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An Introduction to Intercultural Communication - a basic summary of the purpose of intercultural communication.
Intercultural communication is of importance to international businesses as it examines how people from different cultures, beliefs and religions come together to work and communicate with each other.
Demands for intercultural communication skills are increasing as more and more businesses go global or international. They realize that there are barriers and limitations when entering a foreign territory. Without the help of intercultural communication they can unknowingly cause confusion and misunderstandings. For these intercultural businesses to breach the cultural barriers encountered when stepping into foreign grounds it is vital for them to fully understand the cultural differences that exist so as to prevent damaging business relations due to intercultural communication gaps.
There are many theories that set principles to help interpret the basis of intercultural communication. These theories help to iron out possible ripples of misunderstanding by giving a basic guideline on how to address situations. These guidelines help prevent clashes between different cultures groups caused by misperceptions.
The basic skills of intercultural communication are fundamentally general communication skills that can be used universally by all cultures and races. These skills are simply tweaked in a direction that takes the cultural limitation into consideration. An example of such communication skills in the intercultural environment is to listen without judging, repeat what you understand, confirm meanings, give suggestions and acknowledge a mutual understanding.
In a nutshell the main purpose of following such theories is to earn respect from others. Respect in all cultures in the world is a common language and by earning it through respecting other peoples culture and religion; the favor is returned.
Cross Cultural Communication Consultants - A look at the role, skills and qualifications of cross cultural communication consultants.
Cross cultural communication consultants have come a long way in the short period of time such specialists have been in demand. No longer are they expatriates with a few years overseas experience and the capability to impart their knowledge onto others. Cross cultural consultants now bring expertise that is founded upon a number of key factors.
Cross cultural consultants generally have a broad knowledge and experience of two or more different cultures.
This knowledge is then employed to assist companies and individuals overcome challenges brought about through cross cultural differences in business. Areas in which assistance is needed may range from relocation

briefings to company mergers or management techniques. The ability to diagnose and treat cross cultural problems is developed through their experience in a number of different fields.
Academic Knowledge Cross cultural consultants will generally have an academic background either in specific courses such as 'Cross Cultural Communication and Trade' or 'Cross Cultural Psychology' or in related courses such as 'International Relations' or 'Business Studies'. Their studies will equip them with the academic skills and knowledge of the field that will later be applied in the business context.
Business Know-how It is critical for cross cultural consultants to have considerable business experience. If this is lacking then academic knowledge is not usually sufficient to understand the mechanics of business operations. In order to understand how things work and the different challenges facing managers and staff it is critical to have experienced it first hand.
Training Experience Through courses and practical experience a cross cultural consultant will have knowledge of training techniques. This will include communication skills, presentation methods, the use of activities and utilization of different technology and media.
Living Abroad Experience of living abroad, mixing with different cultures, speaking different languages and working in foreign offices is vital for any cross cultural consultant. Without having been exposed to a different culture how can one advise on working effectively with that culture? It is important that this emersion in the target culture has been to the extent that the cross cultural consultant can totally empathise with the culture and understand its dynamics.
Speaking a Foreign Language Language carries with it cultural coding. All experts, commentators and linguists are unanimous that without knowledge of the language the culture can never be appreciated. A cross cultural consultant will therefore have this insider knowledge not only through living and working in a country but also by using and understanding the language.
The complexity and diversity of cross cultural challenges in the international business world is reflected in the broad knowledge and skills of cross cultural consultants. Drawing on expertise gained through a variety of interrelated fields, the cross cultural consultant is now truly a specialist of great importance.
Definition of Intercultural Communication - what does intercultural communication mean?
Intercultural communication in its most basic form refers to an academic field of study and research. Its seeks to understand how people from different countries and cultures behave, communicate and perceive the world around them. The findings of such academic research are then applied to 'real life' situations such as how to create cultural synergy between people from different cultures within a business or how psychologists understand their patients.
The definition of intercultural communication must also include strands of the field that contribute to it such as anthropology, cultural studies, psychology and communication.
There are many researchers and academics of note within the intercultural field, who naturally all have different definitions of 'intercultual communication'. For example Karlfried Knapp defines it as "'Intercultural

communication,' can...be defined as the interpersonal interaction between members of different groups, which differ from each other in respect of the knowledge shared by their members and in respect of their linguistic forms of symbolic behaviour." For those wanting to dig a bit deeper it may be a good idea to look into the works of Edward T. Hall, Geert Hofstede, Harry C. Triandis, Fons Trompenaars, Clifford Geertz and Shalom
Schwartz.
The theories developed by the researchers and academics can and has been applied to many fields such as business.
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Cross Cultural Understanding - an examination of common cross cultural terms and their meanings
Terminology within the cross cultural communications field can sometimes be baffling to those reading the literature, websites or promotional material. Many ask what is the difference between 'intercultural' and 'cross cultural'? What is 'cross cultural awareness' as opposed to 'cross cultural knowledge' or, are 'cultural sensitivity' and 'cultural competence' the same thing?
With a view to clarifying some of the above mentioned terminology, this article will examine terms used in relation to building cross cultural understanding within the business world.
Cross cultural understanding simply refers to the basic ability of people within business to recognise, interpret and correctly react to people, incidences or situations that are open to misunderstanding due to cultural differences. The fundamental intention of cross cultural training is to equip the learner(s) with the appropriate skills to attain cross cultural understanding.
Once the foundations of cross cultural understanding have been laid, the learner(s), either through continued training or experiences within the workplace, gradually attains a more acute appreciation of cultural differences.
The different types of appreciation are cross cultural knowledge, cross cultural awareness, cross cultural sensitivity and cross cultural competence. Although all the terms may appear similar in meaning, subtle differences exist between them.
'Cross Cultural Knowledge' is critical to basic cross cultural understanding. Without it cross cultural appreciation cannot take place. It refers to a surface level familiarization with cultural characteristics, values, beliefs and behaviours.
'Cross Cultural Awareness' develops from cross cultural knowledge as the learner understands and appreciates a culture internally. This may also be accompanied by changes within the learner's behaviour and attitudes such as a greater flexibility and openness.
'Cross Cultural Sensitivity' is a natural by-product of awareness and refers to an ability to read into situations, contexts and behaviours that are culturally rooted and be able to react to them appropriately. An suitable response necessitates that the actor no longer carries his/her own culturally determined interpretations of the situation or behaviour (i.e. good/bad, right/wrong) which can only be nurtured through both cross cultural knowledge and awareness.
'Cross Cultural Competence' is and should be the aim of all those dealing with multicultural clients, customers or colleagues. 'Competence' is the final stage of cross cultural understanding and signifies the actor's ability to

