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.

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.

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.

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.

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)

Nonverbal(nonsymbolic)

Vocal Verbal/vocalbehaviors

Nonverbal/vocalBehaviors (eg. The rate, loudness, softness of speech etc.)

nonvocal Verbal/nonvocalBehaviors(eg. American Sign Language)

Nonverbal/nonvocalBehaviors (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 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 is

his/her turn the speak) Substituting(eg. A noisy cafeteria might get

you to wave at a friend instead of screaming to get his attention)

Accenting(eg. A well-skilled public speaker 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

Believe it or not 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) 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… 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 post-industrial

peoples)

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.

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.

Future-oriented cultures 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.

Time system Circular time system

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 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 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)

M-Time 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 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.

A quiz 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 clock-bound.

A case study “Not Come In Time”

Spatial language Proxemics: the study of space 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

Cultural differences in the use of personal space 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

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 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

Object language Clothing (a case study: “She is not

supposed to be wearing trousers.”) Personal artifacts

Silence (paralanguage) Even when you don’t say anything,

you’re still transmitting some information.

High-context culture vs. low-context culture