Communication Between Cultures

3.If my messages are being misinterpreted, is it because my unintentional messages,

rather than my intentional messages, are confusing my communication“partner”?

4.Am I positioning my body as if I want to end the conversation and move on to

someone or something else? Am I standing such that I appear to be seeking a

power position? Am I observing and respecting cultural“rules”as they apply to

the use of space?

5.Am I engaging in touching behavior that is inappropriate because of gender or cul-

tural reasons?

6.Am I yielding to physical distractions in the setting instead of focusing on the

other person?

Summary

• Nonverbal communication is important to the study of intercultural communica-
  tion because people use nonverbal communication to express internal states, create
  identity, regulate interaction, repeat messages, and substitute actions for words.


• Nonverbal communication is culture bound.


• Nonverbal communication involves all nonverbal stimuli in a communication set-
  ting that(1) are generated by both the source and his or her use of the environ-
  ment and (2) have potential message value for the source and/or the receiver.


• Nonverbal messages may be intentional or unintentional.


• Nonverbal messages can work alone or in tandem with verbal messages.


• When studying nonverbal communication, it should be remembered that nonver-
  bal messagesinvolve multichannel activity, can be ambiguous, and are composed
  of numerous interacting variables.


• Nonverbal behaviors and culture are similar in that both are learned, both are
  passed fromgeneration to generation, and both involve shared understandings.


• The body is a major source of nonverbal messages. These messages are communi-
  cated bymeans of general appearance, judgments of beauty, skin color, attire, body
  movements (kinesics), posture, gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, touch, and
  paralanguage.


• Cultures differ in their perception and use of personal space, seating, and furniture
  arrangement.


• A culture’s sense of time can be understood by learning how members of that cul-
  ture view informal time and whether their orientation toward time is monochronic
  or polychronic.


• The use of silence varies from culture to culture.


• You can improve your nonverbal communication skills by keeping your interpreta-
  tions tentative,being conscious of the context, employing feedback, knowing your
  culture, and monitoring your nonverbal actions.

Summary 337

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