Communication

Before we begin, lets have some laughs and try to conclude what will be the topic I will discuss today, according to the following video. Viewer discretion is advised.

As we can see in the video, cultural differences DO exist, even in the least expected context. When we move our eyes, when we speak, when we look, whenever we do anything related to communication, each culture can interpret a different thing, varying from acceptance to rejection.

In todays topic, I would like to point out which are the main cultural differences in non-verbal communication.

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• Gesture: some gestures or certain movements can be both offensive and neutral in many cultures. Depending on on the behaviors of each culture, according to the interpretation of Hofstedes cultural dimensions, one can note that some cultures are more picky to gestures than others. For example, Brazilians tend to touch, hug and kiss people they just met (when I meen touch, I refer to hand contact like shoulder patting and so on), while in Asia, a certain distance must always be kept even when people have known each other for a long while.
• Touch: when one thinks that it is appropriatte to salute a person from the opposite gender with his/her hand, another one sees it as inappropriate and feels uncomfortable. It is common for us as Colombians to shake hands with someone from the opposite gender when we first meet them, but for muslims, this kind of act can even be punishable. Another example is patting one on the head: while many see it as a normal gesture (for example, us colombians), asians see it as disrespectful, given that the head is considered touching a sacred part of the body. Muslims believe that the left hand is only used for hygiene (for example, after going to the restroom, one would clean himself up with the left hand), so it is not used for anyhing else.
• Eye contact: to some, eye contact shows respect to what that person is saying; to others, it can meen sexual desire. A good example is americans, whom aprreciate eye contact when spoken at, while in many countries in Asia, too much eye contact can be offensive, and low eye contact can mean that one is paying close attention.
• Other acts: muslims tend to not show the sole of their shoes (this applying while sitting especially) because it denotes the filth of the land.
• Speech volume: talking to loud or talking to quite can denote many things. In latin american countries, talking to loud (in men) can translate into manhood and courage; in Japan, it is a clear sign of disrespect.
• Dress: how one looks and dresses can be seen in many ways. In North America, dressing right is almost an obssesion, where it indicates that one is clean and cares for himself; in some African countries and Australia, people dress according to the climate, where it is appropiate to dress comfortably according to weather standards.
• Posture: to bow to someone in Japan for instance, can denote that that person has a higher rank or status; to do it in North America can be even seen as asskissing.
• Pointing: very common to point someone in all cultures, although all differ on how they do it. For example, in the US it is done with the index finger, in Germany with the little finger, in Japan with the entire hand and in Colombia it is rude to point someone out.
• Paralanguage: tu burp or or belch in India meens that one is satisfied with what they just ate; to Western countries it is very rude, and even when done with no intention, one should be embarrased.

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As a final idea, it is important to know how other people communicate (verbal and non verbal) before interacting with them; serious problems and arguments can come from misproper communication. Knowing what we do right, but knowing what the other sees as right can avoid us troubles.

Bibliography

• Cultural differences in non-verbal communication. Vermont department of health. Retrieved on 15/05/2011. http://healthvermont.gov/family/toolkit/tools%5CF-6%20Cultural%20Differences%20in%20Nonverbal%20Communic.pdf.
• Non verbal communication modes. Andrews University. Retrieved on 15/05/2011. http://www.andrews.edu/~tidwell/lead689/NonVerbal.html.
• Leba, N. (2010). Understanding cultural differences in non verbal communications. Associated content from Yahoo. Retrieved on 15/05/2011. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5568614/understanding_cultural_differences.html?cat=16.

Images

1. Retrieved on 15/05/2011. http://www.1000ventures.com/design_elements/selfmade/ccd_example_ok-gesture.gif.
2. Retrieved on 15/05/2011. http://www.wbfn.org/Mosaic/Mosaic-FY09/November-2008/Images/Cultural-differences.jpg.

Videos

• Video provided by JdaSilva06. Youtube. Retrieved on 15/05/2011. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_N1Cmt_QB0