Verbal /Nonverbal Communication
When American troops drove through the streets of Iraq, they thought they
were being greeted by happy children. They observed hundreds of
children in the streets of Baghdad giving them the “thumbs-up” sign.
However, as
Woodward points out, the Americans “did not realize that in Iraq the thumbs-
up sign
traditionally was the equivalent of the American middle-finger salute.”1
Misinterpreting
the nonverbal actions of people from different cultures is rather
commonplace. For
example, in Mexico it is not unusual to see both men and women hugging
each other in
public. Yet in cultures such as China and Japan, these open displays of
physical contact
are normally excluded from interpersonal exchanges. Moving one’s head
from side to
side in the United States is usually a sign of “no” and means disagreement,
yet in India
the same sign often represents agreement. In Western cultures, people
normally greet
by shaking hands. Arab men often greet by kissing on both cheeks. In Japan,
men greet
by exchanging bows. In Thailand, to signal another person to come near, one
moves
the fingers back and forth with the palm down. In the United States, you
beckon someone
to come by holding the palm up and moving the fingers toward your body. In
Vietnam,
that same motion is reserved for someone attempting to summon his or her
dog.
Crossing one’s legs in the United States is often a sign of being relaxed; in
Korea, it is a
social taboo. In Japan, gifts are usually exchanged using both hands. Muslims
consider
the left hand unclean and do not eat or pass objects with it.
Although much of nonverbal communication is universal, many of our
nonverbal actions are shaped by culture.
Our emotions—be they fear, joy, anger, or sadness—are reflected in our
posture, face, and
eyes, so you can express them without ever uttering a word. For this reason,
most people
rely heavily on what they learn through their eyes. In fact, research indicates
that we
usually believe in nonverbal messages instead of verbal messages when the
two contradict
each other.
Creating Impressions
Nonverbal communication is important in human interaction because it is
partially
responsible for creating impressions. Think for a moment of the nonverbal
preparation
you make for an employment interview or an important date. This
preparation shows
your awareness that people will draw a mental picture of you based on your
appearance.
Your personal experiences will also show you how often you make judgments
about
other people based on such things as the color of their skin, age, gender,
facial expression,
manner of dress, accent, and even the type of handshake they manage to
administer.
How you select friends and sexual partners is likewise grounded in nonverbal
impressions. You often approach certain people because of how attractive
you find them
and avoid others because of a decision you have made concerning their
appearance.
TYPES OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
It is impossible to categorize all the different types of nonverbal behaviour.
Not only are they too numerous, but often several types of nonverbal
behaviour from seemingly different ‘categories’ can be used by the same
person simultaneously., However, we examine the following seven
categories which are argued to be most relevant to intercultural
communication: kinesics[kə'nēsiks, proxemics, chronemics, haptics, physical
appearance and dress, paralanguage, and olfactics.
Kinesics: body movement
Kinesics refers to gestures, hand and arm movements, leg movements, facial
expressions, eye contact, and posture.
Proxemics: the use of space
Proxemics refers to the use of space, including territory, which stands for the
space that an individual claims permanently or temporarily. For example, it
is very likely that you are sitting in the same seat in a lecture hall where you
sat at the beginning of the semester, even though you do not have assigned
seating.
If someone takes that seat before you, you may feel as if that person had
taken ‘your spot’.
Edward Hall (1966) analysed four zones of personal space that have meaning
in communication. The first is the intimate zone (0–18 inches), which is used
for intimate communication such as comforting, protecting, and love-making.
The second is the personal zone (18 inches–4 feet), which is the distance
that people commonly maintain in dyadic encounters. The third is the social
zone (4–12 feet), which is the normative distance at social gatherings, in
work settings, and during business transactions. The fourth zone comprises
the largest distance between persons (12 feet and above). It is generally
used in formal communication situations, such as public speaking. Different
cultures may have different criteria for a ‘comfortable’ distance between
speakers.
Chronemics: the use of time
Chronemics refers to the use of time. Our concept of time may influence our
communication behaviour.
A meeting in an African village does not begin until everyone is ready. A 45-
minute wait may not be unusual for a business appointment in Latin
America, but would probably be insulting to a North American businessman.
Differences in the conception of time can cause frustration in intercultural
communication.
For example, a US American professor complained about the long staff
meetings when he
taught at a university in Hong Kong. Unlike his experience of staff meetings
in the United States, those he attended in Hong Kong did not seem to follow
the agenda items in a linear way.
Haptics: the use of touch
Haptics refers to the use of touch, the most primitive form of communication.
