an
emblem, by signaling with the “OK” sign as he walks away.
In addition to illustrators or emblematic nonverbal communication, we also use
regulators. “Regulators are nonverbal messages which control, maintain or discourage
interaction” (McLean, 2003, p. 77). For example, if someone is telling you a message
that is confusing or upsetting, you may hold up your hand, a commonly recognized
regulator that asks the speaker to stop talking.
Let’s say you are in a meeting presenting a speech that introduces your company’s
latest product. If your audience members nod their heads in agreement on important
points and maintain good eye contact, it is a good sign. Nonverbally, they are using
regulators encouraging you to continue with your presentation. In contrast, if they look
away, tap their feet, and begin drawing in the margins of their notebook, these are
regulators suggesting that you better think of a way to regain their interest or else
wrap up your presentation quickly.
Affect displays are “nonverbal communication that express emotions or feeling”
(McLean, 2003, p. 77). An affect display that might accompany holding up your hand
for silence would be to frown and shake your head from side to side. When you and
Andrew are at Barney’s Bar, smiling and waving at coworkers who arrive lets them
know where you are seated and welcomes them.
“Adaptors are displays of nonverbal communication that help you adapt to your
environment and each context, helping you feel comfortable and secure” (McLean,
2003, p. 77). A self-adaptor involves you meeting your need for security, by playing
with your hair for example, by adapting something about yourself in way for which it
was not designed or for no apparent purpose. Combing your hair would be an example
of a purposeful action, unlike a self-adaptive behavior. An object-adaptor involves the
use of an object in a way for which it was not designed. You may see audience
members tapping their pencils, chewing on them, or playing with them, while ignoring
you and your presentation. Or perhaps someone pulls out a comb and repeatedly rubs a
thumbnail against the comb’s teeth. They are using the comb or the pencil in a way
other than its intended design, an object-adaptor that communicates a lack of
engagement or enthusiasm in your speech.
Intentional nonverbal communication can complement, repeat, replace, mask, or
contradict what we say. When Andrew invited you to Barney’s, you said, “Yeah” and
nodded, complementing and repeating the message. You could have simply nodded,
effectively replacing the “yes” with a nonverbal response. You could also have decided
to say no, but did not want to hurt Andrew’s feelings. Shaking your head “no” while
pointing to your watch, communicating work and time issues, may mask your real
thoughts or feelings. Masking involves the substitution of appropriate nonverbal
communication for nonverbal communication you may want to display (McLean, 2003).
Finally, nonverbal messages that conflict with or contradict verbal communication can
confuse the listener. Some ‘nonverbal expressions’ concepts include:
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Adaptors — Help us feel comfortable or indicate emotions or moods
Affect Displays — Express emotions or feelings
Complementing — Reinforcing verbal communication
Contradicting — Contradicting verbal communication
Emblems — Nonverbal gestures that carry a specific meaning, and can replace or
reinforce words
Illustrators — Reinforce a verbal message
Masking — Substituting more appropriate displays for less appropriate displays
Object-Adaptors — Using an object for a purpose other than its intended design
Regulators — Control, encourage or discourage interaction
Repeating — Repeating verbal communication
Replacing — Replacing verbal communication
Self-Adaptors — Adapting something about yourself in a way for which it was not
designed or for no apparent purpose
IS MORE INVOLUNTARY
Suppose you are working as a salesclerk in a retail store, and a customer
communicates frustration to you. Would the nonverbal aspects of your response be
intentional or unintentional? Your job is to be pleasant and courteous at all times, yet
your wrinkled eyebrows or wide eyes may have been unintentional. They clearly
communicate your negative feelings at that moment. Restating your wish to be helpful
and displaying nonverbal gestures may communicate “no big deal,” but the stress of
the moment is still “written” on your face.
It is clearly a challenge to understand nonverbal communication in action. We often
assign intentional motives to nonverbal communication when, in fact, their display is
unintentional, and often hard to interpret.
There are some instances in which we verbally communicate involuntarily. These types
of exclamations are often verbal responses to a surprising stimulus. For example, we
say “owww!” when we stub our toe or scream “stop!” when we see someone heading
toward danger. Involuntary nonverbal signals are much more common, and although
most nonverbal communication isn’t completely involuntary, it is more below our
consciousness than verbal communication and therefore more difficult to control.
The involuntary nature of much nonverbal communication makes it more difficult to
control or “fake.” For example, although you can consciously smile a little and shake
hands with someone when you first see them, it’s difficult to fake that you’re “happy” to
meet someone. Nonverbal communication leaks out in ways that expose our underlying
thoughts or feelings. Spokespeople, lawyers, or other public representatives who are
the “face” of a politician, celebrity, corporation, or organization must learn to control
their facial expressions and other nonverbal communication so they can effectively
convey the message of their employer or client without having their personal thoughts
and feelings leak through.
While we can consciously decide to stop sending verbal messages, our nonverbal
communication always has the potential of generating meaning for another person. The
teenager who decides to shut out his dad and not communicate with him still sends a
message with his “blank” stare (still a facial expression) and lack of movement (still a
gesture). In this sense, nonverbal communication is “irrepressible” (Andersen, 1999).
IS MORE AMBIGUOUS
In Lesson 7, we learned that the symbolic and abstract nature of language can lead to
misunderstandings, but nonverbal communication is even more ambiguous. As with
verbal communication, most of our nonverbal signals can be linked to multiple
meanings, but, unlike words, many nonverbal signals do not have any one specific
meaning. If you’ve ever had someone wink at you and didn’t know why, you’ve
probably experienced this uncertainty. Did they wink to express their affection for you,
their pleasure with something you just did, or because you share some inside
knowledge or joke?
Just as we look at context clues in a sentence or paragraph to derive meaning from a
particular word, we can look for context clues in various sources of information like the
physical environment, other nonverbal signals, or verbal communication to make sense
of a particular nonverbal cue. Unlike verbal communication, however, nonverbal
communication doesn’t have explicit rules of grammar that bring structure, order, and
agreed-on patterns of usage. Instead, we implicitly learn norms of nonverbal
communication, which leads to greater variance. In general, we exhibit more
idiosyncrasies in our usage of nonverbal communication than we do with verbal
communication, which also increases the ambiguity of nonverbal communication.
Nonverbal communication can indeed be confusing. We need contextual clues to help us
understand, or begin to understand, what a movement, gesture, or lack of display
means. Then we have to figure it all out based on our prior knowledge (or lack thereof)
of the person and hope to get it right. Talk about a challenge. Nonverbal
communication is everywhere, and we all use it, but that doesn’t make it simple or
independent of when, where, why, or how we communicate.
IS UNIVERSAL
Consider the many contexts in which interaction occurs during your day. In the
morning, at work, at home, with friends, with family—our list could go on for quite a
while. Now consider the differences in nonverbal communication across these many
contexts. When you are at work, do you jump up and down and say whatever you
want? Why or why not? You may not engage in that behavior because of expectations
at work, but the fact remains that from the moment you wake until you sleep, you are
surrounded by nonverbal communication.
If you had been born in a different country, to different parents, and perhaps as a
member of the opposite sex, your whole world would be quite different. Yet nonverbal
communication would remain a universal constant. It may not look the same, or get
used in the same way, but it will still be nonverbal communication in its many functions
and displays.
IS MORE CREDIBLE
Although we can rely on verbal communication to fill in the blanks sometimes left by
nonverbal expressions, we often put more trust into what people do over what they
say. This is especially true in times of stress or danger when our behaviors become
more instinctual and we rely on older systems of thinking and acting that evolved
before our ability to speak and write (Andersen, 1999). This innateness creates intuitive
feelings about the genuineness of nonverbal communication, and this genuineness
relates back to our earlier discussion about the sometimes involuntary and often
subconscious nature of nonverbal communication. An example of the innateness of
nonverbal signals can be found in children who have been blind since birth but still
exhibit the same facial expressions as other children. In short, the involuntary or
subconscious nature of nonverbal communication makes it less easy to fake, which
makes it seem more honest and credible.
Regardless, when a discrepancy exists between what a person says and his/her body
language, you are more likely to believe what you see rather than the spoken words. In
fact, it is quite easy to decipher the attitude of a speaker about a certain topic as they
speak, even though the presentation itself would suggest otherwise. You know when
someone’s heart isn’t in what they are saying or when they are trying to convince you
to do something they wouldn’t want to do themselves. They communicate their true
thoughts and feelings via their nonverbal behavior.
