Importance Of Body Language Cues Between Ethnicity And Gender

Body language has a great deal to do with communication and it is believed that body language is

Communication is everywhere. We, as interactive human beings, spend the majority of our time corresponding with others to satisfy our physical, identity, social, and practical needs (Adler, Rodman, & Sevigny, 2011). Often, this is consciously done; we search our minds for the accurate linguistic means to express our experiences, and use them to communicate with those around us. However, communication is not as straightforward and effortless as we may believe. It is, in fact, often unintentional, with 65% of it occurring as a result of non-verbal cues (Matsumoto, Shibata, Seiji, Mori, & Shioe, 2010). As mentioned by Marta Dynel (2011) in a study done on nonverbal communication, “Non verbal signs and signals ... are prevalent practically in

Communication involves more than exchanging words between people. Gestures, postures, facial expressions and even eye contacts are important during communication. Both verbal and nonverbal cues are important during communication and can help a person understand the speaker or listener’s emotions, attitudes or status. Understanding the existence of various cultures is necessary since different cultures have varying ways of communication (Lustig & Koester, 2012). Therefore, a communication style that is perceived as bad by a culture may be good in another culture. Besides, characteristics that may be essential for a particular culture may be quite irrelevant for another. In line with this dissimilarity, individuals need to adapt carefully and understand communication preferences and desires among cultures.

I am originally from Puerto Rico, which is a country in which communication is an integral part of society. The cultural norm of the Puerto Rican culture is to speak up when necessary and communicate clearly if we want things to be done. At the same time, I believe that in order to produce results, the manner in which communicating takes place, is an extremely important component. My culture also showed me how the emotions used when communicating, such as the use of the hands and body language, will dictate the tone and flow of the communication. The literature suggests that the majority (as much as 76%) of the message we gibe to another person during conversations is carried by non-verbal or para-verbal communication. Thus, we must be very careful and strategic in our use o non-verbal communication (Van Acker, 1997).

Body language plays a substantial role in the ways females and males differentiate from each other. One’s identity lies in the way in which one holds themself. McCloskey claims, “It’s hard to pass,” acknowledging that the body language one naturally acquires does not necessarily represent the character on the inside. McCloskey and Walker both address hip positioning when standing and walking. McCloskey claims that “Men walk from their shoulders and women

There are eight key forms of nonverbal communications used on a daily basis. These forms can affect the way people view another person; however, without understanding the forms of nonverbal communication there is certain to be a lot of misinterpretations. Cultural and language differences are a common reason for miscommunication. When communicating with people in different cultures, a person should be extremely aware of the hand gestures and nonverbal communication tools they are using. Many of the hand gestures used in the United States that mean good things, mean offensive and profane things to other cultures. Nonverbal communication is described as body language, hand gestures, and facial expressions. It is known that people reveal more information through nonverbal communication, than words alone to get a point across. There will always be some interaction between two or more people that everyone’s

Body Language/pg114: The way in which people use their bodies to give messages to others.

Independent variables relevant to this study will include self-reported demographic information. The variables will be analyzed for group differences in responses. Participant will voluntarily report their age group, gender, and race. For age group, subjects will identify themselves in ten-year intervals (i.e. 15-25 years of age). Likewise, subjects will self-report their gender (male, female, or other) and their race (Race and ethnicity standards as determined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget) as outlined

Any communication interaction involves two major components in terms of how people are perceived: verbal, or what words are spoken and nonverbal, the cues such as facial expressions, posture, verbal intonations, and other body gestures. Many people believe it is their words that convey the primary messages but it is really their nonverbal cues. The hypothesis for this research paper was: facial expressions directly impact how a person is perceived. A brief literature search confirmed this hypothesis.

Along the lines of gender, we were able to see differences among males and females that are rather obvious and some that were completely out of the norm. Postures and body language give us insight into a person's gender, but like most other classifications, are not mutually exclusive to one group or the other. Numerous females were observed sitting in positions of "proper" posture with their legs or ankle crossed under them, while males would tend to sit in postures that were more slouchy and open. Females tended to speak to one another when sitting at a same sex table, as opposed to males who had minimal conversation while among same sex friends. Yet, in some cases among mixed gender groups, males seemed to hang on every word that a female would communicate and be incredibly "interested" in what they had to say. Females also tended to "speak" with more body language surrounded by members of the opposite sex. Another

Body language, while easily overlooked as a means of communication, is used every day when people interact with one another. We interact beyond words by using what we call nonverbal signals. According to many experts in this field, such as James C. McCroskey and Virginia P. Richmond, the authors of Nonverbal Behavior in Interpersonal Relations, body language makes a huge difference in our daily communication. For example, the way we pose, the expressions on our face, and even the tone of our speech, which are all nonverbal communication methods, change the volume of speech and thus have various impacts on the overall communication. Almost half of our communications involves people’s use of body language to convey their thoughts, whether or not those happen unconsciously or consciously; understanding body language is very important for daily communication with one another. Since Eastern University is a small Christian college, students and professors have the opportunity to have better and intimate relationships with each other. Therefore, professors should not only use more efficient body languages to interact with students individually but also use various types of body language to improve class atmosphere. Furthermore, the use of body language can help international students have a better understanding of the American education system.

Verbal communication is considered to be through speech or language; and, it has been estimated that “no more than 30 to 35% of the social meaning of a conversation or an interaction is carried by the words” (Birdwhistell, 1970, p.197). Nonverbal communication, wordless cues, would therefore, make up the remaining percentage of the exchange of the interaction. Facial expressions and body language are two major contributors to nonverbal communication. According to Darwin, within a species, the act of expressing emotions is specific to itself; there is no difference with changes in culture or environment (1872). Within body language, biological motion plays a large role in the development of social communication. It provides information about an individual's sex, emotion, and even intentions (Annaz, 2012). Additionally there are verbal and nonverbal behavioural cues, such as eye contact and characteristics of

In response to what we have discussed thus far in Interpersonal Communication, I would like to further explore the idea of gender in the interpersonal communication arena. As was said in class, ”gender influences cultural perspectives.” Gender also influences how we view ourselves in society. On the flip side, I’ve seen how society can mold the way we label ourselves in terms of gender.

It is important to be aware of the differences between men and women in the art of nonverbal communication. Knowing these differences can be helpful in understanding why a person is doing a particular action and what it means. As was previously noted, women are more openly emotional and intimate so the body language they use and the reason they use it will be different from the man, who tends to be more reserved with emotional manners. Females are usually more expressive than men and are more likely to return a smile. They do not use as many gestures as men unless they are trying to gain approval from someone, but will usually opt for playing with their hair or clothing or placing their hands in their lap in social situations. Men, on the other hand, do not smile as much as women. They do use more gestures than females, such as sweeping arm and hand motions, in conversation. (West Virginia Department of Education) Males and females also use different body language in the realm of

Communication had its verbal and nonverbal understandings, but they also have their misunderstandings. Body language has industrialized itself with different types of language that were brought up by the society. Men and women weren’t use to these body languages towards the similar gender. Miscommunication has been a problem when dealing with these differences. Men and women continue to build body languages that only made sense to themselves and not to the opposite gender. Although one defeats the other in a