While verbal interactions are universally accepted as the main means of communication, at the same time, people communicate not only with the help of words – they constantly broadcast information through a channel called “non-verbal.” Verbal and nonverbal channels of information transmission are closely related and interdependent, and the relationship between them is complex and often contradictory. Nonverbal signals are of particular value because they are spontaneous and unconscious and, unlike words, always sincere. This paper looks at the role of non-verbal communication in portraying emotions and discusses the cultural differences inherent in people from different backgrounds as far as gestures are concerned. This paper hypothesizes that non-verbal gestures and behavior play a major role in the everyday life of people and are essential to take into account to make cross-cultural communication successful.
The major area of interest is how non-verbal communication helps to portray people’s emotions and feelings. It is no secret that when a person is angry, he or she may frown, and vice versa, a happy and outgoing person, tends to smile. On the other hand, a person’s mimic may portray not only his or her emotions but depict a culture a person grew in, so that non-verbal signs can be construed differently in different cultures.
In human communication, the gaze performs one of the most important communicative functions since the frequency and duration of the gaze can indicate the nature of the relationship to what the person says. For the initiation of social relations, the contact-establishing look is of particular importance. A person’s social success largely depends on how skillfully a person uses his gaze. At the same time, certain difficulties may arise when representatives of different cultures enter into communication since such mimicry is not universal. Differences concerning the role of the contact-setting gaze in social communication can be traced between low-contact and high-contact cultures (Mokhtari, 2013). I have a personal experience of studying with students from different cultures, and the way how a person looks at the interlocutor differs greatly depending on a person’s background. Thus, I have noticed that girls from Muslim cultures tend to lower their gaze and not to look directly in the eyes when speaking. The Japanese, in my experience, try to avoid direct eye contact in every possible way, looking at the neck area, which I personally find not very friendly, though it is in their cultural code. On the other hand, a slightly tilted forward head with closed eyes means close attention and deep interest of the Japanese in what the interlocutor is saying.
Another aspect of interest is how culture influences people’s behavior in a similar situations in everyday life. Queuing is accepted in many cultures, and, while in some countries, it is well-organized, in others, it will be chaotic and end in pushing or even fights. Thus, the English are champions in organized queuing, while the Norwegians follow the ‘the quickest gets the first place’ rule (Ricardi). My experience of queuing allowed me to see different cultural aspects of this phenomenon. The Muslim girls tend to stand apart from any crowded places and keep their distance in every cue, no matter how far they are surpassed by other people. Their quiet dignity and the way they humbly take the last places sometimes evokes the desire in other people to let them pass in front, as, in fact, is accepted in their native cultural code. Latin Americans tend to stand in queues very close to each other, which, for me, is a bit disconcerting because I like to keep my distance. Once I had a very interesting talk with a boy from the Philippines about standing in lines, and he told me that in their culture, senior people take the first places while younger people stand behind them. Such division of places in a queue is seen as a sign of respect for the older generation.
The third aspect of interest is the language of gestures that can be used differently in different cultures. Thus, in most cultures, nodding is seen as an equivalent of ‘yes,’ and shaking the head is construed as ‘no.’However, in Asian cultures, shaking your head is a sign of approval or acknowledgment of the fact that a person is speaking to you (Gestures around the world). Studying with people from diverse cultures, I found out that some gestures are particular for this or that culture and have a specific meaning. Thus, a hand with a raised thumb in the USA and Great Britain is a sign of approval or some kind of positive emotional reaction. But in Greece, they asked a person to be silent in this way, which totally confused me when a person asked me to keep quiet in such a way. In fact, I just continued speaking, believing he approved of what I was saying. Later I found out that this gesture takes on an even more sinister meaning in the countries of the Middle East: there, it is a rough form to send a person away. If in Australia, Europe, or the USA you call someone with your hand or finger, you will be understood unequivocally, perceiving this gesture as a beckoning. But, to my greatest surprise, in Asia, this is a sign of a strong insult. My Asian friends were greatly insulted when I called them this way, and a bot from the Philippines said that, in his country, a person could even go to jail for it. There they call animals with their finger or hand, and the gesture is seen as a sign of disrespect for the interlocutor.
Thus, non-verbal communication plays a great role in making people’s interactions more emotional and intense. However, it is worth remembering that different cultures can construe gestures differently, so it is advised to learn about the cultures one is going to not to make sone social blunders. Learning about different cultures can be a very interesting and rewarding experience, provided a person truly wants to embrace different aspects of a culture he studies, including non-verbal communication.
References
Ricardi, P. Cross cultural communication. [Video]. YouTube.
Gestures around the world. [Video]. YouTube.
Mokhtari, M. (2013). The puzzle of non-verbal communication: Towards a new aspect of leadership. Thesis. Linnaeus University, 1-124.