work effectively across cultures. Cross cultural competency is beyond knowledge, awareness and sensitivity in that it is the digestion, integration and transformation of all the skills and information acquired through them, applied to create cultural synergy within the workplace.
Intercultural Training and Stereotypes - a look at the difference between stereotypes and generalizations.
A common observation people make about intercultural awareness training is that it stereotypes people. The fact that intercultural training presents information on a particular nationality or culture is taken to be a negative attribute, i.e. that we box people with rigid labels that correlate to their behaviour, values or actions. Such observations are misplaced.
Intercultural awareness training does provide conclusions on cultures or nationalities but it does not stereotype.
Stereotyping is usually a negative statement about a group of people. A stereotype emerges when a blanket perception is applied to an entire group of people. For example, we may know one Japanese person who is very quiet so we conclude that all Japanese are quiet and reserved. Or we see certain media images and conclude that because a person is Muslim they are prone to violence and aggression against non-Muslims. Both are far from the truth.
A stereotype is an incorrect perception of a people based on minimal experiential evidence. Stereotyping is therefore rightly seen as a negative way of seeing people. This is even true of positive stereotypes. Again, a positive stereotype is where we use a blanket expression for a whole people, i.e. all the Chinese are great at maths, all Germans are well organised or all English people are well mannered. Although the intent behind the statement is positive, it still does not reflect the truth.
As a consequence people shy away from making stereotypes and believe every individual should be taken on their own merit. Although in a perfect world this is an ideal scenario, when preparing someone with intercultural training to live in India, negotiate in Dubai or work with Brazilians, it is completely impractical.
Intercultural training must therefore provide people with some sort of standard against which they can make reference. This is done through "generalizations" not stereotypes. Generalizations are different from and far more reliable than stereotypes. What intercultural training does is observe a people, pinpoint commonalities and draw certain conclusions based on these. For example, an intercultural researcher or trainer working and/or living in Kuwait is able to make a few accurate, but at the same time, general statements about the Kuwaitis.
They may therefore be able to make the generalizations that one should be aware of gender roles, that to do business building a personal relationship is crucial, that if you have a good network of contacts this should be used, and that decision making can be a long slow process that ultimately always rests at the top of an organization.
Naturally there will be exceptions to these rules, but generalizations can and do paint a pretty accurate picture of a country or people. This is because although there are many layers to people, i.e. gender culture, lifestyle culture, regional culture, etc, they all in one way or another fall under the umbrella of national culture. To a certain extent then, most people will share common traits defined by their national culture.

A salient point to note is that intercultural training discourages participants from using blanket views of peoples. The spirit and ethos of intercultural training is to encourage people to discover one another through personal interaction. Real intercultural awareness only comes through experience. What intercultural training does is provide people who feel they need to know more about a country before working or living there with a safety net. This safety net provides them with a safe form of reference when they are unsure about an intercultural situation. Once that person actually goes though the experience of meeting someone, conducting negotiations or entertaining a guest they can then discard the safety net and refer to their own experiences.
In conclusion, intercultural training does not stereotype people but provides generalizations. These generalizations are based upon careful research and observation and offer people with simple guidelines on a country or culture. These guidelines simply act as an intercultural safety net people can turn to when uncertain.
Only through experience can people really apply true intercultural knowledge and competency.
Intercultural Training and the Iceberg Model - why do trainers use the iceberg to explain culture?
Many people question what culture is. How can it be defined? What analogies can be used to describe it? In intercultural training one of the questions that is often asked of participants is to think what culture means to them. What picture can they draw to describe it? Whether they draw a tree, cauldron, plate of food or a tapestry they are all valid as culture means different things to different people. In essence what they are trying to describe is something that is made up of lots of things and is multifaceted.
Within intercultural training though there is one model or analogy of culture that most agree sums up the concept best; and that is the iceberg.
The iceberg perhaps lends itself best to this as it so graphically demonstrates the idea of having both a visible and invisible structure.
Furthermore, the fate of the
Titanic, whose crew failed to appreciate the true size of the unseen part of the iceberg, adds another dimension in illustrating to people within intercultural training what can happen when this is ignored.
So why the iceberg model? The iceberg as mentioned above has the visible tip. These are the areas of culture that we can see manifest in the physical sense. In addition, more often than not these are the elements that we come into contact with first when diving into a new country or culture. Such "visible" elements include things

such as music, dress, dance, architecture, language, food, gestures, greetings, behaviours, devotional practices, art and more. In addition it can also relate to behaviours such as seeing people ignoring red traffic lights, spitting on the floor, smoking in public or queuing for a bus. All, depending on your own culture, may come across as weird, strange, rude, ignorant or simply silly.
None of the visible elements can ever make real sense without understanding the drivers behind them; and these are hidden on the bottom side of the iceberg, the invisible side. It is these invisible elements that are the underlying causes of what manifest on the visible side. So, when thinking about culture, the bottom side of the iceberg will include things such as religious beliefs, worldviews, rules of relationships, approach to the family, motivations, tolerance for change, attitudes to rules, communication styles, modes of thinking, comfort with risk, the difference between public and private, gender differences and more.
So for example, why do the English queue for everything? This relates to their approach to fairness, justice, order and rights. The rationale behind the queue is that those that get there first should by rights be served first or get on the bus first. Many other cultures simply do not queue in this manner as it is not part of their cultural programming.
It is for the reasons of clarity that the iceberg model has become so popular. As one can see from the brief example above it perfectly demonstrates the idea of an unseen world manifesting in many different ways on the seen.
Stereotypes: An Intercultural No-No - why stereotyping is dangerous.
As more or more people from different backgrounds, countries, cultures and religions immigrate to foreign lands, those countries become an intercultural melting pot. In order for the native people and the immigrant population to blend and create a thriving and successful atmosphere both sides need to develop some sort of intercultural tolerance and understanding of the differences that may exist between them. An example of poor intercultural understanding, or one based simply on stereotypes, is offered by the town of Herouxville in
Quebec, Canada.
A declaration issued by the town in January 2007, which was designed to inform immigrants, "that the way of life which they abandoned when they left their countries of origin cannot be recreated here [i.e. Herouxville]".
It then went on to state that the immigrant population would therefore have to refrain from their cultural norms and activities such as to "kill women by stoning them in public, burning them alive, burning them with acid, circumcising them, etc."
The declaration paints a rather sad picture of the officials that administer the town and highlights not only their rather insular outlook but a world view of "others" based on crass and frankly incorrect stereotypes. To simply consider that anyone from another country (in this case more than likely a Middle Eastern or Asian one) regards the stoning of women and burning them alive as part of daily life derives from crude, and media led, stereotypes of other peoples.
Stereotypes are at their most basic level a set of assumed characteristics about a certain group of people whose actual beliefs, habits and realities more often than not disagree with the imposed assumptions. Stereotypes are usually based on factors such as exaggeration, distortion, ignorance, racism, cultural factors or even historical

experiences. Stereotyping is therefore rightly seen as a negative way of seeing people. This is even true of what are called "positive stereotypes". A positive stereotype is where we use a blanket expression for a whole people, i.e. all the Chinese are great at maths, all Germans are well organised or all English people are well mannered.
Although the intent behind the statement is positive, it still does not reflect the truth.
What we have witnessed in Herouxville should not be seen as an isolated incident. Such assumptions about foreigners exist all over the planet. However, this does not make it right or excusable. The message it does give is that there is a lot of work to be done in order to educate people to become more culturally competent.
Cultural competency is a term used to describe the ability to work, communicate and live across cultures and cultural boundaries. One achieves this through an instilled understanding of cultures on a general level as well as an informed one about specific cultures on a more detailed level. As well as knowledge it has to work in tandem with behavioural and attitudinal changes.
Cultural competency is important in this day and age for exactly the reasons cited in this article. We, as citizens of planet earth, are no longer confined to our national and cultural borders. We mix with people from different cultures, ethnicities, religions and colours on a daily basis. In order to make this intercultural experience work on all levels from education to business to government, people have to develop basic skills in intercultural communication and understanding.
In order to assist the officials at Herouxville, five basic steps to cultural competence are presented below:
1. Break Assumptions Everyone makes or has assumptions about others. Assumptions are beliefs rather than objective truth and are usually influenced by a number of subjective factors. People need to assess their assumptions and ask themselves why they hold those ideas or beliefs.
2. Empathise In order to come to appreciate and understand people from different cultures, empathy is vital. Through putting yourself in someone else's shoes you come to see or appreciate their point of view.
3. Involve Involving others in your world and involving yourself in other's empowers and educates. Don't build walls between people but learn from one another.
4. Avoid Herd Mentality Herd mentality refers to a closed and one dimensional approach. Such a way of thinking curbs creativity, innovation and advancement as people are restricted in how to think, approach and engage with people or challenges. Cultural competency can only develop if people are encouraged to think as individuals, bring their cultural influences to the table and share ideas that may be outside the box.
5. Shun Insensitivity People can and do behave in culturally insensitive ways. By attacking someone's person, you attack their culture and therefore their dignity. This can only be divisive. Cultural competency is based upon people thinking through words and actions to ensure they do not act inappropriately. When insensitive behaviour is witnessed it is the responsibility of all to shun it and ensure it remains unacceptable.
6. Be Wise Wisdom is not called wisdom for nothing. People need to be aware how to interact with people with respect and knowledge. Cultural competency is essentially founded upon wisdom, i.e. showing maturity of