Touch sends a myriad of messages – protection, support, approval, or
encouragement. As usual, when, where, and whom we touch
and what meanings we assign to touch differ widely across cultures. The
amount of touch also varies with age, sex, situation, and the relationship
between the people involved. North American culture generally discourages
touching by adults except in moments of intimacy or in formal greetings
(e.g., hand shaking or hugging). Similar culturally defined patterns of
physical contact avoidance are found in most cultures of Asia and Northern
Europe. In so-called Mediterranean cultures, touch is extremely important,
and people
frequently use touch during a conversation or a meeting. Hall (1966)
distinguishes between high- and low-contact cultures. High-contact cultures
are those that tend to encourage touching and engage in touching more
frequently (e.g., Southern and Eastern Europe). Anglo-Celtic cultures are
considered low contact. Even within a low- or high-contact culture, the
cultural and social rules governing touch vary. People from Islamic and Hindu
cultures typically do not touch with the left hand because to do so is a social
insult. The left hand is reserved for toilet functions. Islamic cultures generally
do not permit touching between genders, but touch between people of the
same gender tends to be acceptable. In many Western cultures, touching
between people of the same sex may be interpreted by others as a sign of
homosexuality, but in other cultures this practice is normal for everyone. In
most cultures people consciously manipulate their physical appearance in
order to communicate their identity.
In ancient Chinese culture, women had to bind their feet at a young age,
because small feet symbolized beauty. Plastic surgery is another example of
using physical appearance to communicate messages. According to the
American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (2006), there has been a 222
per cent increase in cosmetic procedures performed in the United States
since 1997; 91 per cent of the cosmetic surgery was performed on young
women (ASAPS, 2006). As Kathy Davis (1995) noted, in Western societies
women are expected to look beautiful because they are considered ‘to
embody’ beauty. While white women are pressured to be thin, women of
colour may experience not only the societal pressure to be thin, but also that
of an impossible expectation to be white.
Paralanguage: quality and characteristics of the voice
Paralanguage refers to vocal qualities that accompany speech. It can be
divided into two broad categories:
voice qualities and vocalizations (Knapp and Hall, 1997). Voice qualities
include elements like pitch, volume, tempo, rhythm, tone, pausing, and
resonance of the voice. Vocalization includes laughing, crying, sighing,
yelling, moaning, swallowing, and throat-clearing. Cultural differences are
reflected in people’s use of paralanguage. Speaking loudly indicates strength
and sincerity to Arabs, authority to Germans, but impoliteness to Thais, and
loss of control to the Japanese.
The Lebanese proverb ‘Lower your voice and strengthen your argument’ also
emphasizes the value that this culture places on controlling one’s voice in a
conversation. The use of vocal segregates (e.g., um, uh) may communicate
interest, uncertainty, attention, acceptance, or hesitation, and their
meanings vary across cultures. In China, people may use ‘um’ or ‘hai’ (for
Cantonese speakers) to indicate ‘yes’ or ‘I see’ while the other person is
speaking. This vocal segregate is used to encourage the other speaker to
continue talking,
rather than to suggest a change of turn. The appropriateness of vocal
qualities is also judged based on gender. For example, laughing loudly is
common and acceptable for American women, but it might not be considered
as such in Thailand. In ancient China, women had to cover their mouth with a
handkerchief when they were laughing to indicate good manners and
politeness.
Olfactics: the use of smell, scent, and odour
Olfactics refers to human perception and use of smell, scent, and odour.
Compared with other types of nonverbal code, the study of olfactics has
received less academic attention. Smell can also be used to communicate
position, social class, and power. Anthony Synnott (1996) claims that odour
is used to categorize people into social groups of different status, power, and
social class because the meanings attributed to a specific scent give it social
significance.. If a well-dressed man carrying a briefcase and smelling of a
high-quality aftershave gets into the lift of an office building, others in the lift
are more likely to think he is someone who holds a management position,
rather than as an ordinary office worker. Nevertheless, people’s smell
preferences are not universal, but vary across cultures.
Nonverbal expressions in politics–the case of Vladimir Putin
Using the appropriate and effective nonverbal codes to communicate is
important for all politicians, especially in public speaking, networking, media
appearances, and fund-raising activities. Nonverbal communication is
extremely effective in creating a particular type of desirable political image,
and this has an important role in international and national politics. That ‘we
do not communicate by words alone’ is an important first lesson for
politicians: facial expression, voice, accent, silence, colour, body movements,
posture, touching, smell, use of objects, sense of place and time, dress,
accessories used, and walking style are all included in the nonverbal
communication codes that politicians employ. When voters are evaluating
political leaders they make use of information other than the content of the
politicians’ speeches, and this information is often obtained from nonverbal
communication. Politicians learn that the same words uttered in different
tones of voice, with variations
in loudness, pitch, pause, and tempo, can have different effects on audience.