People will often state that “actions speak louder than words” and place a
disproportionate emphasis on nonverbal cues. Humans aren’t logical all the time, and
they do experience feelings and attitudes that change. Still, we place more confidence
in nonverbal communication, particularly when it comes to lying behaviors. Deception is
typically thought of as the intentional act of altering information to influence another
person, which means that it extends beyond lying to include concealing, omitting, or
exaggerating information. According to Miron Zuckerman, Bella DePaulo, and Robert
Rosenthal (1981), there are several behaviors people often display when they are
being deceptive.
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Reduction in eye contact while engaged in a conversation
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Awkward pauses in conversation
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Higher pitch in voice
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Deliberate pronunciation and articulation of words
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Increased delay in response time to a question
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Increased body movements like changes in posture
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Decreased smiling
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Decreased rate of speech
If you notice one of more of these behaviors, you may want to take a closer look. Over
time we learn people’s patterns of speech and behavior, and form a set of expectations.
Variation from their established patterns, combined with the clues above, can serve to
alert you to the possibility that something deserves closer attention. Our nonverbal
responses have a connection to our physiological responses to stress, such as heart
rate, blood pressure, and skin conductivity. Polygraph machines (popularly referred to
as “lie detectors”) focus on these physiological responses and demonstrate anomalies,
or variations. While movies and TV crime shows may make polygraphs look foolproof,
there is significant debate about whether they measure dishonesty with any degree of
accuracy.
Can you train yourself to detect lies? It is unlikely. Our purpose in studying nonverbal
communication is not to uncover dishonesty in others, but rather to help you
understand how to use the nonverbal aspects of communication to increase
understanding.
Key Takeaways
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Nonverbal communication is the process of conveying a message without the use
of words; it relates to the dynamic process of communication, the perception
process and listening, and verbal communication.
Nonverbal communication is fluid and fast, universal, confusing, and contextual.
It can add to or replace verbal communication and can be intentional or
unintentional.
Nonverbal communication communicates feelings and attitudes, and people tend
to believe nonverbal messages more than verbal ones.
Nonverbal communication is everywhere, and we all use it, but that doesn’t
make it simple or independent of when, where, why, or how we communicate.
When a discrepancy exists between what a person says and his/her body
language, you are more likely to believe what you see rather than the spoken
words.
Nonverbal communication can be used as a substitute for verbal communication where there is a
lot of noise.
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Part 2: Functions of Nonverbal Communication
A primary function of nonverbal communication is to convey meaning by reinforcing,
substituting for, or contradicting verbal communication. Nonverbal communication is
also used to influence others and regulate conversational flow. Perhaps even more
important are the ways in which nonverbal communication functions as a central part of
relational communication and identity expression.
Nonverbal Communication:
CONVEYS MEANING
Nonverbal communication conveys meaning by reinforcing, substituting for, or
contradicting verbal communication. As we’ve already learned, verbal and nonverbal
communication are two parts of the same system that often work side by side, helping
us generate meaning. In terms of reinforcing verbal communication, gestures can help
describe a space or shape that another person is unfamiliar with in ways that words
alone cannot. Gestures also reinforce basic meaning—for example, pointing to the door
when you tell someone to leave. Facial expressions reinforce the emotional states we
convey through verbal communication. For example, smiling while telling a funny story
better conveys your emotions (Hargie, 2011). Vocal variation can help us emphasize a
particular part of a message, which helps reinforce a word or sentence’s meaning. For
example, saying “How was your weekend?” conveys a different meaning than “How was
your weekend?”
Nonverbal communication can substitute for verbal communication in a variety of ways.
Nonverbal communication can convey much meaning when verbal communication isn’t
effective because of language barriers. Language barriers are present when a person
hasn’t yet learned to speak or loses the ability to speak. For example, babies who have
not yet developed language skills make facial expressions, at a few months old, that
are similar to those of adults and therefore can generate meaning (Oster et al., 1992).
People who have developed language skills but can’t use them because they have
temporarily or permanently lost them or because they are using incompatible language
codes, like in some cross-cultural encounters, can still communicate nonverbally.
Although it’s always a good idea to learn some of the local language when you travel,
gestures such as pointing or demonstrating the size or shape of something may suffice
in basic interactions.
Nonverbal communication is also useful in a quiet situation where verbal
communication would be disturbing; for example, you may use a gesture to signal to a
friend that you’re ready to leave the library. Crowded or loud places can also impede
verbal communication and lead people to rely more on nonverbal messages. Getting a
server or bartender’s attention with a hand gesture is definitely more polite than
yelling, “Hey you!” Finally, there are just times when we know it’s better not to say
something aloud. If you want to point out a person’s unusual outfit or signal to a friend
that you think his or her date is a loser, you’re probably more likely to do that
nonverbally.
Last, nonverbal communication can convey meaning by contradicting verbal
communication. As we learned earlier, we often perceive nonverbal communication to
be more credible than verbal communication. This is especially true when we
receive mixed messages, or messages in which verbal and nonverbal signals contradict
each other. For example, a person may say, “You can’t do anything right!” in a mean
tone but follow that up with a wink, which could indicate the person is teasing or joking.
Mixed messages lead to uncertainty and confusion on the part of receivers, which leads
us to look for more information to try to determine which message is more credible. If
we are unable to resolve the discrepancy, we are likely to react negatively and
potentially withdraw from the interaction (Hargie, 2011). Persistent mixed messages
can lead to relational distress and hurt a person’s credibility in professional settings.
INFLUENCES OTHERS
Nonverbal communication can be used to influence people in a variety of ways, but the
most common way is through deception—as we mentioned before. While verbal
communication is to blame for the content of the deception, nonverbal communication
partners with the language in deceptive acts to be more convincing. Since most of us
intuitively believe that nonverbal communication is more credible than verbal
communication, we often intentionally try to control our nonverbal communication when
we are engaging in deception. Likewise, we try to evaluate other people’s nonverbal
communication to determine the veracity of their messages. Students initially seem
surprised when we discuss the prevalence of deception, but their surprise diminishes
once they realize that deception isn’t always malevolent, mean, or hurtful. Deception
obviously has negative connotations, but people engage in deception for many reasons,
including to excuse our own mistakes, to be polite to others, or to influence others’
behaviors or perceptions.
The fact that deception served an important evolutionary purpose helps explain its
prevalence among humans today. Species that are capable of deception have a higher
survival rate. Other animals engage in nonverbal deception that helps them attract
mates, hide from predators, and trap prey (Andersen, 1999). To put it bluntly, the
better at deception a creature is, the more likely it is to survive. So, over time, the
humans that were better liars were the ones that got their genes passed on. But the
fact that lying played a part in our survival as a species doesn’t give us a license to lie.
REGULATES CONVERSATIONAL FLOW
Conversational interaction has been likened to a dance, where each person has to make
moves and take turns without stepping on the other’s toes. Nonverbal communication
helps us regulate our conversations so we don’t end up constantly interrupting each
other or waiting in awkward silence between speaker turns.
Pitch, which is a part of vocalics or paralanguage, helps us cue others into our
conversational intentions. A rising pitch typically indicates a question and a falling pitch
indicates the end of a thought or the end of a conversational turn. We can also use a
falling pitch to indicate closure, which can be very useful at the end of a speech to
signal to the audience that you are finished, which cues the applause and prevents an
awkward silence that the speaker ends up filling with “That’s it” or “Thank you.” We
also signal our turn is coming to an end by stopping hand gestures and shifting our eye
contact to the person who we think will speak next (Hargie, 2011). Conversely, we can
“hold the floor” with nonverbal signals even when we’re not exactly sure what we’re
going to say next. Repeating a hand gesture or using one or more verbal fillers can
extend our turn even though we are not verbally communicating at the moment.
AFFECTS RELATIONSHIPS
To successfully relate to other people, we must possess some skill at encoding and
decoding nonverbal communication. The nonverbal messages we send and receive
influence our relationships in positive and negative ways and can work to bring people
together or push them apart. Nonverbal communication in the form of tie signs,
immediacy behaviors, and expressions of emotion are just three of many examples that
illustrate how nonverbal communication affects our relationships.