thought and action in dealing with people. Through thinking things out and have background knowledge to intercultural differences much of the communication problems witnessed within business could be avoided.
What is Culture?
- A collection of quotes examining the meaning of 'culture'.
The question is often asked - "What is culture? How can it be defined and what does it do?"
By way of answering the question a set of quotes has been compiled which hopefully gives some sort of indication as to what culture actually is.
O Mankind, We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other.
The Quran, 49:13
Culture is a thin but very important veneer that you must be careful not to scratch. People from different cultures are basically the same and respond in the same way. However, make sure that you understand their basic customs and show an interest and willingness to learn the differences between your cultures.
Mike Wills
Culture is the way in which a group of people solves problems and reconciles dilemmas.
E. Schein
Culture is the fabric of meaning in terms of which human beings interpret their experience and guide their action.
Clifford Geertz
Culture is a little like dropping an Alka-Seltzer into a glass-you don't see it, but somehow it does something.
Hans Magnus Enzensberger

I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all the lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any.
Mahatma Gandhi
If man is to survive, he will have learned to take a delight in the essential differences between men and between cultures. He will learn that differences in ideas and attitudes are a delight, part of life's exciting variety, not something to fear.
Gene Roddenberry
On a group of theories one can found a school; but on a group of values one can found a culture, a civilization, a new way of living together among men.
Ignazio Silone
A culture may be conceived as a network of beliefs and purposes in which any string in the net pulls and is pulled by the others, thus perpetually changing the configuration of the whole.
Jacques Barzun
Culture is the name for what people are interested in, their thoughts, their models, the books they read and the speeches they hear, their table-talk, gossip, controversies, historical sense and scientific training, the values they appreciate, the quality of life they admire. All communities have a culture. It is the climate of their civilization.
Walter Lippmann
Culture means control over nature.
Johan Huizinga
Culture is roughly anything we do and the monkeys don't.
Lord Raglan
Cross Cultural Negotiation - are cross cultural skills important in negotiations?
Cross cultural negotiation is one of many specialized areas within the wider field of cross cultural communications. By taking cross cultural negotiation training, negotiators and sales personnel give themselves an advantage over competitors.
There is an argument that proposes that culture is inconsequential to cross cultural negotiation. It maintains that as long as a proposal is financially attractive it will succeed. However, this is a naïve way of approaching international business.
Let us look at a brief example of how cross cultural negotiation training can benefit the international business person:

There are two negotiators dealing with the same potential client in the Middle East. Both have identical proposals and packages. One ignores the importance of cross cultural negotiation training believing the proposal will speak for itself. The other undertakes some cross cultural training. He/she learns about the culture, values, beliefs, etiquette and approaches to business, meetings and negotiations. Nine times out of ten the latter will succeed over the rival. This is because 1) it is likely they would have endeared themselves more to the host negotiation team and 2) they would be able to tailor their approach to the negotiations in a way that maximises the potential of a positive outcome.
Cross cultural negotiations is about more than just how foreigners close deals. It involves looking at all factors that can influence the proceedings. By way of highlighting this, a few brief examples of topics covered in cross cultural negotiation training shall be offered.
Eye Contact : In the US, UK and much of northern Europe, strong, direct eye contact conveys confidence and sincerity. In South America it is a sign of trustworthiness. However, in some cultures such as the Japanese, prolonged eye contact is considered rude and is generally avoided.
Personal Space & Touch: In Europe and North America, business people will usually leave a certain amount of distance between themselves when interacting. Touching only takes place between friends. In South America or the Middle East, business people are tactile and like to get up close. In Japan or China, it is not uncommon for people to leave a gap of four feet when conversing. Touching only takes place between close friends and family members.
Time: Western societies are very 'clock conscious'. Time is money and punctuality is crucial. This is also the case in countries such as Japan or China where being late would be taken as an insult. However, in South
America, southern Europe and the Middle East, being on time for a meeting does not carry the same sense of urgency.
Meeting & Greeting: most international business people meet with a handshake. In some countries this is not appropriate between genders. Some may view a weak handshake as sign of weakness whereas others would perceive a firm handshake as aggressive. How should people be addressed? Is it by first name, surname or title?
Is small talk part of the proceedings or not?
Gift-Giving: In Japan and China gift-giving is an integral part of business protocol however in the US or UK, it has negative connotations. Where gifts are exchanged should one give lavish gifts? Are they always reciprocated? Should they be wrapped? Are there numbers or colours that should be avoided?
All the above in one way or another will impact cross cultural negotiation and can only be learnt through cross cultural training. Doing or saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, poor communication and cross cultural misunderstandings can all have harmful consequences.
Cross cultural negotiation training builds its foundations upon understanding etiquettes and approaches to business abroad before focusing on cross cultural differences in negotiation styles and techniques.
There are three interconnected aspects that need to be considered before entering into cross cultural negotiation.
The Basis of the Relationship: in much of Europe and North America, business is contractual in nature.
Personal relationships are seen as unhealthy as they can cloud objectivity and lead to complications. In South
America and much of Asia, business is personal. Partnerships will only be made with those they know, trust and feel comfortable with. It is therefore necessary to invest in relationship building before conducting business.

Information at Negotiations: Western business culture places emphasis on clearly presented and rationally argued business proposals using statistics and facts. Other business cultures rely on similar information but with differences. For example, visual and oral communicators such as the South Americans may prefer information presented through speech or using maps, graphs and charts.
Negotiation Styles: the way in which we approach negotiation differs across cultures. For example, in the
Middle East rather than approaching topics sequentially negotiators may discuss issues simultaneously. South
Americans can become quite vocal and animated. The Japanese will negotiate in teams and decisions will be based upon consensual agreement. In Asia, decisions are usually made by the most senior figure or head of a family. In China, negotiators are highly trained in the art of gaining concessions. In Germany, decisions can take a long time due to the need to analyse information and statistics in great depth. In the UK, pressure tactics and imposing deadlines are ways of closing deals whilst in Greece this would backfire.
Clearly there are many factors that need to be considered when approaching cross cultural negotiation. Through cross cultural negotiation training, business personnel are given the appropriate knowledge that can help them prepare their presentations and sales pitches effectively. By tailoring your behaviour and the way you approach the negotiation you will succeed in maximising your potential.
Effective Multi-Cultural International Business Meetings - International and mutli-cultural meetings are an area in which cultural differences are most visible. The article offers some advice on how to minimise clashes of culture.
Of the many areas in international business where cultural differences manifest is in the corporate meeting room. International meetings are an area where differences in cultural values, etiquette, interpretations of professional conduct and corporate rules are at their most visible and challenging to control.
In international business meetings, cultural differences between professionals can and do clash. Although it can not always be avoided, the negative effects of cultural differences can be minimised with careful and effective planning, organisation and consideration prior to meetings.
Culture influences what we do, say, think and believe. Culture is different in different countries and contexts. In the context of international business it affects how people approach, perceive and contribute towards meetings.
A few examples include:
Time Not all cultures live by the clock. Time orientated cultures such as the British or Germans will have strict approaches to how meetings run. The start time, finishing time and all the different stages in between will be planned carefully. Other cultures will see the start time as an approximation, the finish time as non-fixed and all the different stages in between as flexible.
Hierarchy The hierarchical nature of a culture can have a massive impact on the input given by participants in an international meeting. For those from hierarchical cultures speaking one's mind, criticising ideas, disagreeing openly, giving feedback and reporting problems in front of the boss or manager are all areas they would feel uncomfortable with. To offer a criticism of the manager's idea would be seen as a loss of face for both the manager and the criticiser.
The Purpose of Meetings After a few pleasantries in the meeting room, the common term in the West is,
'let's get down to business'. Western meetings generally run to a tight schedule with an organised, pre-planned agenda. Meetings are for business. On the other hand, different cultures see the meeting as the arena for building personal relationships and strengthening bonds. Getting down to business comes further down the priority list.

