Nonverbal communication

Nonverbal communication.

NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION refers to the process whereby a message is sent and received through any one or more human sense channels, without the use of language. Such messages can be intentional and conscious or unintentional and unconscious. A preacher's hand gestures during a sermon are usually intentional. Totally unconscious communication was effected by a woman who, seated with her legs crossed, punctuated the end of each sentence with a jerk of her leg as she read orally. Whatever the intention in the mind of the communicator, or whatever the level of awareness of the messages being sent, nonverbal communication is very powerful and significant in a person's life and in his interaction in the community.     

The patterns of nonverbal behavior are culturally defined. Yes or no messages are conveyed by the nodding or shaking of one's head. These patterns are part of the arbitrary selection of symbols of the culture (in some cultures the nodding up and down of the head means "yes" while in others it means "no"). These behaviors must be learned, along with language and other aspects of the structure of society, by new members entering the culture.     

Learning these nonverbal clues can present problems. The same symbol may transmit opposite messages in two different cultures, or two opposite signals may mean the same thing in the two cultures. The hand motion with fingers extended down from the palm and moved in rhythm toward the speaker signifies "goodbye" to someone from the United States but means "come here" to most Latin Americans. Yet, the Latin American symbol for "goodbye" is almost identical to the American symbol meaning "come here." Obviously, this can be confusing and frustrating. When a member of one culture visits or lives within another culture, he must master these signals until he perceives them according to the intent of the other person.     

Nonverbal communication is expressed and perceived through all of the senses -- hearing, touch, smell, sight, and taste. Nonverbal communication may also include body temperature, body movement, and time and space. For example, the person who perspires intensely when he is nervous is communicating that message with his "wet" clothes as though he had verbalized his nervousness. That the two messages, verbal and nonverbal, may not coincide is a fascinating study in the field of social psychology. The person who perspires heavily but claims he is not nervous may be either consciously trying to deceive or unaware of his motives in denying his nervousness. 
     A young  Mayan Indian man, viewing an elephant for the first time in a zoo, stood comfortably by the fence until the elephant approached him. By an unconscious movement, the Mayan gradually backed away from  the fence until the elephant  turned away. Then the young man  moved gradually toward the fence. He was totally unaware of his actions. His description of the encounter was effusive, but he never mentioned any "fear" of the giant beast.

  Kinesic Communication involves muscle or body movement. Specific messages are transmitted by hand waves, eye contact, facial expressions, head nods, and other movements. In an interpretive dance the movements of the entire body are high in message content. In fact, in certain Southeast Asian nations the interpretive dance is the primary nonverbal means of communicating to a group. The Thai easily read the symbolic message of the formal dance without its needing to be verbalized.     

Sometimes kinesic symbols cause frustration in crosscultural encounters. North American eye contact is far too intense for a Filipino, who tends to break eye contact early. The Filipino breaks eye contact (1) to show subordination to authority, (2) to differentiate roles such as man and woman or adult and child, and (3) to indicate that staring is not proper behavior. The North American, even though placing low value on staring, encourages eye contact to show respect and trustworthiness.          

Cultural factors govern body movement, determining what moves, when it moves, where it moves, and restrictions on movement. Hips may move in sports or dancing but not in the services of some churches. A child can move the body freely in gym but not in the classroom. A North American girl who grows up in Latin America may return home with more body movement as part of her flirtation pattern and find she is classified as "loose" among her peers. A Latin woman tends to move more of her body when men are present than does an American woman, although neither communicates loose morals within her own culture. When the North American girl moves into the Latin American culture, she may be seen as "cold." Conversely, when the Latin American girl moves to North America, she may be considered "loose."

  Proxemic communication implies relationships of space, duration, distance, territory, and the perception of these on the part of the participant.     

Standing patterns have been schemed by Edward T. Hall as intimate, personal, and public. North American intimate space extends two feet from the person; Latin American intimate space extends only a foot or so. This intimate-personal space border defines the space within which one feels uncomfortable in a personal, but not intimate, conversation. Thus, the Latin feels quite comfortable conversing just a foot away from the face of the other. When he moves that close to a North American, however, he is invading that person's intimate space. Such an invasion causes the American to react defensively with visible muscle tension, skin discoloration, and even body movements of "retreat."          

Public distance includes that space in which a person feels comfortable in a public area or gathering. The amount of this space will vary according to the situation. For example, when people are on an elevator, they will invade what would normally be considered each another's intimate space. However, reduced body movement compensates for this intrusion. The outer limit of public space is the maximum distance one feels he can maintain and still feel a part of the gathering. This usually means being within the sound of the activity, closer with a public address or farther away at a musical performance.      

