Download What do you mean?

What do you mean?
Gestures & other non-verbal cues…what do they mean?
What is non-verbal communication?
“Good communication is the foundation of successful
relationships, both personally and professionally. But we
communicate with much more than words. In fact, research
shows that the majority of our communication is nonverbal.
Nonverbal communication, or body language, includes our
facial expressions, gestures, eye contact, posture, and even
the tone of our voice.
The ability to understand and use nonverbal
communication is a powerful tool that will help you connect
with others, express what you really mean, navigate
challenging situations, and build better relationships at
home and work.”
From: http://helpguide.org/mental/eq6_nonverbal_communication.htm
So what does this mean to me?
According to A. Barbour, author of Louder Than
Words: Nonverbal Communication, the total
impact of a message breaks down like this:
7 percent verbal (words)
38 percent vocal (volume, pitch, rhythm, etc)
55 percent body movements (mostly facial expressions)
What are some types of non-verbal
communication?
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Facial expressions
Body movement and posture
Gestures
Eye contact
Touch
Space
Voice
Facial expressions
While some say that facial expressions are identical, meaning attached to them differs. Majority
opinion is that these do have similar meanings world-wide with respect to smiling, crying, or
showing anger, sorrow, or disgust. However, the intensity varies from culture to culture.
Note the following:
Many Asian cultures suppress facial expression as much as possible.
Many Mediterranean (Latino / Arabic) cultures exaggerate grief or sadness while most
American men hide grief or sorrow.
Some see “animated” expressions as a sign of a lack of control.
Too much smiling is viewed in as a sign of shallowness.
Women smile more
than men.
Posture
Your posture also plays a role in your communication efforts.
A slumped posture indicates that you have low spirits, are fatigued or that you feel inferior.
Whereas, an erect posture shows high spirits and confidence.
If you lean forward it implies that you are open and interested. Leaning away shows disinterest or
that you are defensive. Maintaining a rigid posture is interpreted by many to mean that you are
defensive, while a relaxed posture translates to openness.
Crossed arms and legs indicated a defensive, proactive position, while uncrossed arms and legs
indicates a willingness to listen.
Consider the following actions and note cultural differences:
Bowing (not done, criticized, or affected in US; shows rank in Japan)
Slouching (rude in most Northern European areas)
Hands in pocket (disrespectful in Turkey)
Sitting with legs crossed (offensive in Ghana, Turkey)
Showing soles of feet. (Offensive in Thailand, Saudi Arabia)
Types of gestures
Impossible to catalog them all. But you need to recognize:
1) incredible possibility and variety
2) that an acceptable in one’s own culture may be offensive in another.
In addition, amount of gesturing varies from culture to culture. Some cultures are
animated; other restrained.
Restrained cultures often feel animated cultures lack manners and overall restraint while
animated cultures often feel restrained cultures lack emotion or interest.
Even simple things like using hands to point and count differ:
Pointing :
US with index finger
Germany with little finger
Japanese with entire hand (in fact most Asians consider pointing with index finger to be rude)
Counting:
Thumb = 1 in Germany, 5 in Japan, middle finger for 1 in Indonesia.
Hook ‘em Horns
Hook 'em Horns is the slogan and
hand signal of The University of Texas
at Austin.
Students and alumni of the university
employ a greeting consisting of the
phrase "Hook 'em" or "Hook 'em
Horns" and also use the phrase as a
parting good-bye or as the closing line
in a letter or story.
The gesture is meant to approximate
the shape of the head and horns of the
university mascot, the Texas longhorn
steer Bevo.
A variant of the Horns, formed upside
down, is often used by rivals of the
Longhorns and is considered insulting,
especially when performed by a player
or coach of the team in question.
Thumbs Up
A thumbs up or thumbs down is a common gesture
represented by a closed fist held with the thumb extended
upward or downward in approval or disapproval respectively.
These gestures have become metaphors in English: "My boss
gave my proposal the thumbs-up" means that the boss
approved the proposal, regardless of whether the gesture was
made .
A supposed Medieval source for the thumbs up gesture comes
from the Longbow men of the time - who were greatly feared
as the "Artillery" of their time. Whenever captured it was
common to amputate the thumbs of bowmen to prevent them
from using their bows again (the thumb was used to press the
arrow against the other fingers when it was being drawn).
Therefore when asked if they were alright, bowmen would lift
their thumbs to prove they were still intact and capable of
firing their bows.
In Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, and Thailand it is traditionally an
obscene gesture, equivalent to the use of the middle finger in
the Western world.
In Italy, in the right context, it can simply indicate the number
one. Generally it is perceived as "OK".
Touchdown
Touchdown, Field Goal
Good, or Extra Point
Good: Arms raised
straight above head. A
touchdown results in 6
points, a field goal
three. After a
touchdown, the team
gets the opportunity
to kick an extra point
worth 1 point.