When chairing an international business meeting it is always advisable to bear in mind the attendees' cultures and backgrounds. Is it a very varied group or do the majority of participants have cultural similarities? Think about their approaches to meetings. How have they acted in meetings before? Can you identify the cultural reason why?
Following are some guidelines that may assist you when approaching cultural diversity in your next international business meeting.
Meeting Etiquette and Mannerisms In highly diverse international companies, one can find participants in a meeting from the four corners of the globe. Each will have their own cultural etiquettes, gestures, mannerisms and ways of expression. Shouting, throwing hands around and even storming out of meetings are all possibilities. In such a company it may be advisable to provide inter-cultural awareness training to staff to minimise misunderstandings. Where differences are not as acute it may be up to you as the chair to understand how certain etiquettes, gestures and general meeting room tactics may be perceived and how you can minimise any adverse impact.
Expectations of Meetings Prior to the meeting make it clear what the purpose of the meeting will be.
What is the goal of the meeting? Why are you asking each attendant? What do expect from them? Contact the participants and discuss the meeting and what you require of each person. If ready, send them the agenda. If it is a brainstorming meeting then maybe ask each participant to bring at least three suggestions with them. If it is a meeting bringing together different areas within a company, let each attendant know what people would like to hear about from them. Once a framework is in place people will know where they fit into the picture.
Take a Relaxed Approach to Meetings Many people find business meetings daunting. This may be a combination of stage fright, sitting in front of the boss and feeling inferior to colleagues. This will lead to anxiety, tension, nervousness and general discomfort. Try introducing subtle differences to a meeting to put people at ease. Ice breakers offer a good tension release at the beginning of a meeting. Warm ups offer a similar benefit. Try using an alternative setting instead of the meeting room. Consider changes in the lighting or ambience.
Group Sizes in Meetings In short, small groups will work more effectively in meetings. Smaller groups offer increased security and allow for greater participation. In international business meetings, using smaller groups can be used in two ways.
First, prior to a large international business meeting identify who will be coming and what they can contribute.
Will the meeting cover different topics? Will it require input from different business areas? If you are organised enough you can initiate some smaller meetings where you group participants who are comfortable with one another or who share expertise in the same area. Ask the groups to take their conclusions to the next, larger, meeting. Participants there will now feel comfortable with their contributions and ideas.
Second, if the company culture allows, break your meeting up into smaller groups where feedback and open discussion may flow more easily. Then ask a delegated head of each group to summarise their findings. This may allow those who would not normally speak out in front of larger groups to get their views across.
Multi-Cultural Meetings A major mistake made when dealing with diverse cultures in one meeting room is to suggest that those of similar backgrounds work, group or be seated together. Rather than allow for greater fluency in the meeting this will have the opposite affect. Once cosy in their cultural groups, participants will slip into their cultural patterns. It is vital you mix up your meeting. The additional benefit to this approach is that it allows for cross cultural interpersonal relationships to develop, strengthening staff bonds.
Alternative Communication Methods in Meetings

Most international meetings take on a basic format and structure whereby an agenda is set and attendants contribute to the topic of discussion orally. If you have participants who potentially will be very quiet and nonparticipatory then consider some alternative methods of communication.
For example, prior to the meeting, e-mail members of staff some questions regarding the forthcoming topics.
Give them open-ended questions as to their opinions. Ask them to e-mail back their replies which can then be used to instigate their contribution in the meeting.
If you know some participants are uncomfortable speaking, then why not let them write? Either use a white board or offer to take suggestions and opinions on paper?
Always Confirm Meanings in Meetings
Different cultural assumptions as to the meaning of a word, phrase, symbol, picture or agreement can cause confusion before and after a meeting. When approaching a topic or after consensus has been agreed upon a subject always confirm that the general meaning has been agreed upon and understood. Where potential problems may exist as to interpretation always simplify meanings. If the meeting will deal with complex language or concepts consider forming a consensus on the meaning all participants will be comfortable with, then circulating them in advance of the meeting for review.
At the end of a meeting, summarise and capture the main agreements and disagreements. Ensure everyone is happy with them.
International business meetings require great planning, organisation and consideration if they are to succeed in offering effective outcomes. Always consider the cultural variants you will be dealing with and think of ways to overcome potential problems. The above mentioned tips are merely basic pointers that will hopefully help you start to think about how culture impacts international meetings.
Cross Cultural Communication across Languages - some tips on how to overcome the language barrier and get your message across.
Cross cultural communication is not the sole reserve of the business world. In fact, all of us in one form or another come across situations that require some kind of cross cultural communication and understanding.
One such situation is when communicating with foreigners. We all encounter people at work, on holiday or elsewhere who do not share the same language as us. Although we consider language the main means of communicating, language only represents 7% of what we communicate. There are many ways of overcoming the language barrier to allow for some cross cultural communication.
When faced with a situation in which there is no common language these points may help you to get your message across:

Say it without words : use hands, arms, legs, gestures, facial expressions and everything else your charades experience has taught you.
Use emotions : even in our own language and culture we do not always use language to express fright, frustration, anger or joy. Emotions transcend linguistic barriers.
Try out words : sometimes we share common words and we do not know it. Additionally people from different cultures will have a passive knowledge of English gained through the media. Try saying the word slowly or with a different pronunciation.
Draw it : if you really cannot explain 'milk' to the Greek shop owner draw the cow, the udders and the milk.
Pictures speak louder than words. Most cultures will be able to spot what you are getting at straight away.
Ask for help : if there are others around you do not be shy to ask for their assistance. It is often possible to find a willing translator.
Confirm meanings : if you are unsure whether the message has been understood confirm meanings. When doing so do not ask, 'Do you understand?' as the answer will often be 'yes' even if it is 'no'. Try re-phrasing what you have agreed or discussed.
Be patient : the key to overcoming the language barrier is to exercise patience. It is not your fault or the other person's that you cannot speak each others language.
The above points will help you to overcome cross cultural communication problems and ensure you manage to get your message across in one form or another.