Tie signs are nonverbal cues that communicate intimacy and signal the connection
between two people. These relational indicators can be objects such as wedding rings or
tattoos that are symbolic of another person or the relationship, actions such as sharing
the same drinking glass, or touch behaviors such as hand-holding (Afifi & Johnson,
2005). Touch behaviors are the most frequently studied tie signs and can communicate
much about a relationship based on the area being touched, the length of time, and the
intensity of the touch. Kisses and hugs, for example, are considered tie signs, but a kiss
on the cheek is different from a kiss on the mouth and a full embrace is different from a
half embrace. If you consider yourself a “people watcher,” take note of the various tie
signs you see people use and what they might say about the relationship.
Immediacy behaviors play a central role in bringing people together and have been
identified by some scholars as the most important function of nonverbal communication
(Andersen & Andersen, 2005). Immediacy behaviors are verbal and nonverbal
behaviors that lessen real or perceived physical and psychological distance between
communicators and include things like smiling, nodding, making eye contact, and
occasionally engaging in social, polite, or professional touch (Comadena et al., 2007).
Immediacy behaviors are a good way of creating rapport, or a friendly and positive
connection between people. Skilled nonverbal communicators are more likely to be able
to create rapport with others due to attention-getting expressiveness, warm initial
greetings, and an ability to get “in tune” with others, which conveys empathy (Riggio,
1992). These skills are important to help initiate and maintain relationships.
While verbal communication is our primary tool for solving problems and providing
detailed instructions, nonverbal communication is our primary tool for communicating
emotions. This makes sense when we remember that nonverbal communication
emerged before verbal communication and was the channel through which we
expressed anger, fear, and love for thousands of years of human history (Andersen,
1999). Touch and facial expressions are two primary ways we express emotions
nonverbally. Love is a primary emotion that we express nonverbally and that forms the
basis of our close relationships. Although no single facial expression for love has been
identified, it is expressed through prolonged eye contact, close interpersonal distances,
increased touch, and increased time spent together, among other things. Given many
people’s limited emotional vocabulary, nonverbal expressions of emotion are central to
our relationships.
IS KEY TO SENDERS AND RECEIVERS
When we first see each other, before anyone says a word, we are already sizing each
other up. Within the first few seconds we have made judgments about each other based
on what we wear, our physical characteristics, even our posture. Are these judgments
accurate? That is hard to know without context, but we can say that nonverbal
communication certainly affects first impressions, for better or worse. When a sender
and receiver first meet, nonverbal communication in terms of space, dress, and even
personal characteristics can contribute to assumed expectations. The expectations
might not be accurate or even fair, but it is important to recognize that they will be
present. There is truth in the saying, “You never get a second chance to make a first
impression.” Since beginnings are fragile times, your attention to aspects you can
control, both verbal and nonverbal, will help contribute to the first step of forming
relationships. Your eye contact, use of space, and degree of formality will continue to
contribute to that relationship.
As a speaker, your nonverbal communication is part of the message and can contribute
to, or detract from, your overall goals. By being aware of them, you can learn to be
more aware and in control.
EXPRESSES OUR IDENTITIES
Nonverbal communication expresses who we are. Our identities (the groups to which
we belong, our cultures, our hobbies and interests, etc.) are conveyed nonverbally
through the way we set up our living and working spaces, the clothes we wear, the way
we carry ourselves, and the accents and tones of our voices. Our physical bodies give
others impressions about who we are, and some of these features are more under our
control than others. Height, for example, has been shown to influence how people are
treated and perceived in various contexts. Our level of attractiveness also influences
our identities and how people perceive us.
Although we can temporarily alter our height or looks—for example, with different
shoes or different color contact lenses—we can only permanently alter these features
using more invasive and costly measures such as cosmetic surgery. We have more
control over some other aspects of nonverbal communication in terms of how we
communicate our identities. For example, the way we carry and present ourselves
through posture, eye contact, and tone of voice can be altered to present ourselves as
warm or distant, depending on the context.
Aside from our physical body, artifacts, which are the objects and possessions that
surround us, also communicate our identities. Examples of artifacts include our clothes,
jewelry, and space decorations. In all the previous examples, implicit norms or explicit
rules can affect how we nonverbally present ourselves. For example, in a particular
workplace it may be a norm (implicit) for people in management positions to dress
casually, or it may be a rule (explicit) that different levels of employees wear different
uniforms or follow particular dress codes. We can also use nonverbal communication to
express identity characteristics that do not match up with who we actually think we are.
Through changes to nonverbal signals, a capable person can try to appear helpless, a
guilty person can try to appear innocent, or an uninformed person can try to appear
credible.
DEMONSTRATES CULTURAL NORMS
We’ve already shown that some nonverbal communication is universal, but the majority
of nonverbal communication is culturally specific. For example, in the predominant US
culture, people place high value on their personal space. In the US people maintain far
greater personal space than those in many other cultures. If someone accidentally
touches you at the grocery store or on the subway s/he is likely to make a special point
to apologize profusely for the violation of your personal space.
Cultural norms of anxiety and fear surrounding issues of crime and terrorism appear to
cause people to be more sensitive to others in public spaces; thus, this example
highlights the importance of culture and context. Contrast this example to norms in
many Asian cultures where frequent touch in crowded public spaces goes unnoticed
because space is not used in the same ways. While teaching in China, one of your
authors went grocery shopping in Beijing. As a westerner, she was shocked that
shoppers would ram their shopping carts into others’ carts when they wanted to move
around them in the aisle. She learned that this was not an indication of rudeness, but a
cultural difference in the negotiation of space. She quickly learned to adapt to using this
new approach to personal space, even though it carries a much different meaning in the
US Nonverbal cues such as touch, eye contact, facial expressions, and gestures are
culture specific and reflect and maintain the values and norms of the cultures in which
they are used.
Have you ever wondered what you are telling people about yourself through your
nonverbal behavior? Or worse, what you are telling yourself about yourself? In this
TEDx Talks video, which has been viewed more than one million times, Ann Washburn
speaks to how our moods and thoughts influence our body language and thus how
people respond to us.
Key Takeaways
•
•
•
•
•
Nonverbal communication affects verbal communication in that it can
complement, reinforce, substitute, or contradict verbal messages.
Nonverbal communication influences others, as it is a key component of
deception and can be used to assert dominance or to engage in compliance
gaining.
Nonverbal communication provides important cues that signal the beginning and
end of conversational turns and facilitates the beginning and end of an
interaction.
Nonverbal communication is a primary means through which we communicate
emotions, establish social bonds, and engage in relational maintenance.
Nonverbal communication expresses who we are through the way we set up our
living and working spaces, the clothes we wear, our personal presentation, and
the tones in our voices.
Kinesics is a type of nonverbal behavior that can be used to reinforce a verbal message, such as
by pointing to an object.
(opens in a new tab)http://www.peakpx.com/472041/left-human-hand-pointing-on-bluemap(opens in a new tab) by Fancycrave, Peakpx
License: Public Domain
Part 3: Types of Nonverbal Communication
Just as verbal language is broken up into various categories, there are also different
types of nonverbal communication. As we learn about each type of nonverbal signal,
keep in mind that nonverbal cues often work in concert with each other, combining to
repeat, modify, or contradict the verbal message being sent.
Kinesics
The word kinesics comes from the root word kinesis, which means “movement,” and
refers to the study of hand, arm, body, and face movements. Specifically, this section
will outline the use of gestures, head movements and posture, eye contact, and facial
expressions as nonverbal communication.
Kinesics can complement the verbal message by reinforcing the main idea. For
example, you may be providing an orientation presentation to a customer about a
software program. As you say, “Click on this tab,” you may also initiate that action.
Your verbal and nonverbal messages reinforce each other. You can also reinforce the
message by repeating it. If you first say, “Click on the tab,” and then motion with your
hand to the right, indicating that the customer should move the cursor arrow with the
mouse to the tab, your repetition can help the listener understand the message.
In addition to repeating your message, kinesics can also regulate conversations.
Nodding your head to indicate that you are listening may encourage the customer to
continue asking questions. Holding your hand up, palm out, may signal them to stop
and provide a pause where you can start to answer. Body movements also substitute or
replace verbal messages. Ekman and Friesen (1967) found that facial features
communicate to others our feelings, but our body movements often reveal how
intensely we experience those feelings.
Kinesics is culture specific. The same body postures and gestures can have different
meanings in different cultures. For instance, holding your hand out, fingers together,
and palm facing outward is a symbol for stop in North America. In Greece, the same
gesture is highly insulting. Crossing your fingers for luck in North America is an obscene
gesture in Vietnam where the crossed fingers are thought to resemble female genitalia.
