Karam Merhi
Professor Macphail
SPC 1017 TR11
18 oct. 2012
Nonverbal Communication in the World of Business Communication that is neither a written nor a spoken language that creates a meaning is known as Nonverbal communication. According to bizmove.com, “People tend to believe actions more than words.” Movies first started without any audio, so the actors and actresses used different kinds of nonverbal communication to convey messages they were trying to get across, for example, Charlie Chaplin movies. Nonverbal communication plays an important role in everyday society and in the business world. Nonverbal ways of communication include facial expression, gestures, touch, paralinguistics (voice), body language, eye contact, and
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When someone is leaning back on his or her chair it means that he or she does not really care what is going on.
In Japan, bowing shows the person’s rank in the Japanese society. In Turkey, keeping one’s hands in his or her pocket is disrespectful (andrews.edu). It is always a good thing before going to another country for a business trip to study the proper business etiquette.
Furthermore, Eye contact is yet another big deal in the business industry. According to bizmove.com, “It can convey emotion, signal when to talk or finish, or aversion. The frequency of eye contact may suggest either interest or boredom.” This means that eye contact is very important when speaking to someone, listening to a speaker, or showing interest. When it comes to business never lose eye contact. According to professor Macphail, “Eye contact tells a lot about the speaker” (Macphail). In the Western cultures looking directly into someone’s eyes shows respect. But in Japan, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East to show respect one has to avoid eye contact with the elders.
As a matter of fact, Appearance is a key to success. When it comes to business, if a man is dressed properly in a decent suit and a woman is dressed properly in a decent dress, or pencil skirt and a blouse, is considered as proper appearance. If a man goes to work in shorts and a top, the man is
Eye contact is important in America and Europe, but it can be rude in most of Asian countries and in Africa. Closing your
A few for example, in some countries the two fingers up to make the peace sign and also the thumbs up sign can be considered rude. In some places, the ok sign that we use with our hand is considered a sign of the devil 666, but in France it means nothing as in zero and not ok or great. In some places can’t, huge men and women can’t huge each other if the opposite sex isn’t a family. In Haiti which is a French speaking country it is rude to shrug the shoulder when communicating with older people. The shrug of the shoulder is only use with your friends. Also, in Haiti kissing on the cheek like in France is for family friend I not greet that way it’s a sign that something with wrong in relationship between you and the person, and the men to men don’t kiss on the cheeks they will just shack hands.
Nonverbal communication covers all aspects of communication beyond words. It is anything from body gestures to the way words are spoken. The tone, demeanor, hidden meaning behind words, mix that with body language and what is creates in nonverbal communication elements. Even clothes and personal appearance can send a nonverbal message. Nonverbal communication accounts for nearly 65-93% communication means (Wood, 2014). One area where nonverbal communication sent a negative, incorrect message is the movie Erin Brockovich. The clothing of the main character sent the message that she was uneducated, white trash. This could not be further from the truth. She was an intelligent, single mother who saw a problem where nobody else did.
Comfortable eye contact is one which makes both parties have a positive conversation and help in building trust between the parties. If the eye contact is too much it makes the other person very uncomfortable in conversation. According to a research too much eye contact is considered rude and condescending. In a business context it can be perceived as
In Business Communication for Success, Scott McLean described nonverbal communication as the process of conveying a message without the use of words. People say they can read my body language well. On the other hand, I have never been one to interpret a person’s body language. That was very evident when watching my character, Katie Otto, in “American Housewife.”
Both Chinese and Australian cultures will demonstrate different types of nonverbal communication in regards to business dealings. Generally, Australians will shake the hand of their business partner as a greeting, departing, and possibly as a sign of agreement ending a negotiation. A confident posture or stance is perceived as a professional nonverbal act; typically, this can be defined by standing up straight, pushing your shoulders back and holding your head up – smiling can be acceptable also, or preserve a straight face and maintain eye contact to show interest and attention. It is highly recommended that one does not cross their arms, as this will make them appear unimpressed or “closed off”, or rapidly tap their fingers or fidget as this is a sign
Nonverbal communication can be found within many objects on campus. Even though these objects do not send out direct messages, they still have significant meanings that can be captured by the public.