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Nonverbal communication is usually understood as the process of communication through sending and receiving wordless messages. i.e., language is not the only source of communication, there are other means also. Messages can be communicated through gestures and touch ( Haptic communication ), by body language or posture , by facial expression and eye contact . Meaning can also be communicated through object or artifacts (such as clothing , hairstyles or architecture ), symbols , and icons (or graphics). Speech contains nonverbal elements known as paralanguage , including voice quality, rate, pitch, volume, and speaking style, as well as prosodic features such as rhythm , intonation and stress . Dance is also regarded as a form of nonverbal communication. Likewise, written texts have nonverbal elements such as handwriting style, spatial arrangement of words, or the physical layout of a page.
However, much of the study of nonverbal communication has focused on face-to-face interaction, where it can be classified into three principal areas: environmental conditions where communication takes place, the physical characteristics of the communicators, and behaviors of communicators during interaction.
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 1 Verbal vs. oral communication
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2 History
 3 Arbitrariness
4 Characteristics of nonverbal communication
 5 Clothing and bodily characteristics
 6 Physical environment o o
6.1 Proxemics: physical space in communication
6.2 Chronemics: time in communication
 6.2.1 Monochronic Time
 6.2.2 Polychronic Time
 7 Movement and body position o 7.1 Kinesics o 7.2 Posture o 7.3 Gesture o 7.4 Haptics: touching in communication
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8 Eye gaze
 9 Paralanguage: nonverbal cues of the voice
10 Functions of nonverbal communication o 10.1 Concealing deception
 11 The relation between verbal and nonverbal communication o o
11.1 The relative importance of verbal and nonverbal communication
11.2 Interaction of verbal and nonverbal communication
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11.2.1 Repeating
11.2.2 Conflicting
11.2.3 Complementing
11.2.4 Substituting
11.2.5 Regulating
 11.2.6 Accenting/Moderating
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12 Dance and nonverbal communication
 13 Clinical studies of nonverbal communication
14 Difficulties with nonverbal communication
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15 Footnotes
 16 See also
17 References
 18 External links
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Scholars in this field usually use a strict sense of the term "verbal", meaning "of or concerned with words", and do not use "verbal communication" as a synonym for oral or spoken communication. Thus, vocal sounds that are not considered to be words, such as a grunt, or singing a wordless note , are nonverbal. Sign languages and writing are generally understood as forms of verbal communication, as both make use of words — although like speech, both may contain paralinguistic elements and often occur alongside nonverbal messages. Nonverbal communication can occur through any sensory channel — sight , sound , smell , touch or taste .
Nonverbal communication is important as:

"When we speak (or listen), our attention is focused on words rather than body language. But our judgment includes both. An audience is simultaneously processing both verbal and nonverbal cues. Body movements are not usually positive or negative in and of themselves; rather, the situation and the message will determine the appraisal." (Givens, 2000, p. 4)
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The first scientific study of nonverbal communication was Charles Darwin 's book The
Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1872). He argued that all mammals show emotion reliably in their faces. Studies now range across a number of fields, including , linguistics , semiotics and social psychology .
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While much nonverbal communication is based on arbitrary symbols, which differ from culture to culture, a large proportion is also to some extent iconic and may be universally understood.
Paul Ekman 's influential 1960s studies of facial expression determined that expressions of anger, disgust, fear, joy, sadness and surprise are universal.
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1.
Non-verbal messages primarily communicate emotions, attitudes.
2.
Non-verbal cues substitute for, contradict, emphasize or regulate verbal message.
3.
Non-verbal cues are often ambiguous.
4.
Non-verbal cues are continuous.
5.
Non-verbal cues are more reliable.
6.
Non-verbal cues are culture bound.
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Uniforms have both a functional and a communicative purpose. This man's clothes identify him as male and a police officer; his badges and shoulder sleeve insignia give information about his job and rank.
Elements such as physique, height, weight, hair, skin color, gender, odors, and clothing send nonverbal messages during interaction. For example, a study
[2]
, carried out in Vienna , Austria , of the clothing worn by women attending discothèques showed that in certain groups of women
(especially women who were in town without their partners) motivation for sex, and levels of sexual hormones, were correlated with aspects of the clothing, especially the amount of skin

displayed, and the presence of sheer clothing, e.g. at the arms. Thus, to some degree, clothing sent signals about interest in courtship.
Research into height has generally found that taller people are perceived as being more impressive. Melamed & Bozionelos (1992) studied a sample of managers in the UK and found that height was a key factor affecting who was promoted. Often people try to make themselves taller, for example, standing on a platform, when they want to make more of an impact with their speaking.
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Environmental factors such as furniture , architectural style, interior decorating , lighting conditions, colors, temperature, noise, and music affect the behavior of communicators during interaction. The furniture itself can be seen as a nonverbal message [1]
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Proxemics is the study of how people use and perceive the physical space around them. The space between the sender and the receiver of a message influences the way the message is interpreted.
The perception and use of space varies significantly across cultures
[3]
and different settings within cultures. Space in nonverbal communication may be divided into four main categories: intimate, social, personal, and public space.
The term territoriality is still used in the study of proxemics to explain human behavior regarding personal space.
[4] Hargie & Dickson (2004, p. 69) identify 4 such territories:
1.
Primary territory: this refers to an area that is associated with someone who has exclusive use of it. For example, a house that others cannot enter without the owner’s permission.
2.
Secondary territory: unlike the previous type, there is no “right” to occupancy, but people may still feel some degree of ownership of a particular space. For example, someone may sit in the same seat on train every day and feel aggrieved if someone else sits there.
3.
Public territory: this refers to an area that is available to all, but only for a set period, such as a parking space or a seat in a library. Although people have only a limited claim over that space, they often exceed that claim. For example, it was found that people take longer to leave a parking space when someone is waiting to take that space.
4.
Interaction territory: this is space created by others when they are interacting. For example, when a group is talking to each other on a footpath, others will walk around the group rather than disturb it.
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Chronemics is the study of the use of time in nonverbal communication. The way we perceive time, structure our time and react to time is a powerful communication tool, and helps set the stage for communication. Time perceptions include punctuality and willingness to wait, the speed of speech and how long people are willing to listen. The timing and frequency of an action as well as the tempo and rhythm of communications within an interaction contributes to the interpretation of nonverbal messages. Gudykunst & Ting-Toomey (1988) identified 2 dominant time patterns:
[ edit ] Monochronic Time

A monochronic time system means that things are done one at a time and time is segmented into precise, small units. Under this system time is scheduled, arranged and managed.
The United States is considered a monochronic society. This perception of time is learned and rooted in the Industrial Revolution, where "factory life required the labor force to be on hand and in place at an appointed hour" (Guerrero, DeVito & Hecht, 1999, p. 238). For Americans, time is a precious resource not to be wasted or taken lightly. "We buy time, save time, spend time and make time. Our time can be broken down into years, months, days, hours, minutes, seconds and even milliseconds. We use time to structure both our daily lives and events that we are planning for the future. We have schedules that we must follow: appointments that we must go to at a certain time, classes that start and end at certain times, work schedules that start and end at certain times, and even our favorite TV shows, that start and end at a certain time.” [1]
As communication scholar Edward T. Hall wrote regarding the American’s viewpoint of time in the business world, “the schedule is sacred.” Hall says that for monochronic cultures, such as the
American culture, “time is tangible” and viewed as a commodity where “time is money” or
“time is wasted.” The result of this perspective is that Americans and other monochronic cultures, such as the German and Swiss, place a paramount value on schedules, tasks and
“getting the job done.” These cultures are committed to regimented schedules and may view those who do not subscribe to the same perception of time as disrespectful.
Monochronic cultures include Germany, Canada, Switzerland, United States, and Scandinavia.
[ edit ] Polychronic Time
A polychronic time system is a system where several things can be done at once, and a more fluid approach is taken to scheduling time. Unlike European-Americans and most northern and western European cultures, Native American, Latin American and Arabic cultures use the polychronic system of time.
These cultures are much less focused on the preciseness of accounting for each and every moment. As Raymond Cohen notes, polychronic cultures are deeply steeped in tradition rather than in tasks—a clear difference from their monochronic counterparts. Cohen notes that
"Traditional societies have all the time in the world. The arbitrary divisions of the clock face have little saliency in cultures grounded in the cycle of the seasons, the invariant pattern of rural life, and the calendar of religious festivities" (Cohen, 1997, p. 34).
Instead, their culture is more focused on relationships, rather than watching the clock. They have no problem being “late” for an event if they are with family or friends, because the relationship is what really matters. As a result, polychronic cultures have a much less formal perception of time. They are not ruled by precise calendars and schedules. Rather, “cultures that use the polychronic time system often schedule multiple appointments simultaneously so keeping on schedule is an impossibility.” [2]
Polychronic cultures include Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Mexico, Philippines, India, and many in
Africa.
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Information about the relationship and affect of these two skaters is communicated by their body posture , eye gaze and physical contact .
The term " Kinesics " was first used (in 1952) by Ray Birdwhistell , an anthropologist who wished to study how people communicate through posture, gesture, stance, and movement. Part of
Birdwhistell's work involved making film of people in social situations and analyzing them to show different levels of communication not clearly seen otherwise. The study was joined by several other anthropologists, including Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson .
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Posture can be used to determine a participant’s degree of attention or involvement, the difference in status between communicators, and the level of fondness a person has for the other communicator.
[5] Studies investigating the impact of posture on interpersonal relationships suggest that mirror-image congruent postures, where one person’s left side is parallel to the other person’s right side, leads to favorable perception of communicators and positive speech; a person who displays a forward lean or a decrease in a backwards lean also signify positive sentiment during communication.
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Posture is understood through such indicators as direction of lean, body orientation, arm position, and body openness.
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A wink is a type of gesture .

