Download Nonverbal communication

Nonverbal communication
When you speak, you communicate.
When you don’t speak, you may still
be communicating. Do you agree?
Why or why not?
 Conclusion: speaking is just one
mode of communication. There are
many others.
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Class observation
In class, how can the teacher
identify the concentrated students?
 They may show an interested look,
wear a smile, make some notes or
keep their eyes on the teacher.

Class observation
On the other hand, how can the
teacher know the students are not
interested in her class?
 They may consciously or
unconsciously twist the body, bury
the head, avoid the teacher’s eyes,
wear a blank expression, knit the
eyebrows or bite the pen.
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Bahraini men talk with animated gestures and make direct eye
contact.
Polish teens avoid eye contact as they talk.
Eskimo women talk with considerable space between them.
Kashmiri women talk at a very close distance.
Definition

Nonverbal communication is
communication without words.
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Nonverbal communication can be
viewed as occurring whenever an
individual communicates without the
use of sounds.
Definition

Nonverbal communication is
anything someone does to which
someone else assigns meaning.
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Nonverbal communication is the
study of facial expressions, touch,
time, gestures, smell, eye behavior,
and so on.
Definition

Nonverbal communication will be
defined as the process by which
nonverbal behaviors are used, either
singly or in combination with verbal
behaviors, in the exchange and
interpretation of messages within a
given situation or context.
(L. A. Malandro, 1983)
A matrix of verbal versus
nonverbal behaviors
Verbal
(symbolic)
Vocal
nonvocal
Verbal/vocal
behaviors
Verbal/nonvocal
Behaviors
(eg. American Sign
Language)
Nonverbal
(nonsymbolic)
Nonverbal/vocal
Behaviors (eg. The rate,
loudness, softness of
speech etc.)
Nonverbal/nonvocal
Behaviors (eg. Body
language, use of space
etc.)
Classification

Body language: posture, head
movement, facial expressions, eye
behavior, gestures, handshaking,
arm movement, leg movement etc.

Paralanguage: sound, pitch, tempo
of speech, turn-taking, silence
Classification

Object language: clothing, personal
artifacts, hair, etc.

Environmental language: time
language, spatial language, color,
light, signs and symbols,
architecture, etc.
Comparison of verbal
communication and nonverbal
communication
Structure vs. nonstructure
 Linguistic vs. nonlinguistic
 Discontinuous vs. continuous
 Learned vs. innate
 Left- vs. right- hemispheric
processing

Functions
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Complementing (eg. “Attention please” )
Contradicting (When there are contradicitons, people
tend to believe the verbal messages or nonverbal ones?)

Repeating
Regulating (Eg. A head nod to indicate that it

Substituting(eg. A noisy cafeteria might get

Accenting(eg. A well-skilled public speaker

is his/her turn the speak)
you to wave at a friend instead of screaming to
get his attention)
might pause before or after an important point
in a speech.)
Believe it or not

In face-to-face communication 65%
of the information is communicated
through nonverbal means (Samovar,
1981; Ross, 1974)
Support 1: Charlie Chaplin swept the
world with his silent films
 Support 2: Robinson Crusoe “talked”
with Friday without knowing his
servant’s language
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Believe it or not
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In the communication of attitudes, 93%
of the message is transmitted by the tone
of the voice and facial expressions,
whereas only 7% of the speaker’s
attitude was transmitted by words
(Levine, 1981)
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Support: Lovers express emotions with
sparkling eyes and blushing faces or touching,
hugging and kissing. Words are too pale for
them!
Time language
“Time talks. It speaks more plainly
than words. The message it conveys
comes through loud and clear.”
(E. T. Hall)
Time talks…
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In the US, if you telephone someone very
early in the morning while he is shaving
or having breakfast, the time of the call
usually signals a matter of utmost
importance and extreme urgency.
A girl feels insulted when she is asked for
a date at the last minute by someone
whom she doesn’t know very well.
Time language

The study of how people use,
structure, interpret and understand
the passage of time is called
chronemics.
A case study