A thumbs-up in North America might mean approval, but in Thailand it is a sign of
condemnation usually used by children, similar to how children in the United States
stick out their tongue. The A-OK symbol gesture of index finger placed on the thumb
might mean everything is OK in the United Kingdom and United States, but in some
Mediterranean countries, Germany, and Brazil it is the equivalent of calling someone an
ass.
Bowing in Japan communicates many things depending on how it is done. Ojigi, or
Japanese bowing, is used as a greeting, a way to apologize, and a way to show respect.
The degree of the bow indicates the amount of respect. Fifteen degrees is the common
greeting bow for those you already know or those who are on an equal social level as
yourself. A thirty-degree bow is used for people who have a higher social rank, such as
a boss, but not someone to whom you are related. The highest respect bow is forty-five
degrees and used when you apologize.
Sign language is an example of an emblem.
(opens in a new tab)https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1518635289932deb069578dcf?ixlib=rb-0.3.5&q=80&fm=jpg(opens in a new tab) by Derek Thomson, Unsplash
Gestures
There are three main types of gestures: adaptors, emblems, and illustrators (Andersen,
1999, p. 36). As discussed earlier, adaptors are touching behaviors and movements
that indicate internal states typically related to arousal or anxiety.
Emblems are gestures that have a specific agreed-on meaning. These are still different
from the signs used by hearing-impaired people or others who communicate using
American Sign Language (ASL). Even though emblems have a generally agreed-on
meaning, they are not part of a formal sign system like ASL that is explicitly taught to a
group of people. A hitchhiker’s raised thumb, the “OK” sign, and the raised middle
finger are all examples of emblems that have an agreed-on meaning or meanings
within a culture. Emblems can be still or in motion; for example, circling the index
finger around at the side of your head says “He or she is crazy,” or rolling your hands
over and over in front of you says “Move on.”
Just as we can trace the history of a word, or its etymology, we can also trace some
nonverbal signals, especially emblems, to their origins. Holding up the index and middle
fingers in a “V” shape with the palm facing in is an insult gesture in Britain that
basically means “up yours.” This gesture dates back centuries to the period in which the
primary weapon of war was the bow and arrow. When archers were captured, their
enemies would often cut off these two fingers, which was seen as the ultimate insult
and worse than being executed since the archer could no longer shoot his bow and
arrow. So holding up the two fingers was a provoking gesture used by archers to show
their enemies that they still had their shooting fingers (Pease & Pease, 2004).
Illustrators are the most common type of gesture and are used to illustrate the verbal
message they accompany. For example, you might use hand gestures to indicate the
size or shape of an object. Unlike emblems, illustrators do not typically have meaning
on their own and are used more subconsciously than emblems. These largely
involuntary and seemingly natural gestures flow from us as we speak but vary in terms
of intensity and frequency based on context. Although we are never explicitly taught
how to use illustrative gestures, we do it automatically. Think about how you still
gesture when having an animated conversation on the phone even though the other
person can’t see you.
It has long been said the eyes are the window to the soul.
(opens in a new tab)https://unsplash.com/photos/4bmtMXGuVqo(opens in a new tab) by
Alexandru Zdrobău, Unsplash
Head Movements and Posture
We group head movements and posture together because they are often both used to
acknowledge others and communicate interest or attentiveness. In terms of head
movements, a head nod is a universal sign of acknowledgement in cultures where the
formal bow is no longer used as a greeting. In these cases, the head nod essentially
serves as an abbreviated bow. An innate and universal head movement is the
headshake back and forth to signal “no.” This nonverbal signal begins at birth, even
before a baby has the ability to know that it has a corresponding meaning. Babies
shake their head from side to side to reject their mother’s breast and later shake their
head to reject attempts to spoon-feed (Pease & Pease, 2004). This biologically based
movement then sticks with us to be a recognizable signal for “no.” We also move our
head to indicate interest. For example, a head up typically indicates an engaged or
neutral attitude, a head tilt indicates interest and is an innate submission gesture that
exposes the neck and subconsciously makes people feel more trusting of us, and a
head down signals a negative or aggressive attitude (Pease & Pease, 2004).
There are four general human postures: standing, sitting, squatting, and lying down
(Hargie, 2011). Within each of these postures there are many variations, and when
combined with particular gestures or other nonverbal cues they can express many
different meanings.
Eye Contact
We also communicate through eye behaviors, primarily eye contact. While eye
behaviors are often studied under the category of kinesics, they have their own branch
of nonverbal studies called oculesics, which comes from the Latin word oculus,
meaning “eye.” The face and eyes are the main point of focus during communication,
and along with our ears our eyes take in most of the communicative information around
us. The saying “The eyes are the window to the soul” is actually accurate in terms of
where people typically think others are “located,” which is right behind the eyes
(Andersen, 1999). Certain eye behaviors have become tied to personality traits or
emotional states, as illustrated in phrases like “hungry eyes,” “evil eyes,” and “bedroom
eyes.” To better understand oculesics, we will discuss the characteristics and functions
of eye contact and pupil dilation.
Eye contact serves several communicative functions ranging from regulating interaction
to monitoring interaction, to conveying information, to establishing interpersonal
connections. In terms of regulating communication, we use eye contact to signal to
others that we are ready to speak or we use it to cue others to speak. We’ve all been in
that awkward situation where a teacher asks a question, no one else offers a response,
and he or she looks directly at us as if to say, “What do you think?” In that case, the
teacher’s eye contact is used to cue us to respond. During an interaction, eye contact
also changes as we shift from speaker to listener. US Americans typically shift eye
contact while speaking—looking away from the listener and then looking back at his or
her face every few seconds. Toward the end of our speaking turn, we make more direct
eye contact with our listener to indicate that we are finishing up. While listening, we
tend to make more sustained eye contact, not glancing away as regularly as we do
while speaking (Martin & Nakayama, 2010).
Aside from regulating conversations, eye contact is also used to monitor interaction by
taking in feedback and other nonverbal cues and to send information. Our eyes bring in
the visual information we need to interpret people’s movements, gestures, and eye
contact. A speaker can use his or her eye contact to determine if an audience is
engaged, confused, or bored and then adapt his or her message accordingly. Our eyes
also send information to others. People know not to interrupt when we are in deep
thought because we naturally look away from others when we are processing
information. Making eye contact with others also communicates that we are paying
attention and are interested in what another person is saying. Eye contact is a key part
of active listening.
We have social norms about how much eye contact we make with people, and those
norms vary depending on the setting and the person. Staring at another person in
some contexts could communicate intimidation, while in other contexts it could
communicate flirtation. As we learned, eye contact is a key immediacy behavior, and it
signals to others that we are available for communication. Once communication begins,
if it does, eye contact helps establish rapport or connection. We can also use our eye
contact to signal that we do not want to make a connection with others. This list
reviews the specific functions of eye contact:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Regulate interaction and provide turn-taking signals
Monitor communication by receiving nonverbal communication from others
Signal cognitive activity (we look away when processing information)
Express engagement (we show people we are listening with our eyes)
Convey intimidation
Express flirtation
Establish rapport or connection
Interested in oculesics and the study of pupil dilation?
(opens in a new tab)
Even though a photo is a snapshot in time, we can still interpret much meaning from a human
face caught in a moment of expression
See Full Size Image
(opens in a new tab)https://unsplash.com/photos/NTMePVo_Z_I(opens in a new tab) by Pranav
Kumar Jain, Unsplash
Facial Expressions
Our faces are the most expressive part of our bodies. Think of how photos are often
intended to capture a particular expression “in a flash” to preserve for later viewing.
Basic facial expressions are recognizable by humans all over the world. Much research
has supported the universality of a core group of facial expressions: happiness,
sadness, fear, anger, and disgust. The first four are especially identifiable across
cultures (Andersen, 1999). However, the triggers for these expressions and the cultural
and social norms that influence their displays are still culturally diverse. If you’ve spent
much time with babies you know that they’re capable of expressing all these emotions.
Getting to see the pure and innate expressions of joy and surprise on a baby’s face is
what makes playing peek-a-boo so entertaining for adults. As we get older, we learn
and begin to follow display rules for facial expressions and other signals of emotion and
also learn to better control our emotional expression based on the norms of our culture.