American Sign Language
There is much more to learning
American Sign Language than just
memorizing signs.
ASL has its own grammar, culture,
history, terminology and other
important aspects. It takes time and
effort to become a "skilled language
user.“
In Sign Language, facial expression
including the raising or lowering of the
eyebrows while signing, and body
language are integral parts of
communicating. These actions help
give meaning to what is being signed,
much like vocal tones and inflections
give meaning to spoken words.
school
http://www.minoritycareernet.com/newsltrs/9
5q3nonver.html
Thank you
Eye contact
From the introduction to the farewell,
appropriate eye contact varies greatly
depending upon the country.
In the United States, direct eye contact is
considered a sign of honesty and
reliability. Shifting one’s gaze away, or to
the floor indicates a lack of attention, or
worse, deceit.
In Latin America, intense eye contact
between men can be considered
challenging and aggressive. Depending
upon the situation, subordinates may not
always look superiors in the eye for a
protracted period of time.
If a Hispanic looks away when being
questioned, he or she is probably being
respectful, rather than hiding something.
Extended eye contact between the
sexes—in a purely business setting—is
common in the United States, but can be
interpreted as an overture for more
intimate communications in many Latin
and Mediterranean countries.
Touch
Why do we touch, where do we touch, and what meanings do we assign when
someone else touches us?
Illustration: A man goes into a convenience store recently taken over by new Korean
immigrants. He gives a $20 bill for his purchase to Mrs. Cho who is cashier and waits
for his change. He is upset when his change is put down on the counter in front of
him. What is the problem? Traditional Korean (and many other Asian countries) don’t
touch strangers., especially between members of the opposite sex.
Touch is culturally determined! But each culture has a clear concept of what parts of
the body one may not touch.
Basic message of touch is to affect or control — protect, support, disapprove (i.e. hug,
kiss, hit, kick).
More on touch
USA : handshake is common (even for strangers), hugs, kisses for those of
opposite gender or of family (usually) on an increasingly more intimate basis.
Islamic and Hindu: typically don’t touch with the left hand. To do so is a social
insult. Left hand is for toilet functions. It is mannerly in India to break your bread
only with your right hand (sometimes difficult for non-Indians)
Islamic cultures generally don’t approve of any touching between genders (even
hand shakes). But consider such touching (including hand holding, hugs)
between same-sex to be appropriate.
Many Asians don’t touch the head (They believe the head houses the soul and a
touch puts it in jeopardy).
Basic patterns:
Cultures (English , German, Scandinavian, Chinese, Japanese) with high emotional
restraint concepts have little public touch
Those which encourage emotion (Latino, Middle-East, Jewish) accept frequent
touches.
Personal space
For most North Americans, a distance of
approximately 19 inches, or just about
arm's length, between two speakers is
considered appropriate.
For Western Europeans and Americans, a
space of 14 to 16 inches is considered
non-intrusive. But those from the U.K.
might consider a distance of 24 inches to
be more comfortable.
Business owners and corporate
executives in Korean and China generally
prefer at least that much room, if not
more. And their business partners in
Japan have a somewhat wider required
personal space - in the 36 inches range.
Lastly, for those in Middle Eastern
countries, where a narrower distance of
between 8 to 12 inches between speakers
is common, widening the distance could
be perceived as mistrustful behavior.
Voice
Paralinguistics refers to vocal communication that is separate from actual
language. This includes factors such as tone of voice, loudness, inflection, and
pitch. Consider the powerful effect that tone of voice can have on the meaning of
a sentence. When said in a strong tone of voice, listeners might interpret
approval and enthusiasm. The same words said in a hesitant tone of voice might
convey disapproval and a lack of interest.
Vocal characterizers (laugh, cry, yell, moan, whine, belch, yawn) send different
messages in different cultures
Japan — giggling indicates embarrassment
India – belch indicates satisfaction
Vocal qualifiers (volume, pitch, rhythm, tempo, and tone).
Loudness indicates strength in Arabic cultures and softness indicates
weakness; indicates confidence and authority to the Germans; indicates
impoliteness to the Thais; indicates loss of control to the Japanese.
Generally, one learns not to “shout” in Asia for nearly any reason!
Sources
•http://www.andrews.edu/~tidwell/lead689/NonVerbal.html
•http://static.bigstockphoto.com/thumbs/8/9/3/large/3988290.jpg
•http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
•http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-layout/concepts.htm
•http://www.masterstech-home.com/ASLDICT.html
•http://helpguide.org/mental/eq6_nonverbal_communication.htm
•http://www.minoritycareernet.com/newsltrs/95q3nonver.html
•http://psychology.about.com/od/nonverbalcommunication/a/nonverbaltype
s.htm