Martha’s
experience in
Indonesia
Time orientations
Past-oriented cultures
(Chinese, native Americans)
 Present-oriented cultures
(the Philippines, many Central and
South American people)
 Future-oriented cultures
(Euroamericans, most postindustrial peoples)
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Past-oriented cultures
People regard previous experiences
and events as most important.
 They place a primary emphasis on
tradition.
 They show great respect for parents
and the elderly.
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Present-oriented cultures
People regard current experiences
as most important.
 They place a major emphasis on
spontaneity and immediacy.
 They experience each moment as
fully as possible.
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Future-oriented cultures
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People believe tomorrow is most
important.
Current activities are accomplished not
for their own sake but for the potential
future benefits.
Their fate is at least partially in their own
hands and therefore they can control the
consequences of their action.
What does it mean to
intercultural communication?
People from present-oriented
cultures might view people from
past-oriented cultures as too tied to
tradition.
 People from future-oriented cultures
may be regarded as passionless
slaves to efficiency and materialism.
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Time system
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Circular time system
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Time is circular. Life is cyclical. People are
reborn after death.
叔本华：“时间就象一个旋转的圆，下降的弧是过去，
上升的弧是未来，相交处的切线相连点是现在。”
Linear time system
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Time is a straight line that moves forward
only. Time has a starting point and will have
an ending day.
“人不能两次踏进同一条河流”
Time systems
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Technical time system (the precise and
scientific measurements of time that can
be calculated in units such as light years
or atomic pulses)
Formal time system (the ways in which
units of time are described and
comprehended by the members of a
culture)
Informal time systems (the assumptions
that cultures make about how time
should be used or experienced)
Informal time systems
Monochronic time system
(M-Time)
 Polychronic time system
(P-Time)
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M-Time
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Things should be done one at a
time, and time is segmented into
precise, small units. Time is viewed
as a commodity; it is scheduled,
managed and arranged. People in a
M-time system are very time-driven.
P-Time
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Several things are being done at the
same time. Relationships between
people are far more important than
schedules. Appointment will be
quickly broken, schedules readily set
aside, and deadlines unmet without
guilt or apology when friends or
family members require attention.
A quiz
They make a point of keeping
appointments on time.
 If one is five minutes late, one must
apologize.
 People value punctuality and
promptness.
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A quiz
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People schedule several things at a time
so that the time allowed for each is quite
flexible.
Time is perceived as a linear structure
just like a ribbon stretching from the past
into the future.
Human controls time rather than is clockbound.
A case study
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“Not Come In Time”
Spatial language
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Proxemics: the study of space
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Factors that affect personal space:
sex, age, relationship, culture
Zones of spatial distance
Intimate: loving, comforting,
protecting or fighting
 Personal: conversations with
intimates, friends and acquaintances
 Social: impersonal business and
social gatherings
 Public: lectures, concerts, plays,
speeches, ceremonies
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Cultural differences in the
use of personal space
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Southern Europeans (French, Italians,
Greek, Spaniards etc.) vs. Northern
Europeans (German, Scandinavian,
British etc.)
Chinese vs. native English-speakers
Southern Americans vs. Northern
Americans
Low-contact cultures vs. high-contact
cultures
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Generally, people from colder climates
use large physical distances when they
communicate, whereas those from warm
climates prefer close distances.
Southern Europeans are thought by their
northern counterparts to get “too close
for comfort” whereas the northern
Europeans are regarded by their southern
neighbours as “too distant and aloof”.
A case study
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Sawada (Japanese) and
Lina (Hollander)
Concept of Territoriality
Do you knock before you enter
someone else’s room?
 Englishman’s home is his castle.
 This is my car!
 One-meter line
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Object language
Clothing (a case study: “She is not
supposed to be wearing trousers.”)
 Personal artifacts
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Silence (paralanguage)
Even when you don’t say anything,
you’re still transmitting some
information.
 High-context culture vs. low-context
culture
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