Smiles are powerful communicative signals and, as you’ll recall, are a key immediacy
behavior. Although facial expressions are typically viewed as innate and several are
universally recognizable, they are not always connected to an emotional or internal
biological stimulus; they can actually serve a more social purpose. For example, most
of the smiles we produce are primarily made for others and are not just an involuntary
reflection of an internal emotional state (Andersen, 1999). These social smiles,
however, are slightly but perceptibly different from more genuine smiles. People
generally perceive smiles as more genuine when the other person smiles “with their
eyes.” This particular type of smile is difficult if not impossible to fake because the
muscles around the eye that are activated when we spontaneously or genuinely smile
are not under our voluntary control. It is the involuntary and spontaneous contraction
of these muscles that moves the skin around our cheeks, eyes, and nose to create a
smile that’s distinct from a fake or polite smile Evans, 2001). People are able to
distinguish the difference between these smiles, which is why photographers often
engage in cheesy joking with adults or use props with children to induce a genuine
smile before they snap a picture.
Touch can have a powerful effect in our communication both positively and negatively,
depending on the situation and the context.
(opens in a new tab)https://unsplash.com/photos/rTwhmFSoXC8(opens in a new tab) by Rosie
Fraser, Unsplash
Haptics
Think of how touch has the power to comfort someone in moments of sorrow when
words alone cannot. This positive power of touch is countered by the potential for touch
to be threatening because of its connection to sex and violence. To learn about the
power of touch, we turn to haptics, which refers to the study of communication by
touch. We probably get more explicit advice and instruction on how to use touch than
any other form of nonverbal communication. A lack of nonverbal communication
competence related to touch could have negative interpersonal consequences; for
example, if we don’t follow the advice we’ve been given about the importance of a firm
handshake, a person might make negative judgments about our confidence or
credibility. A lack of competence could have more dire negative consequences, including
legal punishment, if we touch someone inappropriately (intentionally or
unintentionally). Touch is necessary for human social development, and it can be
welcoming, threatening, or persuasive. Research projects have found that students
evaluated a library and its staff more favorably if the librarian briefly touched the
patron while returning his or her library card, that female restaurant servers received
larger tips when they touched patrons, and that people were more likely to sign a
petition when the petitioner touched them during their interaction (Andersen, 1999).
There are several types of touch, including functional-professional, social-polite,
friendship-warmth, love-intimacy, and sexual-arousal touch (Heslin & Apler, 1983). At
the functional-professional level, touch is related to a goal or part of a routine
professional interaction, which makes it less threatening and more expected. For
example, we let barbers, hairstylists, doctors, nurses, tattoo artists, and security
screeners touch us in ways that would otherwise be seen as intimate or inappropriate if
not in a professional context. At the social-polite level, socially sanctioned touching
behaviors help initiate interactions and show that others are included and respected. A
handshake, a pat on the arm, and a pat on the shoulder are examples of social-polite
touching. A handshake is actually an abbreviated hand-holding gesture, but we know
that prolonged hand-holding would be considered too intimate and therefore
inappropriate at the functional-professional or social-polite level. At the functionalprofessional and social-polite levels, touch still has interpersonal implications. The
touch, although professional and not intimate, between hair stylist and client, or
between nurse and patient, has the potential to be therapeutic and comforting. In
addition, a social-polite touch exchange plays into initial impression formation, which
can have important implications for how an interaction and a relationship unfold.
Of course, touch is also important at more intimate levels. At the friendship-warmth
level, touch is more important and more ambiguous than at the social-polite level. At
this level, touch interactions are important because they serve a relational maintenance
purpose and communicate closeness, liking, care, and concern. The types of touching at
this level also vary greatly from more formal and ritualized to more intimate, which
means friends must sometimes negotiate their own comfort level with various types of
touch and may encounter some ambiguity if their preferences don’t match up with their
relational partner’s. In a friendship, for example, too much touch can signal sexual or
romantic interest, and too little touch can signal distance or unfriendliness.
At the love-intimacy level, touch is more personal and is typically only exchanged
between significant others, such as best friends, close family members, and romantic
partners. Touching faces, holding hands, and full frontal embraces are examples of
touch at this level. Although this level of touch is not sexual, it does enhance feelings of
closeness and intimacy and can lead to sexual-arousal touch, which is the most
intimate form of touch, as it is intended to physically stimulate another person.
Paralanguage can be used to communicate nuances in the meaning of a verbal message.
(opens in a new tab)https://unsplash.com/photos/ASKeuOZqhYU(opens in a new tab) by Jason
Rosewell, Unsplash
Vocalics
We learned earlier that paralanguage refers to the vocalized but nonverbal parts of a
message. Vocalics is the study of paralanguage, which includes the vocal qualities that
go along with verbal messages, such as pitch, volume, rate, vocal quality, and verbal
fillers (Andersen, 1999).
Pitch helps convey meaning, regulate conversational flow, and communicate the
intensity of a message. Even babies recognize a sentence with a higher pitched ending
as a question. We also learn that greetings have a rising emphasis and farewells have
falling emphasis. Of course, no one ever tells us these things explicitly; we learn them
through observation and practice. We do not pick up on some more subtle and/or
complex patterns of paralanguage involving pitch until we are older. Children, for
example, have a difficult time perceiving sarcasm, which is usually conveyed through
paralinguistic characteristics like pitch and tone rather than the actual words being
spoken. Children and adults with lower than average intelligence have difficulty reading
sarcasm in another person’s voice and instead may interpret the message literally
(Andersen, 1999).
Paralanguage provides important context for the verbal content of speech. For
example, volume helps communicate intensity. A louder voice is usually thought of as
more intense, although a soft voice combined with a certain tone and facial expression
can be just as intense. We typically adjust our volume based on our setting, the
distance between people, and the relationship. In our age of computer-mediated
communication, TYPING IN ALL CAPS is usually seen as offensive, as it is equated with
yelling. A voice at a low volume or a whisper can be very appropriate when sending a
covert message or flirting with a romantic partner, but it wouldn’t enhance a person’s
credibility if used during a professional presentation.
Speaking rate refers to how fast or slow a person speaks and can lead others to form
impressions about our emotional state, credibility, and intelligence. As with volume,
variations in speaking rate can interfere with the ability of others to receive and
understand verbal messages. A slow speaker could bore others and lead their attention
to wander. A fast speaker may be difficult to follow, and a fast delivery can actually
distract from the message. Speaking a little faster than the normal 120–150 words a
minute, however, can be beneficial, as people tend to find speakers whose rate is above
average more credible and intelligent Buller & Burgoon, 1986). When speaking at a
faster-than-normal rate, it is important that a speaker also clearly articulate and
pronounce his or her words. A higher rate of speech combined with a pleasant tone of
voice can also be beneficial for compliance gaining and can aid in persuasion.
Our tone of voice can be controlled somewhat with pitch, volume, and emphasis, but
each voice has a distinct quality known as a vocal signature. Voices vary in terms of
resonance, pitch, and tone, and some voices are more pleasing than others. People
typically find pleasing voices that employ vocal variety and are not monotone, are lower
pitched (particularly for males), and do not exhibit particular regional accents. Many
people perceive nasal voices negatively and assign negative personality characteristics
to them (Anderson, 1999). Think about people who have very distinct voices. Whether
they are a public figure like former President Bill Clinton, a celebrity like Snooki from
the Jersey Shore, or a fictional character like Peter Griffin from Family Guy, some
people’s voices stick with us and make a favorable or unfavorable impression.
Verbal fillers are sounds that fill gaps in our speech as we think about what to say
next. They are considered a part of nonverbal communication because they are not like
typical words that stand in for a specific meaning or meanings. Verbal fillers such as
“um,” “uh,” “like,” and “ah” are common in regular conversation and are not typically
disruptive. As we learned earlier, the use of verbal fillers can help a person “keep the
floor” during a conversation if they need to pause for a moment to think before
continuing on with verbal communication. Verbal fillers in more formal settings, like a
public speech, can hurt a speaker’s credibility.
How near or far we sit or stand from one another sends a message as to the intimacy of a
relationship.