A gesture is a non-vocal bodily movement intended to express meaning. They may be articulated with the hands, arms or body, and also include movements of the head, face and eyes, such as winking , nodding, or rolling ones' eyes. The boundary between language and gesture, or verbal and nonverbal communication, can be hard to identify.
Although the study of gesture is still in its infancy, some broad categories of gestures have been identified by researchers. The most familiar are the so-called emblems or quotable gestures.
These are conventional, culture-specific gestures that can be used as replacement for words, such as the hand-wave used in the US for "hello" and "goodbye". A single emblematic gesture can have a very different significance in different cultural contexts, ranging from complimentary to highly offensive.[9] For a list of emblematic gestures, see list of gestures .
Another broad category of gestures comprises those gestures used spontaneously when we speak.
These gestures are closely coordinated with speech. The so-called beat gestures are used in conjunction with speech and keep time with the rhythm of speech to emphasize certain words or phrases. These types of gestures are integrally connected to speech and thought processes.[10]
Other spontaneous gestures used when we speak are more contentful and may echo or elaborate the meaning of the co-occurring speech.For example, a gesture that depicts the act of throwing may be synchronous with the utterance, "He threw the ball right into the window."[10]
Gestural languages such as American Sign Language and its regional siblings operate as complete natural languages that are gestural in modality. They should not be confused with finger spelling, in which a set of emblematic gestures are used to represent a written alphabet.
Gestures can also be categorized as either speech-independent or speech-related. Speechindependent gestures are dependent upon culturally accepted interpretation and have a direct verbal translation.
[7] A wave hello or a peace sign are examples of speech-independent gestures.
Speech related gestures are used in parallel with verbal speech; this form of nonverbal communication is used to emphasize the message that is being communicated. Speech related gestures are intended to provide supplemental information to a verbal message such as pointing to an object of discussion.
Gestures such as Mudra (Sanskrit) encode sophisticated information accessible to initiates that are privy to the subtlety of elements encoded in their tradition.
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A high five is an example of communicative touch.

Haptics is the study of touching as nonverbal communication. Touches that can be defined as communication include handshakes , holding hands, kissing (cheek, lips, hand), back slapping, high fives , a pat on the shoulder, and brushing an arm. Touching of oneself may include licking, picking, holding, and scratching.
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These behaviors are referred to as "adapter" or "tells" and may send messages that reveal the intentions or feelings of a communicator. The meaning conveyed from touch is highly dependent upon the context of the situation, the relationship between communicators, and the manner of touch.
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Humans communicate interpersonal closeness through a series of non-verbal actions known as immediacy behaviors. Examples of immediacy behaviors are: smiling, touching,open body positions, and eye contact. Cultures that display these immediacy behaviors are known to be high contact cultures.
Haptic communication is the means by which people and other animals communicate via touching. Touch is an extremely important sense for humans; as well as providing information about surfaces and textures it is a component of nonverbal communication in interpersonal relationships, and vital in conveying physical intimacy. It can be both sexual (such as kissing) and platonic (such as hugging or tickling).
Touch is the earliest sense to develop in the fetus. The development of an infant's haptic senses and how it relates to the development of the other senses such as vision has been the target of much research. Human babies have been observed to have enormous difficulty surviving if they do not possess a sense of touch, even if they retain sight and hearing. Babies who can perceive through touch, even without sight and hearing, tend to fare much better. Touch can be thought of as a basic sense in that most life forms have a response to being touched, while only a subset have sight and hearing.
In chimpanzees the sense of touch is highly developed. As newborns they see and hear poorly but cling strongly to their mothers. Harry Harlow conducted a controversial study involving rhesus monkeys and observed that monkeys reared with a "terry cloth mother", a wire feeding apparatus wrapped in softer terry cloth which provided a level of tactile stimulation and comfort, were considerably more emotionally stable as adults than those with a mere wire mother.(Harlow,1958)
Touching is treated differently from one country to another and socially acceptable levels of touching vary from one culture to another (Remland, 2009). In the Thai culture, for example, touching someone's head may be thought rude. Remland and Jones (1995) studied groups of people communicating and found that in England (8%), France (5%) and the Netherlands (4%) touching was rare compared to their Italian (14%) and Greek (12.5%) sample.
[9]
Striking, pushing, pulling, pinching, kicking, strangling and hand-to-hand fighting are forms of touch in the context of physical abuse. In a sentence like "I never touched him/her" or "Don't you dare to touch him/her" the term touch may be meant as euphemism for either physical abuse or sexual touching. To 'touch oneself' is a euphemism for masturbation.
The word touch has many other metaphorical uses. One can be emotionally touched, referring to an action or object that evokes an emotional response. To say "I was touched by your letter" implies the reader felt a strong emotion when reading it. Usually does not include anger, disgust or other forms of emotional rejection unless used in a sarcastic manner.
Stoeltje (2003) wrote about how Americans are ‘losing touch’ with this important communication skill. During a study conducted by University of Miami School of Medicine,