Eye contact is looking into people’s eyes with mouth curve up and brows relaxed, while staring at people is looking at people with brows wrinkled and lips tight. In fact, staring at people reveals the signal of hatred that you never want to bring coworkers and customers. In addition, smile with apples of the cheeks states truly delight. However, smiling while frowning is more or less fake and it exhibits the feeling of being embarrassed. While talking with customer or answering their questions, a person picks up ears and turns head to one side a little bit implies he or she is patiently listening and serious about the conversation. Plus, as a professional staff, he or she doesn’t want to be indifferent to customers and thus snorting and crinkling nose up with mouth curve down are definitely forbidden in business talks.
“Respect” in this case somewhat goes hand in hand with male and female interaction. Every culture has their own definition of respect and knowing this is very important (Bell, 2010). According to Margaret Owens and most of America, showing eye contact lets others know that you are listening and you are paying attention and really care of what the other person is saying. But according to Margaret Owen’s boss who is Asian, showing eye contact can mean disrespectful and
Books and articles that have been written about speech delivery include the immediacy behavior of making “good” eye contact. Eye contact is necessary for conversation and public speaking. However, eye contact is a learned behavior and the duration of eye contact varies within different cultures. American parents have taught their children to make eye contact but not to stare, because staring is rude in the American culture. As you walk down the halls at college or in a department store, you look at a person in the eye, nod, and then look away. If you are talking to an American and do not make eye contact, it will make you appear uninterested or dishonest. However, a person who was raised in Japan may become uneasy if you make eye contact (Richmond & McCroskey, 2000). Furthermore, in different countries around the globe, eye contact
Eye contact: How interested or involved you are in the conversation is determined by the amount of eye contact you use. Eye contact is an essential part of someone’s nonverbal communications, as well as their social behavior. The amount of eye contact you use can also be received as respect, confidence and social communication; which makes it very important to think of that in some cultures, eye contact can mean different things. In some cultures, maintaining eye contact can be a form or disrespect, versus in North America, eye contact is a viewed as honesty.
Work environment touching is frequently disheartened because of conveying blended messages, however handshakes are typically encouraged and acknowledged in most cases. Another imperative non-verbal sign is eye to eye connection, which can be utilized both decidedly and contrarily in the working environment. For example, in the United States, eye to eye connection passes on sincerity and genuinely; making eye contact is a challenge to open correspondence, and implies the requirement for input. Interestingly, maintaining a strategic distance from eye to eye connection signals distrust, lack of interest or suspicion; prolonged eye to eye connection or a gaze implies animosity or being a tease (Henman, 2009).
In the article “How to Walk Your Talk: Effective Use of Body Language for Business Professionals”, it talks about the importance of body language. It states that the human body uses more than 700,000 several types of movement; by knowing what these distinct types are, it can help us improve our communication with other (17). I had a gentleman come into my office after one of the board meetings, asking if he could have tomorrow night off, usually I would dismiss this and tell him no, that its company policy to give at least a twenty-four-hour notice and due to are increase in productivity we couldn’t afford to be short staffed. I was in the process of finishing this article, and decided to see how accurate this article was; so instead of turning him down right away I noticed he wasn’t smiling like he was when he first came in, in addition his shoulders were slouched and his eyes looked teared filled, I proceeded to tell him what company policy was, but included
Eye contact is very important if a speaker really wants to capture his or her audience’s attention. My having good eye contact, the audience can understand that the speaker is very serious about the topic. Going back to my speech on Dolores Huerta senior
Eye contact may also act as a response within a conversation or queue as to when one may begin to speak. It is proven that when someone is actively listening eye contact is maintained versus when one completes conversation or is interrupted eye contact may veer away from the second person within the conversation. Eye contact is not always viewed as being respectful or in a positive view. Many cultures believe that eye contact may be means of disrespect, aggression or confrontation. Cultures including African, Asian and many Latin American cultures believe this to be true (Pazian, 2010).