(opens in a new tab)https://unsplash.com/photos/4xe-yVFJCvw(opens in a new tab) by Toa
Heftiba, Unsplash
Proxemics
Proxemics refers to the study of how space and distance influence communication. We
only need look at the ways in which space shows up in common metaphors to see that
space, communication, and relationships are closely related. For example, when we are
content with and attracted to someone, we say we are “close” to him or her. When we
lose connection with someone, we may say he or she is “distant.” In general, space
influences how people communicate and behave. Smaller spaces with a higher density
of people often lead to breaches of our personal space bubbles. If this is a setting in
which this type of density is expected beforehand, like at a crowded concert or on a
train during rush hour, then we make various communicative adjustments to manage
the space issue. Unexpected breaches of personal space can lead to negative reactions,
especially if we feel someone has violated our space voluntarily, meaning that a
crowding situation didn’t force them into our space. Additionally, research has shown
that crowding can lead to criminal or delinquent behavior, known as a “mob mentality”
(Andersen, 1999). To better understand how proxemics functions in nonverbal
communication, we will more closely examine the proxemic distances associated with
personal space and the concept of territoriality.
Space is often associated with social rank and is an important part of business
communication. Who gets the corner office? Why is the head of the table important and
who gets to sit there? People from diverse cultures may have different normative space
expectations. If you are from a large urban area, having people stand close to you may
be normal. If you are from a rural area or a culture where people expect more space,
someone may be standing “too close” for comfort and not know it.
In The Hidden Dimension, Edward T. Hall (1963) identified two main aspects of space:
territory and personal space. Hall drew on anthropology to address the concepts of
dominance and submission, and noted that the more powerful person often claims more
space. This plays an important role in modern society, from who gets the corner office
to how we negotiate space between vehicles. Road rage is increasingly common
where overcrowding occurs, and as more vehicles occupy the same roads, tensions over
space are predictable. The second aspect Hall highlights is personal space, or the
“bubble” of space surrounding each individual.
We recognize the basic need for personal space, but the normative expectations for
space vary greatly by culture. You may perceive that in your home people sleep one to
each bed, but in many cultures people sleep two or more to a bed and it is considered
normal. If you were to share that bed, you might feel uncomfortable, while someone
raised with group sleeping norms might feel uncomfortable sleeping alone.
“Four Main Categories of Distance” Figure
Creative Commons by Hall, E. (1966). The hidden dimension. New York, NY:
Doubleday. is licensed under CC BY 4.0(opens in a new tab).
Proxemic Distances
We all have varying definitions of what our “personal space” is, and these definitions
are contextual and depend on the situation and the relationship. Although our bubbles
are invisible, people are socialized into the norms of personal space within their cultural
group. Scholars have identified four zones for US Americans, which are public, social,
personal, and intimate distance (Hall, 1968, pp. 83-95). The zones are more elliptical
than circular, taking up more space in our front, where our line of sight is, than at our
side or back where we can’t monitor what people are doing. You can see how these
zones relate to each other and to the individual in Figure 8.3 “Proxemic Zones of
Personal Space.” Even within a particular zone, interactions may differ depending on
whether someone is in the outer or inner part of the zone.
“Proxemic Zones of Personal Space” Figure
(opens in a new tab)Kinesics, Haptics and Proxemics: Aspects of Non-Verbal Communication,
2015(opens in a new tab) by Dr. Anjali Hans, Mr.Emmanuel Hans, Journals Iosr
Most speeches are performed within the public proxemic zone of personal space.
(opens in a new tab)https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1541703562-95f3c406329c?ixlib=rb0.3.5&ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjEyMDd9&s=fc02eaa88b0d50b744bb96ba75e806e5&w=1000&q=80(
opens in a new tab) by Ben Konfrst, Unsplash
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Public Space (12 Feet or More)
Public and social zones refer to the space four or more feet away from our body, and
the communication that typically occurs in these zones is formal and not intimate.
Public space starts about twelve feet from a person and extends out from there. This is
the least personal of the four zones and would typically be used when a person is
engaging in a formal speech and is removed from the audience to allow the audience to
see or when a high-profile or powerful person like a celebrity or executive maintains
such a distance as a sign of power or for safety and security reasons. In terms of
regular interaction, we are often not obligated or expected to acknowledge or interact
with people who enter our public zone. It would be difficult to have a deep conversation
with someone at this level because you have to speak louder and don’t have the
physical closeness that is often needed to promote emotional closeness and/or establish
rapport.
•
Social Space (4–12 Feet)
Communication that occurs in the social zone, which is four to twelve feet away from
our body, is typically in the context of a professional or casual interaction, but not
intimate or public. This distance is preferred in many professional settings because it
reduces the suspicion of any impropriety. The expression “keep someone at an arm’s
length” means that someone is kept out of the personal space and kept in the
social/professional space. If two people held up their arms and stood so just the tips of
their fingers were touching, they would be around four feet away from each other,
which is perceived as a safe distance because the possibility for intentional or
unintentional touching doesn’t exist. It is also possible to have people in the outer
portion of our social zone but not feel obligated to interact with them, but when people
come much closer than six feet to us then we often feel obligated to at least
acknowledge their presence.
•
Personal Space (1.5-4 Feet)
Personal and intimate zones refer to the space that starts at our physical body and
extends four feet. These zones are reserved for friends, close acquaintances, and
significant others. Much of our communication occurs in the personal zone, which is
what we typically think of as our “personal space bubble” and extends from 1.5 feet to
4 feet away from our body. Even though we are getting closer to the physical body of
another person, we may use verbal communication at this point to signal that our
presence in this zone is friendly and not intimate. Even people who know each other
could be uncomfortable spending too much time in this zone unnecessarily. Intimate
Space
•
Intimate Zone
As we breach the invisible line that is 1.5 feet from our body, we enter the intimate
zone, which is reserved for only the closest friends, family, and romantic/intimate
partners. It is impossible to completely ignore people when they are in this space, even
if we are trying to pretend that we’re ignoring them. A breach of this space can be
comforting in some contexts and annoying or frightening in others. We need regular
human contact that isn’t just verbal but also physical. We have already discussed the
importance of touch in nonverbal communication, and in order for that much-needed
touch to occur, people have to enter our intimate space. Being close to someone and
feeling their physical presence can be very comforting when words fail. There are also
social norms regarding the amount of this type of closeness that can be displayed in
public, as some people get uncomfortable even seeing others interacting in the intimate
zone.
So what happens when our space is violated? Although these zones are well established
in research for personal space preferences of US Americans, individuals vary in terms of
their reactions to people entering certain zones, and determining what constitutes a
“violation” of space is subjective and contextual. For example, another person’s
presence in our social or public zones doesn’t typically arouse suspicion or negative
physical or communicative reactions, but it could in some situations or with certain
people. However, many situations lead to our personal and intimate space being
breached by others against our will, and these breaches are more likely to be upsetting,
even when they are expected. Interestingly, as we will learn in our discussion of
territoriality, we do not often use verbal communication to defend our personal space
during regular interactions. Instead, we rely on more nonverbal communication like
moving, crossing our arms, or avoiding eye contact to deal with breaches of space.
Public territories are open to all people.
(opens in a new tab)https://unsplash.com/photos/F7I6sexmIS8(opens in a new tab) by Jurriaan
Snikkers, Unsplash
Territoriality
Territoriality is an innate drive to take up and defend spaces. This drive is shared by
many creatures and entities, ranging from packs of animals to individual humans to
nations. Whether it’s a gang territory, a neighborhood claimed by a particular
salesperson, your preferred place to sit in a restaurant, your usual desk in the
classroom, or the seat you’ve marked to save while getting concessions at a sporting
event, we claim certain spaces as our own. There are three main divisions for territory:
primary, secondary, and public (Hargie, 2011). Sometimes our claim to a space is
official. These spaces are known as our primary territories because they are marked or
understood to be exclusively ours and under our control. A person’s house, yard, room,
desk, side of the bed, or shelf in the medicine cabinet could be considered primary
territories.
Secondary territories don’t belong to us and aren’t exclusively under our control, but
they are associated with us, which may lead us to assume that the space will be open
and available to us when we need it without us taking any further steps to reserve it.
This happens in classrooms regularly. Students often sit in the same desk or at least
same general area as they did on the first day of class. There may be some small
adjustments during the first couple of weeks, but by a month into the semester, most
students stay where they are voluntarily. When someone else takes a student’s regular
desk, she or he is typically annoyed. If you visit the classroom and unintentionally take
someone’s seat, you may be met by the confused or even glaring eyes of a student
whose routine is suddenly interrupted when they see someone sitting in “their seat.”