Touch Research Institutes, American children were said to be more aggressive than their French counterparts while playing at a playground. It was noted that French women touched their children more
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The study of the role of eyes in nonverbal communication is sometimes referred to as
"oculesics". Eye contact can indicate interest, attention, and involvement. Studies have found that people use their eyes to indicate their interest and with more than the frequently recognized actions of winking and slight movement of the eyebrows. Eye contact is an event when two people look at each other's eyes at the same time. It is a form of nonverbal communication and has a large influence on social behavior. Frequency and interpretation of eye contact vary between cultures and species. Eye aversion is the avoidance of eye contact. Eye contact and facial expressions provide important social and emotional information. People, perhaps without consciously doing so, probe each other's eyes and faces for positive or negative mood signs.
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Gaze comprises the actions of looking while talking, looking while listening, amount of gaze, and frequency of glances, patterns of fixation, pupil dilation, and blink rate.
[10]
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Paralanguage (sometimes called vocalics) is the study of nonverbal cues of the voice. Various acoustic properties of speech such as tone, pitch and accent, collectively known as prosody , can all give off nonverbal cues. Paralanguage may change the meaning of words.
The linguist George L. Trager developed a classification system which consists of the voice set, voice qualities, and vocalization.
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 The voice set is the context in which the speaker is speaking. This can include the situation, gender, mood, age and a person's culture.
 The voice qualities are volume, pitch, tempo, rhythm, articulation, resonance, nasality,
 and accent. They give each individual a unique "voice print".
Vocalization consists of three subsections: characterizers, qualifiers and segregates.
Characterizers are emotions expressed while speaking, such as laughing, crying, and yawning. A voice qualifier is the style of delivering a message - for example, yelling
"Hey stop that!", as opposed to whispering "Hey stop that". Vocal segregates such as "uhhuh" notify the speaker that the listener is listening.
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Argyle (1970)
[12]
put forward the hypothesis that whereas spoken language is normally used for communicating information about events external to the speakers, non-verbal codes are used to establish and maintain interpersonal relationships. It is considered more polite or nicer to communicate attitudes towards others non-verbally rather than verbally, for instance in order to avoid embarrassing situations
[13]
.
Argyle (1988) concluded there are five primary functions of nonverbal bodily behavior in human communication: [14]
 Express emotions
 Express interpersonal attitudes
 To accompany speech in managing the cues of interaction between speakers and listeners
 Self-presentation of one’s personality

 Rituals (greetings)
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Nonverbal communication makes it easier to lie without being revealed. This is the conclusion of a study where people watched made-up interviews of persons accused of having stolen a wallet.
The interviewees lied in about 50 % of the cases. People had access to either written transcripts of the interviews, or audio tape recordings, or video recordings. The more clues that were available to those watching, the larger was the trend that interviewees who actually lied were judged to be truthful. That is, people that are clever at lying can use voice tone and face expression to give the impression that they are truthful
[15]
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However, there are many cited examples of 'leakage' cues
[16]
, where clues to deceivers' true concealed opinions or knowledge are unwittingly provided in the nonverbal (paraverbal and visual) communication channels. Most studies examining the leakage hypothesis from visual cues rely upon hand coding of video footage (c.f. Vrij, 2008
[17]
), a method that is open to coding errors. A recent study, however, demonstrated clear bodily movement differences between truthtellers and liars using an automated body motion capture system: truth-tellers demonstrated greater overall bodily movement compared to liars in two different situations
[18]
.
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An interesting question is: When two people are communicating face-to-face, how much of the meaning is communicated verbally, and how much is communicated non-verbally? This was investigated by Albert Mehrabian and reported in two papers
[19][20]
. The latter paper concluded:
"It is suggested that the combined effect of simultaneous verbal, vocal, and facial attitude communications is a weighted sum of their independent effects - with coefficients of .07, .38, and .55, respectively." This "rule" that clues from spoken words, from the voice tone, and from the facial expression, contribute 7 %, 38 %, and 55 % respectively to the total meaning, is widely cited. It is presented on all types of popular courses with statements like "scientists have found out that . . . ". In reality, however, it is extremely weakly founded. First, it is based on the judgment of the meaning of single tape-recorded words, i.e. a very artificial context. Second, the figures are obtained by combining results from two different studies which potentially cannot be combined. Third, it relates only to the communication of positive versus negative emotions.
Fourth, it relates only to women, as men did not participate in the study.
Since then, other studies have analysed the relative contribution of verbal and nonverbal signals under more naturalistic situations. Argyle
[12]
, using video tapes shown to the subjects, analysed the communication of submissive/dominant attitude and found that non-verbal cues had 4.3 times the effect of verbal cues. The most important effect was that body posture communicated superior status in a very efficient way. On the other hand, a study by Hsee et al.
[21]
had subjects judge a person on the dimension happy/sad and found that words spoken with minimal variation in intonation had an impact about 4 times larger than face expressions seen in a film without sound. Thus, the relative importance of spoken words and facial expressions may be very different in studies using different set-ups.
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When communicating, nonverbal messages can interact with verbal messages in six ways: repeating, conflicting, complementing, substituting, regulating and accenting/moderating.

[ edit ] Repeating
"Repeating" consists of using gestures to strengthen a verbal message, such as pointing to the object of discussion.
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[ edit ] Conflicting
Verbal and nonverbal messages within the same interaction can sometimes send opposing or conflicting messages. A person verbally expressing a statement of truth while simultaneously fidgeting or avoiding eye contact may convey a mixed message to the receiver in the interaction.
Conflicting messages may occur for a variety of reasons often stemming from feelings of uncertainty, ambivalence, or frustration.
[23] When mixed messages occur, nonverbal communication becomes the primary tool people use to attain additional information to clarify the situation; great attention is placed on bodily movements and positioning when people perceive mixed messages during interactions.
[ edit ] Complementing
Accurate interpretation of messages is made easier when nonverbal and verbal communication complement each other. Nonverbal cues can be used to elaborate on verbal messages to reinforce the information sent when trying to achieve communicative goals; messages have been shown to be remembered better when nonverbal signals affirm the verbal exchange.
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[ edit ] Substituting
Nonverbal behavior is sometimes used as the sole channel for communication of a message.
People learn to identify facial expressions, body movements, and body positioning as corresponding with specific feelings and intentions. Nonverbal signals can be used without verbal communication to convey messages; when nonverbal behavior does not effectively communicate a message, verbal methods are used to enhance understanding.
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[ edit ] Regulating
Nonverbal behavior also regulates our conversations. For example, touching someone's arm can signal that you want to talk next or interrupt.
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[ edit ] Accenting/Moderating
Nonverbal signals are used to alter the interpretation of verbal messages. Touch, voice pitch, and gestures are some of the tools people use to accent or amplify the message that is sent; nonverbal behavior can also be used to moderate or tone down aspects of verbal messages as well.
[26] For example, a person who is verbally expressing anger may accent the verbal message by shaking a fist.
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Dance is a form of nonverbal communication that requires the same underlying faculty in the brain for conceptualization, creativity and memory as does verbal language in speaking and writing. Means of self-expression, both forms have vocabulary (steps and gestures in dance), grammar (rules for putting the vocabulary together) and meaning. Dance, however, assembles
(choreographs) these elements in a manner that more often resembles poetry, with its ambiguity and multiple, symbolic and elusive meanings.

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From 1977 to 2004, the influence of disease and drugs on receptivity of nonverbal communication was studied by teams at three separate medical schools using a similar paradigm.
[27] .Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, Yale University and Ohio State
University had subjects observe gamblers at a slot machine awaiting payoffs. The amount of this payoff was read by nonverbal transmission prior to reinforcement. This technique was developed by and the studies directed by psychologist, Dr. Robert E. Miller and psychiatrist, Dr. A. James
Giannini. These groups reported diminished receptive ability in heroin addicts
[28]
and phencyclidine abusers
[29]
was contrasted with increased receptivity in cocaine addicts. Men with major depression
[30]
manifested significantly decreased ability to read nonverbal cues when compared with euthymic men.
Freitas-Magalhaes studied the effect of smile in the treatment of depression and concluded that depressive states decrease when you smile more often.
[31]
Obese women
[32]
and women with premenstrual syndrome
[33]
were found to also possess diminished abilities to read these cues. In contradistinction, men with bipolar disorder possessed increased abilities.
[34]
. A woman with total paralysis of the nerves of facial expression was found unable to transmit any nonverbal facial cues whatsoever.
[35]
. Because of the changes in levels of accuracy on the levels of nonverbal receptivity, the members of the research team hypothesized a biochemical site in the brain which was operative for reception of nonverbal cues. Because certain drugs enhanced ability while others diminished it, the neurotransmitters dopamine and endorphin were considered to be likely etiological candidate. Based on the available data, however, the primary cause and primary effect could not be sorted out on the basis of the paradigm employed
[36]
.
A byproduct of the work of the Pittsburgh/Yale/ Ohio State team was an investigation of the role of nonverbal facial cues in heterosexual nondate rape. Males who were serial rapists of adult women were studied for nonverbal receptive abilities. Their scores were the highest of any subgroup.
[37]
Rape victims were next tested. It was reported that women who had been raped on at least two occasions by different perpetrators had a highly significant impairment in their abilities to read these cues in either male or female senders.
[38]
These results were troubling, indicating a predator-prey model. The authors did note that whatever the nature of these preliminary findings the responsibility of the rapist was in no manner or level, diminished.
The final target of study for this group was the medical students they taught. Medical students at
Ohio State University, Ohio University and Northest Ohio Medical College were invited to serve as subjects. Students indicating a preference for the specialties of family practice, psychiatry, pediatrics and obstetrics-gynecology achieved significantly higher levels of accuracy than those students who planned to train as surgeons, radiologists, or pathologists. Internal medicine and plastic surgery candidates scored at levels near the mean
[39]
.
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People vary in their ability to send and receive nonverbal communication. On average, to a moderate degree, women are better at nonverbal communication than are men
[40][41][42][43]
.
Measurements of the ability to communicate nonverbally and the capacity to feel empathy have shown that the two abilities are independent of each other
[44]
.