Seating patterns are arranged with a purpose. Frequently, the pattern includes a focal point, the performer or speaker, with the audience arranged in rows or in a semicircle facing the focal point. In theater in the round, the audience surrounds the stage; but the focus is still on the actors. Involvement theater in the sixties attempted to bring everyone into the performance itself. This was resisted, however, by many in North American society because of public space preferences.     

Competition versus cooperation is also signaled by seating patterns. When desks are separated, competition is signaled. No one can copy the work of another. The seminar room, with people seated side by side around a table, signals cooperation because people can see and share in each other's work.     

Walking patterns are also part of public space involving schedule, direction, and distance. Certain Hebrew laws were built on the distance one could walk from his property in a day. A limit was placed on Sabbath journeys with that distance being called, logically, "a Sabbath day's journey." Hebrew people soon learned to carry some of their property with them and lay it at the end of one "Sabbath day's journey"; so they could then walk an additional distance from that property.     

The schedule of walking patterns concerns the time of day one may be seen in public in a given society. Among the Pocomchi in Guatemala, men can be seen sweeping the house and walking before 6:00 A.M. but never after that hour. Likewise, no one would be on legitimate business after 9:00 P.M. In the Philippines, Saturday night is a very late night. People stroll in the parks until 2:00 A.M. on Sunday. When visible numbers of blacks were permitted in private white colleges, pressure was put on these schools to make curfews later by a couple of hours and to serve breakfast later in the morning, since the day started "later" for blacks.

Cultural Use of Time

Culture tells us how to manipulate time in order to communicate messages.  When people appear for an appointment varies with the custom, social situation, and their relative status.  In North America, if you have a business meeting scheduled, the time you should arrive largely depends on the power relationship between you and the person who you are meeting.  People who are lower in status are expected to arrive on time, if not early.  Higher status individuals can expect that others will wait for them if they are late.  An invitation to a party is an entirely different matter.  It is often expected that most guests will arrive "fashionably late." 

When people come together with very different cultural expectations about time, there is a potential for misunderstanding, frustration, and hurt feelings.  Communicating with Clothes

Throughout the world, clothing has multiple functions.  It is used to provide protection from the elements.   It also is worn for modesty, usually to prevent others from seeing specific parts of one's body.  However, the parts of the body that must be covered vary widely throughout the world.  For instance, the man from New Guinea shown in the picture would feel undressed if he did not have the narrow gourd sheath over his penis tied in an erect position.  Throughout most of the rest of the world, this would be a daring and embarrassing style of dress.  Some clothing is worn to provide supernatural protection.  Wearing a Christian cross or a St. Christopher medal often are thought to have just this effect.  Wearing a lucky shirt to take an exam is also relying on supernatural assistance.

People in all cultures use clothing and other forms of bodily adornment to communicate status, intentions, and other messages.  In North America, people dress differently for business and various recreational activities.   Likewise there are styles of clothes that are worn to sexually attract others.  There can be great subtlety, especially in women's clothing.  It can communicate that a woman wants to be considered sexually neutral.  On the other hand, it may be meant to be seductive, innocent but alluring, etc.  Women in the Western World usually are much more knowledgeable of and concerned with subtle nuances in messages communicated by clothes than are men.  At times, this leads to awkward errors of interpretation of female intentions on the part of men.  Of course, clothing styles also are intended to communicate messages to members of the same gender.

The vocabulary of dress that we learn includes not only items of clothing but also hair styles, jewelry, makeup, and other body decoration such as tattoos.  In most cultures, however, the same style of dress communicates different messages depending on the age, gender, and physical appearance of the individual wearing it.Putting on certain types of clothing can change your behavior and the behavior of others towards you. 

Gender Differences in Paralanguage

When travelling to other societies, it is important to understand that there are likely to be significant gender differences in paralanguage in addition to clothes and adornment.  In North America, for instance, men generally prefer face to face conversations and maintain direct eye contact longer.  In contrast, women often converse standing side by side but closer together than is typical of men.  Male hand shakes tend to be firmer.  North American women usually are more restrained in their use of bold gestures but use more facial expressions (especially smiles) and are more skilled in interpreting them. 

In Japan, women most often speak with an artificially high pitch, especially when conversing with men in a business or official setting.   This is part of the general deference traditionally shown to men.  However, recent research indicates that the pitch of female voices has begun to lower.  It has been suggested that this change is connected with the increased economic and political clout of Japanese women.

Summary

The human communication process is more complex than it initially seems.  Much, if not most, of our messages in face to face contact are transmitted through paralanguage.  These auxiliary communication techniques are highly culture bound.  Communication with people from other societies or ethnic groups is fraught with the danger of misunderstanding if their culture and paralanguage is unknown to you or ignored.