Non-Verbal Communication and Western Culture

There are two factors that can determine nonverbal communication skills. The first factor is gender. Females in general tend to be better at dealing and expressing their own feeling. According to Hall, J.A. in Psychology Bulletin, women tend to understand nonverbal communication and facial expression in particular more than men (5). This indicates that females can decode nonverbal behaviours more easily than males. One reason can be that women might use nonverbal communication more often in their daily lives, thus it is easier for them to interact using this type of communication. Since females are considered to be quite good at judging nonverbal communication, they are less likely to suffer in their professions (6). This is an illustration that nonverbal communication can be influenced by gender and that it might differ between men and women.

Non-verbal communication consists mainly of the things people do with their body language. There are times where words are expressed and non-verbal communication could help emphasize the message. A few examples of nonverbal communication are hand gestures eye contact, facial expressions as well as tone and volume. I was given this assignment to observe a situation and take note of the nonverbal communication that occurred. I also had to observe whether the non-verbals were able to execute the message and if the behavior was acceptable.

While communication across cultures relies on speech to convey the messages of those living in the same society, usually the unspoken language has a larger role to play in delivering these messages. Similar to the country’s language being specific to the region it surfaces from, body language and facial expressions also have individual characteristics within a particular region. There are shared attributes of nonverbal communication across the world but these are commonly divided into high and low context cultures. This results from different cultural beliefs and attitudes within such societies and impact on the social norms of communication. In Japan, the citizens communicate with actions and gestures to a larger percent in comparison to their speech, as they are able to understand each other’s meaning without additional words. Due to it being a high context culture Japan relies heavily on its nonverbal communication for its society to function efficiently and for adequate comprehension to be achieved.

Dominance is generally displayed by making the body appear larger and taller than usual (Carney). Dominant body language is used by men because they, “feel the need to gain as much power and control as they can,” (Taylor). Standing upright, with the chin up and chest out, as well as placing the hands on the hips and the legs apart helps to create a more dominant pose. Some people also stand while others sit, or stand on a higher step to increase their height. Our book, Gendered Lives, discusses Kinesics, or face and body movements, and territoriality, otherwise known as personal space, and how they

Have you ever noticed the way men and women converse with each other? Is there a difference with how they communicate verbally and non-verbally? Studies and experiments by linguist have30 shown that differences in speech and body language are apparent between the male and female gender. First, men impose and lecture their side of the story when conversating while women on the other hand have a more open exchange of ideas. Second, men do not show any body signals indicating that they are listening but women on the other hand give signs that show their affirmation or opposal. Third, men generally dominate the conversation most of the time while women just listen passively.

Read the previous year’s appraisal (if available), and any other records of meetings e.g. 1 2 1 supervision. Identify any action points from these to facilitate discussion of performance or any deadlines that have not been met. Also review any commitments made by management (you or the previous post holder) to ensure these have been met, and to assess outcomes.

The interactions I observed between these two women are examples of non-verbal communication. According to Adler, Rosenfeld, and Proctor (2013), non-verbal communication entails “messages expressed by nonlinguistic means” and is an important aspect of communication because “what we do often conveys more meaning than what we say. (p. 177).

Over this summer course I have learned a lot about communication. I learned how significant nonverbal and verbal communication is, along with listening. I never fully understood how big communication is in our daily lives. I now realize that it is a huge aspect of how we continue in our lives. This course has showed me different levels of communication.

In Session three we discussed the importance of communication, specifically non-verbal communication in diverse culture of Canada. Often non-verbal communication is misinterpreted because of the culture differences. Therefore, I believe that it is crucial for a nurse to be culturally competent when providing care. According to Perry and Potter, “to be culturally competent and safe, you must be able to understand clients' cultural beliefs, values, and practices to work with them to determine their needs and the interventions most likely to improve their health.” (Perry and Potter, 2010, p47). For example, making eye contact in some aboriginal cultures is considered disrespectful because they believe eyes are “window to the soul” being aware

This study, specifically examines social and developmental psychology. Nancy J. Briton and Judith A. Hall analyze forms of communication throughout this study, ultimately seeking information about nonverbal communication and specifically how it varies among genders. This study was designed with the purpose of measuring beliefs about nonverbal communication between male and females, while also assessing the soundness of these opinions. The nonverbal communication measured in this study implies communication that is not expressed verbally but rather physically. The gap in literature that this study fills is the gap of stereotypes. This study examines stereotypes regarding male and female interaction, specifically verbal and nonverbal communication

Teri Gamble and Michael Gamble’s essay “Nonverbal Behavior: Culture, Gender, and the Media,” discuss how different cultures communicate in nonverbal ways. Cultures have ways that can communicate non-verbally and other communicate verbally, but not all cultures have the same cues, which implies that we can’t practice our own techniques of communicating amongst others for the motive that it wouldn’t make sense. The Gamble’s relate this to the different communication skills on how men and women communicate. Women display more of their nonverbal communication skills; Men use more of the verbal way of communicating. Therefore, many of the times Men and Women don’t comprehend each other simply for the circumstance that they aren’t expressing themselves

I perceive dance as a non-verbal form of communication that allows individuals to discover themselves. I feel that the few times I dance with my partner, we are able to synchronize our bodies together and have a connection above any verbal communication, it is more than just movement. I’m able to immerse my whole body and express the joy I am feeling with my partner, and my feelings are resembled in our goofy dances. It’s as if I am able to be my own person and express my emotions to him through dance. It’s due to this strong connection I feel with my partner, even if it’s playing around, I have a perception of dance being a strengthening connection between multiple individuals. Although I have this picturesque perception of dance, I have

In this paper I will discuss and analyze the verbal communication, “the exchange of spoken or written language with others during interactions” McCornack, 2013, p. 191), and the nonverbal communication, “the intentional or unintentional transmission of meaning through an individual’s nonspoken physical and behavioral cues (Patterson, 1995)” (McCornack, 2013, p. 223), of a 2012 Third Party Presidential Debate between Jill Stein, Rocky Anderson, Virgil Hamlin, and Gary Johnson.

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

“Systematic research on the role of nonverbal behavior in social interaction has been common only in the past 20 to 25 years.”(Edinger and Patterson, 1983, p. 30).because that statement was published in 1983, it is apparent that the study of nonverbal behavior has been around for roughly 50 to 55 years. However, that is still a relatively recent amount of time compared to research in other science fields such as chemistry or biology. Despite the fact that this field is relatively recent there are many theories about our interaction with others. This paper will discuss the nonverbal expectancy theory along with two other theories, and describe how these theories can work together.