For people who have relatively large difficulties with nonverbal communication, this can pose significant challenges, especially in interpersonal relationships. There exist resources that are tailored specifically to these people, which attempt to assist those in understanding information which comes more easily to others. A specific group of persons that face these challenges are those with autism spectrum disorders , including Asperger syndrome .
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Politesse
Politesse is the use of courteous formality to show respect and consideration for others. Many
Americans have become quite informal and "easy-going" -- to the point we may seem overly casual and abrupt to foreigners. But for most of the world the old standards still exist.
In France, for example, you should liberally pepper phrases with "Monsieur," "Madame," and
"s'il vous plaоt." People throughout the world expect to be addressed with respect by a stranger.
The Ugly American Syndrome
If you want to be polite it's a good idea to tone-down gestures when traveling, since you probably won't know all the local customs and mores. In general, don't point your hand or foot at anyone, or belch, yawn, or fart loudly, unless, of course, you're joining in.
In Thailand it's rude to expose the sole of your shoe or foot to someone, to step over someone, and to touch anyone on the head. In India and other places where toilet paper isn't significant to the culture, touching anyone or presenting anything with the left hand will raise more than eyebrows.
Western travelers, on the other hand, may be distressed by the tendency of some Arabs in normal conversation to lock unblinking eyes mere inches from yours. As noted by American anthropologist Edward T. Hall, this is normal conversational distance for Arabs. (Indeed some
Arabs believe they can determine reaction to what is being said by looking closely at pupils: if they dilate, you like or approve; if they contract, you dislike or disapprove.)
In the 1950's Hall pioneered proxemics and kinesics , which are the studies of how people of different cultures use nonverbal signals to communicate.
Proxemics includes social distances between communicators, and the use of time, smell, touch, space, and territoriality (untouchable space).
Kinesics includes body movement, gestures, facial expression, eye contact, posture, and speaking volume.
Since most people are unaware of their own cultural patterns of nonverbal communication, they are unprepared to deal with the patterns of other cultures. This is probably a major cause of misunderstanding between cultures as we interpret each other as rude, pushy, childlike, cold, etc., usually not for what is said, but how it is said, and how we act.

Hall's books are required reading for Peace Corps volunteers. Several are listed in the bibliography, and all are helpful for communicating with a higher level of understanding. But just being aware of the nonverbal aspects of communication will help. I recommend for travelers to be sensitive to the rhythm of ordinary life around them, and to try to get in sync with that rhythm.
This is actually easy as humans have a natural instinct for mimicry. While you don't need to out-
Zelig Woody Allen in Zelig (in which he takes on the appearance of a Chinese after a few weeks in China), for most Americans slowing-down and getting with the beat of local life is essential for absorbing the richness of a foreign culture.
Sign Language
Don't be embarrassed to use sign language. It works great, gets better with practice, and is an age-old and completely normal method of communication. You already know dozens of signs.
 Eat, hungry, food, restaurant --Motion to open mouth, pat stomach.
 Don't know --Shoulders shrugged, hands and eyebrows raised.
 Money, expensive, how much?
--Thumb and fingers rubbed together.
 A little --Thumb and forefinger held close together.
 Time --Tap of wrist.
 Oops!
--Fingers to mouth, eyes open wide.


Which way, where?
--Fingers pointed in opposite directions with quizzical look.
 Nice to see you --Smile.
This isn't what I ordered!
--Face contorted to Munch's The Scream .
Talking With Backpackers
Backpackers from all over the world can pretty much say anything to strike up a conversation.
One English backpacker opened up with about ten lines of Shakespeare I couldn't quite catch.
(My reply: "Et tu, Brutus?") You don't always have to begin with where are you from, how long have you been traveling, how do you like it, etc. While everyone is an exception some of the time, overall we are an interesting, fun, and good-humored bunch. And we all know one of the best sources of information is other travelers.
Listen for Good Advice
If you travel on a low budget you will probably get a lot of advice from the people you meet.
Some of it will be of the highest value. Some of it will be pure crap.
Communicating in Small-Scale, Traditional Societies
In such societies you will be expected to be an envoy from your family. They may ask first and foremost about your family, ask to see pictures, ask what they do, etc. You might carry a family photo for such occasions.
With one group I visited it was customary to seek out and individually greet each person in descending order from eldest to youngest, including children. This took a few pleasant minutes

for a gathering of about twenty. It's probably a good general rule to show respect to elders first and foremost.
Understand that you are on their turf. Be polite and gracious. Try to be sensitive and not make snap judgments. It takes years for anthropologists to get an accurate feel for what's going on in any society. As a traveler you can't expect to do much more than observe.
I recommend taking it easy with the camera. Pulling out a camera often changes the dynamics of communication for the worse--if not eliminating it entirely. Most tourist photography I see is intrusive and a kind of trophy--and it really does take away something. While some people don't seem to mind, there may be a larger story beneath the surface smiles and nods.
Many cultures frown upon or prohibit photography. In one village near San Cristуbal de las
Casas, Chiapas photographers face a $65 fine, confiscation of film and camera, and even a night in jail. The villagers' sincere religious beliefs (which are not Catholic) run counter to the desires of most tourists. The Tarahumara people of northern Mexico endure a great deal of photography from tourists, but if you ever talk to these quiet and shy people privately, you'll find they really don't like it.
If you want someone's photograph don't flash your camera in their unsuspecting face for a quick snap, be a sneak-thief with telephoto, or throw candy to children. Instead, approach your subject with all the human warmth and politesse you can muster, register your intent with a motion to your camera, and let them know their time and cooperation is a treasure.
If a tip is desired consider the offer with respect, even if you ultimately decline. Sending your subject a beautiful print may be much appreciated. Approached correctly, many people will be happy to pose.
As I wrote this I was thinking of someone I met and didn't photograph, a middle-aged woman in fantastic native dress, her smile, beauty, and dignity.
Song
In New Zealand an older Japanese woman descended from a tour bus and approached Reg, a tall and wild-haired Maori fellow I was hitchhiking with, and began singing what sounded like a traditional Japanese song, perhaps of greeting. Then she bowed and smiled, returned to her bus, and waved as she zoomed off.
That evening we clinked our beer glasses to toast that wonderful woman. It was our considered opinion that if you have a song to sing, by all means, sing it.