Populist politicians from Berlusconi in Italy, and Sarkozy in France, to Putin in
Russia use nonverbal communication very cautiously. They learn how
important it is to know when to look or not to look at each other, when to
stand close or further apart, when to face each other more or less directly,
and when to move their bodies. Sometimes, they know they need to touch
and in that way they appear more connected to voters (Foxall, 2013).
Research has identified three main dimensions of nonverbal behaviour
among politicians: a positiveness dimension, a responsiveness dimension,
and a potency or status dimension. These are very basic dimensions that we
use constantly in interpersonal and intergroup judgements, and they have
been extensively studied in many contexts since the 1950s. Concrete
behaviours within these dimensions emerge at several nonverbal
communication
levels. For example, politicians can use their voice, gestures, or body
movements to be perceived as friendly, interested, competent,
compassionate, powerful, or superior. One can demonstrate sympathy
towards another person on the positiveness dimension by smiling, nodding,
or touching that person. Responsiveness is related to nonverbal
communication that demonstrates the other’s importance for the politician.
Keeping an eye contact, for example, is a concrete behaviour on this
dimension that politicians use frequently. Finally,
nonverbal behaviour indicating potency or status is used to demonstrate
social control. Politicians expand their size and presence, and take up a lot of
space, by using gestures or body movements or by speaking with a loud
voice (Tavanti, 2012). What happens in political spaces, and the way it
happens, can have great importance for the development of political culture.
Both sports and politics have become places where it is legitimate to show
aggressive feelings, within culturally-prescribed limits. It is generally
accepted as ‘not masculine’ if a male sports player begins to cry, whereas
women players are regarded as feminine if they cry (but female politicians
might be regarded as weak).
One of the leading politicians in the world, Vladimir Putin, is famous for his
effective use of nonverbal communication. He appears very much in control
of his ‘brand’ image of masculinity: strong, fashionable, with decisive looks,
charismatic posture, and confident walk (Foxall, 2013)
.
He has been named as Russia’s ‘James Bond’ or ‘Action Man’. Putin is
marketed and branded by the Kremlin as a Russian strongman and smart
action hero – ‘He is, if you like, our James Bond’, claims the Russian journalist
Vladimir Solovyov (Foxall, 2013: 139). Putin’s popularity in Russia also
means that his name and image are used in commercials – among the Putin-
branded products are Putinka vodka, PuTin brand canned food, and
Gorbusha
Putina caviar (Foxall, 2013).
Putin offers a rich case for exploring how nonverbal communication is used
to convey masculinity and power. Putin uses nonverbal communication and
his body, in particular, is an element in building his cult of personality.
Putin is an expert judo player, and frequently poses in front of the cameras
dressed in his judo outfit and his black belt. Putin’s holiday photographs are
regularly published by the Kremlin, and he is often photographed semi-naked
while on holiday. Other politicians use this same behaviour; there were
pictures of the UK Prime Minister Tony Blair talking on the phone wearing
swimming trunks in 2002 and 2006, and a bare-chested Barack Obama (then
Senator of Illinois) body surfing in Honolulu in 2008 (Foxall, 2013).
Other photos of Putin show him dressed in fatigues, fingerless gloves, a bush
hat, and chic sunglasses, riding horses, rafting down a river, fishing for
grayling, and off-roading in a sport utility vehicle. These photographs of Putin
help to reflect and perpetuate the stereotypically masculine discourse about
what it means to be a leader in contemporary Russia – how to use the body
to perform strong politics.
Some commentators claim that Putin uses his body very openly during his
public performances. He uses the centre of his chest, which is an important
nonverbal gesture to indicate that we are openly expressing what we think.
His arm gestures also accentuate his verbal message. His crossed fingers to
express a stressful, tense situation, and the gesture of putting his finger or
an object into his mouth (for example, pen) reflects a need
for confidence (Tavanti, 2012). A close analysis of his nonverbal
communication shows a distinctive nonverbal behaviour (with a high amount
of aggressiveness) when he addresses topics related to the domestic
financial crisis, in comparison to the other topics. Putin’s hand gestures are
also used very differently in speeches about the financial crisis, in
comparison to the other topics (Tavanti, 2012). Thus, Putin is able to convey
nuanced – but always masculine – attitudes to different topics and in
different contexts.