People are allowed to mark public territory and use it for a limited period of time, but
space is often up for grabs, which makes public space difficult to manage for some
people and can lead to conflict. To avoid this type of situation, people use a variety of
objects that are typically recognized by others as nonverbal cues that mark a place as
temporarily reserved—for example, jackets, bags, papers, or a drink. There is some
ambiguity in the use of markers, though. A half-empty cup of coffee may be seen as
trash and thrown away, which would be an annoying surprise to a person who left it to
mark his or her table while visiting the restroom. One scholar’s informal observations
revealed that a full drink sitting on a table could reserve a space in a university
cafeteria for more than an hour, but a cup only half full usually only worked as a
marker of territory for less than ten minutes. People have to decide how much value
they want their marker to have. Obviously, leaving a laptop on a table indicates that
the table is occupied, but it could also lead to the laptop getting stolen. A pencil, on the
other hand, could just be moved out of the way and the space usurped.
Our perception of time influences our social realities and how we interact with others.
(opens in a new tab)https://unsplash.com/photos/VseKs0m_SeA(opens in a new tab) by Daria
Volkova, Unsplash
Chronemics
Chronemics refers to the study of how time affects communication. Time can be
classified into several different categories, including biological, personal, physical, and
cultural time (Andersen, 1999). Biological time refers to the rhythms of living things.
Humans follow a circadian rhythm, meaning that we are on a daily cycle that influences
when we eat, sleep, and wake. When our natural rhythms are disturbed, by allnighters, jet lag, or other scheduling abnormalities, our physical and mental health and
our communication competence and personal relationships can suffer. Keep biological
time in mind as you communicate with others. Remember that early morning
conversations and speeches may require more preparation to get yourself awake
enough to communicate well and a more patient or energetic delivery to accommodate
others who may still be getting warmed up for their day.
Personal time refers to the ways in which individuals experience time. The way we
experience time varies based on our mood, our interest level, and other factors. Think
about how quickly time passes when you are interested in and therefore engaged in
something. You might have had a fifty-minute class that seemed to drag on forever and
a three-hour class that zipped by. Individuals also vary based on whether or not they
are future or past oriented. People with past-time orientations may want to reminisce
about the past, reunite with old friends, and put considerable time into preserving
memories and keepsakes in scrapbooks and photo albums. People with future-time
orientations may spend the same amount of time making career and personal plans,
writing out to-do lists, or researching future vacations, potential retirement spots, or
what book they’re going to read next.
Physical time refers to the fixed cycles of days, years, and seasons. Physical time,
especially seasons, can affect our mood and psychological states. Some people
experience seasonal affective disorder that leads them to experience emotional distress
and anxiety during the changes of seasons, primarily from warm and bright to dark and
cold (summer to fall and winter).
Cultural time refers to how a large group of people view time. As we discussed in
Lesson 3, people from monochronic cultures view time as a linear progression that
needs to be divided into small units and scheduled in advance. Polychronic cultures
keep more flexible schedules and may engage in several activities at once. Monochronic
people tend to schedule their time more rigidly and do one thing at a time. A
monochronic or polychronic orientation to time influences our social realities and how
we interact with others.
Additionally, the way we use time depends in some ways on our status. For example,
doctors can make their patients wait for extended periods of time, and executives and
celebrities may run consistently behind schedule, making others wait for them.
Promptness and the amount of time that is socially acceptable for lateness and waiting
varies among individuals and contexts. Chronemics also covers the amount of time we
spend talking. We’ve already learned that conversational turns and turn-taking patterns
are influenced by social norms and help our conversations progress. We all know how
annoying it can be when a person dominates a conversation or when we can’t get a
person to contribute anything.
How aware you are of time varies by culture and normative expectations of adherence
(or ignorance) of time. Some people, and the communities and cultures they represent,
are very time-oriented. The Euro Railway trains in Germany are famous for departing
and arriving according to the schedule. In contrast, if you take the train in Argentina,
you’ll find that the schedule is more of an approximation of when the train will leave or
arrive.
Chronemics is the study of how we refer to and perceive time. Tom Bruneau at Radford
University has spent a lifetime investigating how time interacts in communication and
culture (1974, 1988). As he notes, across Western society, time is often considered the
equivalent of money. The value of speed is highly prized in some societies (Schwartz,
1989). In others, there is a great respect for slowing down and taking a long-term view
of time. When you order a meal at a fast food restaurant, what are your expectations
for how long you will have to wait? When you order a pizza online for delivery, when do
you expect it will arrive? If you order cable service for your home, when do you expect
it might be delivered? In the first case, you might measure the delivery of a hamburger
in a matter of seconds or minutes, and perhaps thirty minutes for pizza delivery, but
you may measure the time from your order to working cable in days or even weeks.
You may even have to be at your home from 8 a.m. to noon, waiting for its installation.
The expectations vary by context, and we often grow frustrated in a time-sensitive
culture when the delivery does not match our expectations.
Across cultures the value of time may vary. Some Mexican American friends may invite
you to a barbecue at 8 p.m., but when you arrive you are the first guest, because it is
understood that the gathering actually doesn’t start until after 9 p.m. Similarly in
France, an 8 p.m. party invitation would be understood to indicate you should arrive
around 8:30, but in Sweden 8 p.m. means 8 p.m., and latecomers may not be
welcome. Some Native Americans, particularly elders, speak in well-measured phrases
and take long pauses between phrases. They do not hurry their speech or compete for
their turn, knowing no one will interrupt them (McLean, 1998). Some Orthodox Jews
observe religious days when they do not work, cook, drive, or use electricity. People
around the world have different ways of expressing value for time.
Physical appearance is a form of nonverbal communication over which we have limited control.
Nonetheless, we can strategically use this powerful form of nonverbal behavior to communicate
our values to others.
(opens in a new tab)https://unsplash.com/photos/_3Q3tsJ01nc(opens in a new tab) by
Freestocks.org, Unsplash
Personal Presentation and the Environment
Personal presentation involves two components: our physical characteristics and the
artifacts with which we adorn and surround ourselves. Physical
characteristics include body shape, height, weight, attractiveness, and other physical
features of our bodies. We do not have as much control over how these nonverbal cues
are encoded as we do with many other aspects of nonverbal communication. These
characteristics play a large role in initial impression formation even though we know
we “shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.” Although ideals of attractiveness vary among
cultures and individuals, research consistently indicates that people who are deemed
attractive based on physical characteristics have distinct advantages in many aspects of
life. This fact, along with media images that project often unrealistic ideals of beauty,
have contributed to booming health and beauty, dieting, gym, and plastic surgery
industries.
Artifacts are forms of decorative ornamentation that are chosen to represent selfconcept. They can include rings and tattoos, but may also include brand names and
logos. From clothes to cars, watches, briefcases, purses, and even eyeglasses, what we
choose to surround ourselves with communicates something about our sense of self.
They may project gender, role or position, class or status, personality, and group
membership or affiliation.
You didn’t choose your birth, your eye color, the natural color of your hair, or your
height, but people spend millions every year trying to change their physical
characteristics. Have you ever heard that taller people get paid more (Burnham &
Phelan, 2000)? There is some truth to that idea. There is also some truth to the notion
that people prefer symmetrical faces (where both sides are equal) over asymmetrical
faces (with unequal sides; like a crooked nose or having one eye or ear slightly higher
than the other) (Burnham & Phelan, 2000).
Clothes, jewelry, visible body art, hairstyles, and other political, social, and cultural
symbols send messages to others about who we are. In the United States, body
piercings and tattoos have been shifting from subcultural to mainstream over the past
few decades. The physical location, size, and number of tattoos and piercings play a
large role in whether or not they are deemed appropriate for professional contexts, and
many people with tattoos and/or piercings make conscious choices about when and
where they display their body art. Hair also sends messages, whether it is on our heads
or our bodies. Men with short hair are generally judged to be more conservative than
men with long hair, while men with shaved heads may be seen as aggressive. Whether
a person has a part in their hair, a mohawk, faux-hawk, ponytail, curls, or bright pink
hair also sends nonverbal signals to others.
Jewelry can also send messages with varying degrees of direct meaning. A ring on the
“ring finger” of a person’s left hand typically indicates that they are married or in an
otherwise committed relationship. A thumb ring or a right-hand ring on the “ring finger”
doesn’t send such a direct message. People also adorn their clothes, body, or
belongings with religious or cultural symbols, like a cross to indicate a person’s
Christian faith or a rainbow flag to indicate that a person is gay, lesbian, bisexual,
transgender, queer, or an ally to one or more of those groups.
