Unit5 Nonverbal Communication

Friday, April 12, 2013

An idiom

• There is a language in her eyes, her cheeks, her lip, and her feet.

—Shakespeare

Nonverbal Communication

categories function

Kinesics

Oculesics

Facial expression

Complement the verbal message

Contradict the verbal message

Regulate the interaction

Substitute for the verbal channel

Reading One

• Ⅰ. Significance of Nonverbal Communication

① Nonverbal behavior accounts for much of the meaning we derive from conversation.

② Nonverbal behavior is significant because it spontaneously reflects the subconscious.

③ Sometimes we cannot communicate.

cognitive &. affective content

• Ⅱ. Kinesics: Our Body Language• gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, body

positions, body movements, and forms of greeting and their relationship to communication

• Ⅲ. Oculesics• eye behavior• Ⅳ. Facial Expression• 6 universal emotions: sadness, happiness, disgust,

anger, and fear (neurophysiological)

Activity – What?

• Explain the following items with your body language, no words (spoken or written form)

• Requirements• 1.Pair work• 2. A student use the body language to explain the

item to B from the PPT.• 3. B student faces the class when A see the picture

and then turn around to guess what does A mean. • 4. the pair that can guess the more items in one

minute will be the winner.

reading

Complain in telephone

Thumb a lift

校长喻世友 Canteen

Hand-pulled noodle

Reading Two

• Nonverbal Communication and Intercultural Competence

• norm: standard, eg. of behavior or ability that is regarded as average or generally acceptable

Those gestures we love when we are taking photos

The Head Tilt

makes a person appear smaller and more submissive

The cowboy stance - his fingers point at what he wants you to notice

crosses one’s arms across the chest - opposition

• An American engineer, sent to Germany by his U.S. company who had purchased a German firm, was working side by side with a German engineer on a piece of equipment. When the American engineer made a suggestion for improving the new machine, the German engineer followed the suggestion and asked his American counterpart whether or not he had done it correctly. The American replied by giving the U.S. American “OK” gesture, making a circle with the thumb and forefinger. The German engineer put down his tools and walked away, refusing further communication with the American engineer.

• The American later learned from one of the supervisors the significance of this gesture to a German: “You asshole.”

Misunderstanding“OK”

Gesturing in Various Cultures• spitting on another person is a sign of

contempt in Europe and North America but can be an affectionate blessing if done in a certain way among the Masai of Kenya(肯尼亚 ).

• The “V” for victory gesture, holding two fingers upright, with palm and fingers faced outward, is widely used in the U.S. and many other countries. In England, however, it is a crude connotation when used with the palm in.

• 美国人伸出食指，表示一，德国人认为是指二

• The vertical horns gesture (raised fist, index finger and little finger extended) has a positive connotation associated with the University of Texas Longhorn football team. This gesture has an insulting connotation in Italy, but in Brazil and Venezuela it is a sign for good luck. In other cultures, such as Italy and Malta, the horns are a symbol to ward off evil spirits.

• finger quote-mark gesture•

What’s the gesture?

Clasp your hands or

Cross your fingers √

• Fingers crossed

A symbol for good luck or giving the user the

ability to lie

• Suggestions: P66-67

① No set of behaviors is universally correct.

② Monitor your emotional reactions to differences in nonverbal behaviors

③ Observation of general tendencies

④ Be tentative in your interpretations and generalizations

⑤ Look for exceptions to your generalizations

⑥ Practice to improve your ability in observing, evaluating, and behaving in appropriate and effective ways.

culture-specific outside of conscious awareness

Axtell, Gestures

General Guidelines U.S. Gestures

• Interest is expressed by maintaining eye contact with the speaker, smiling, and nodding the head.

• Nervousness is sometimes shown by fidgeting, failing to give the speaker eye contact, or jingling keys or money in your pocket.

• Suspiciousness is indicated by glancing away or touching your nose, eyes, or ears.

• Defensiveness is indicated by crossing your arms over your chest, making fisted gestures, or crossing your legs.

• Lack of interest or boredom is indicated by glancing repeatedly at your watch or staring at the ceiling or floor or out the window when a person is speaking.

How to analyze a case?

• 1. indicate the final result• These two people failed to communicate with

each other.

• 2. figure out the problems• 3. offer suggestions• In order to solve the above problems, there are

several suggestions as follows.

First,

Second,

Third

Case study – compliments (P58)

• Situation:• Jonathan is a teacher in an adult school class in the United

States. After class, he is speaking to Ann, one of his students.• Jonathan: Ann, your English is improving. I am pleased with

your work.• Ann: (Looking down) Oh, no, my English is not very good.• J: Why do you say that, Ann? You are doing very well in class.• A: No, I am not a good student.• J: Ann, you’re making progress in this class. You should be

proud of your English.• A: No, it’s not true. You are a good teacher, but I am not a good

student.• J: (He is surprised by her response and wonders why she thinks

her English is so bad. He doesn’t know what to say and wonders if he should stop giving her compliments.)

• These two people failed to communicate with each other.

• Because the behavior that Ann refused whatever Jonathan said made Jonathan embarrassed and confused. It partly results from different communication styles as well as the difference in verbal communication.

• In order to solve the above problems, there are several suggestions as follows.

• First, both of the two speakers had better learn about the differences in western and eastern communication styles. For westerners, communication is the way to express one’s idea, in doing so, they can achieve their personal goals. While for easterners, who stress harmony, communication is regarded a process where all parties are searching to develop and maintain a social relationship. It’s the reason why Ann say “You are a good teacher, but I am not a good student.”

Second, due to the different attitudes toward compliments, both of them should understand each other. Sometimes Ann’s modesty would be mistaken as a fishing for compliments in U.S.A. As a result, she is supposed to say thank you instead of negative reply in the intercultural communication.

Third, the behavior of looking down when two people are talking is not acceptable in the western culture while it is regarded as polite in eastern culture. If Jonathan ask the reason why Ann did so, there would be no misunderstanding anymore.