Last, the environment in which we interact affects our verbal and nonverbal
communication. Environment involves the physical and psychological aspects of
the communication context. This is included because we can often manipulate the
nonverbal environment similar to how we would manipulate our gestures or tone of
voice to suit our communicative needs. The books that we display on our coffee table,
the magazines a doctor keeps in his or her waiting room, the placement of fresh flowers
in a foyer, or a piece of mint chocolate on a hotel bed pillow all send particular
messages and can easily be changed. The placement of objects and furniture in a
physical space can help create a formal, distant, friendly, or intimate climate. In terms
of formality, we can use nonverbal communication to convey dominance and
status, which helps define and negotiate power and roles within relationships. Fancy
cars and expensive watches can serve as symbols that distinguish a CEO from an entrylevel employee. A room with soft lighting, a small fountain that creates ambient sounds
of water flowing, and a comfy chair can help facilitate interactions between a therapist
and a patient. In summary, whether we know it or not, our physical characteristics and
the artifacts that surround us communicate much.
Key Takeaways
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Kinesics refers to body movements and posture and includes the following
components:
o Gestures are arm and hand movements and include adaptors like clicking
a pen or scratching your face, emblems like a thumbs-up to say “OK,” and
illustrators like bouncing your hand along with the rhythm of your
speaking.
o Head movements and posture include the orientation of movements of our
head and the orientation and positioning of our body and the various
meanings they send. Head movements can indicate agreement,
disagreement, and interest, among other things. Posture can indicate
assertiveness, defensiveness, interest, readiness, or intimidation, among
other things.
Eye contact is studied under the category of oculesics and specifically refers to
eye contact with another person’s face, head, and eyes and the patterns of
looking away and back at the other person during interaction. Eye contact
provides turn-taking signals, signals when we are engaged in cognitive activity,
and helps establish rapport and connection, among other things.
Facial expressions refer to the use of the forehead, brow, and facial muscles
around the nose and mouth to convey meaning. Facial expressions can convey
happiness, sadness, fear, anger, and other emotions.
Haptics refers to touch behaviors that convey meaning during interactions. Touch
operates at many levels, including functional-professional, social-polite,
friendship-warmth, and love-intimacy.
Vocalics refers to the vocalized but not verbal aspects of nonverbal
communication, including our speaking rate, pitch, volume, tone of voice, and
vocal quality. These qualities, also known as paralanguage, reinforce the
meaning of verbal communication, allow us to emphasize particular parts of a
message, or can contradict verbal messages.
Proxemics refers to the use of space and distance within communication. US
Americans, in general, have four zones that constitute our personal space: the
public zone (12 or more feet from our body), social zone (4–12 feet from our
body), personal zone (1.5–4 feet from our body), and intimate zone (from body
contact to 1.5 feet away). Proxemics also studies territoriality, or how people
take up and defend personal space.
Chronemics refers to the study of how time affects communication and includes
how different time cycles affect our communication, including the differences
between people who are past or future oriented and cultural perspectives on
time as fixed and measured (monochronic) or fluid and adaptable (polychronic).
Personal presentation and environment refers to how the objects we adorn
ourselves and our surroundings with, referred to as artifacts, provide nonverbal
cues that others make meaning from and how our physical environment—for
example, the layout of a room and seating positions and arrangements—
influences communication.
Part 5: Nonverbal Communication and Culture
As with other aspects of communication, norms for nonverbal communication vary from
country to country and also among cultures within a particular country. We’ve already
learned that some nonverbal communication behaviors appear to be somewhat innate
because they are universally recognized. Two such universal signals are the “eyebrow
flash” of recognition when we see someone we know and the open hand and the palm
up gesture that signals a person would like something or needs help (Martin &
Nakayama, 2010). Smiling is also a universal nonverbal behavior, but the triggers that
lead a person to smile vary from culture to culture. The expansion of media, particularly
from the United States and other Western countries around the world, is leading to
more nonverbal similarities among cultures, but the biggest cultural differences in
nonverbal communication occur within the categories of eye contact, touch, and
personal space (Pease & Pease, 2004). Next, we will overview some interesting and
instructive differences within several of the channels of nonverbal communication that
we have discussed so far. As you read, remember that these are not absolute, in that
nonverbal communication, like other forms of communication, is influenced by context
and varies among individuals within a particular cultural group as well.
“Continuum from Low Context Culture to High Context Culture” Figure
(opens in a new tab)High Context VS. Low Context Culture(opens in a new tab) by pngix
Communication Context and Nonverbal Behavior
How does nonverbal behavior differ across cultures? How does its purpose and function
vary between individualistic and collectivistic cultures? Based on what you have learned
about cultures, what types of culture do you think rely more extensively on the use of
nonverbal behavior and why? What does nonverbal communication have to do with
power distance?
Needless to say, nonverbal behavior (e.g., body language) not only has different
meanings from culture to culture, but the extent to which a culture relies on the use of
nonverbal code to communicate meaning differs substantially among cultures. As you
may recall from Lesson 3, high-context cultures rely significantly on the context of the
communication; for example, the setting and the relationship among participants helps
to decipher meaning. As such, one can read the messages being sent without the need
for words. Low-context cultures, on the other hand, rely on words for meaning. In this
case, they listen for information based on how the speaker (or writer) articulates a
message through words. Before we end this lesson, let’s take a moment to review some
of the cross-cultural differences seen in the major forms of nonverbal communication.
Pay particular attention to how these forms of nonverbal communication differ in highand low-context cultures.
Here is an interesting 5-minute YouTube about how silence is used as a form of
nonverbal communication, using examples between the US and Japan. This video
further illustrates the relationship between low-context cultures (US) that rely more
extensively on language as a form of communication, and high-context cultures
(Japan), which focus on the use of nonverbal behavior or context for meaning.
Gestures using our hands need to be understood within the context of culture; the same gesture
may mean two very different things across cultures.
(opens in a new tab)https://unsplash.com/photos/tpt02VTBHXs(opens in a new tab) by Nicole
Baster, Unsplash
Gestures
As you may recall from earlier in this lesson, emblems are gestures that correspond to
a word and an agreed-on meaning. When we use our fingers to count, we are using
emblematic gestures, but even our way of counting varies among cultures (Pease &
Pease, 2004, p. 108). British people and US Americans could be separated from French,
Greek, and German people based on a simple and common gesture. Let’s try this
exercise: First, display with your hand the number five. Second, keeping the five
displayed, change it to a two. If you are from the United States or Britain you are
probably holding up your index finder and your middle finger. If you are from another
European country you are probably holding up your thumb and index finger. While
Americans and Brits start counting on their index finger and end with five on their
thumb, other Europeans start counting on their thumb and end with five on their pinky
finger.
How you use your hands can also get you into trouble if you’re unaware of cultural
differences (Pease & Pease, 2004). For example, the “thumbs up” gesture, as we just
learned, can mean “one” in mainland Europe, but it also means “up yours” in Greece
(when thrust forward) and is recognized as a signal for hitchhiking or “good,” “good
job/way to go,” or “OK” in many other cultures. Two hands up with the palms out can
signal “ten” in many Western countries and is recognized as a signal for “I’m telling the
truth” or “I surrender” in many cultures. The same gesture, however, means “up yours
twice” in Greece. So using that familiar gesture to say you surrender might actually end
up escalating rather than ending a conflict if used in Greece.
Head Movements
Bowing is a nonverbal greeting ritual that is more common in Asian cultures than
Western cultures, but the head nod, which is a common form of acknowledgement in
many cultures, is actually an abbreviated bow. Japan is considered a noncontact
culture, which refers to cultural groups in which people stand farther apart while
talking, make less eye contact, and touch less during regular interactions. Because of
this, bowing is the preferred nonverbal greeting over handshaking. Bows vary based on
status, with higher status people bowing the least. For example, in order to indicate the
status of another person, a Japanese businessperson may bow deeply. An interesting
ritual associated with the bow is the exchange of business cards when greeting
someone in Japan. This exchange allows each person to view the other’s occupation
and title, which provides useful information about the other’s status and determines
who should bow more. Since bowing gives each person a good view of the other
person’s shoes, it is very important to have clean shoes that are in good condition,
since they play an important part of initial impression formati…