Review te article:The puzzle of non verbal communication: Towards a new aspect of leadership Author(s): Mehdi Mokhtari Leadership and Management in International Context
Create a 3 page paper (excluding title and reference pages so a total of 5 pages) in proper APA format.
Video: Non-Verbal Communication in the Global Marketplace
Article: The Puzzle of Non-Verbal Communication
Requirements this assignment:
Your paper should utilize appropriate course material:
Article and/or Video from Week 3
Ensure you address the following topics in your paper:
Pick three areas of interest from the article or video and discuss why you find it interesting, if you have seen any personal examples of it (i.e., someone who covers their mouth while talking).
Remember your paper must include (all in proper APA 6th edition format):
Narrator If you've ever participated in a telephone survey , you probably discovered that is very difficult to get personal information. The reason for that is because the person you're talking to can't judge your non-verbal communication. They have to depend on their ears without help from their eyes. We generally think that communication involves our mouth and ears, but the truth is our eyes play just as big of a role in the communication process. It's through our eyes that we interpret a person's non-verbal communication. A good communicator will always make sure that their non-verbal communication supports what they are verbally communicating because a receiver will interpret the source of the message as well as the message itself. So, it's important that the source and the message are complementary and not contradictory. For example, banks want you to think they are being conservative with your money therefore they want their employees to non-verbally project a conservative image. Suits and dresses are conservative and at home, these people wear jeans and T-shirts like everyone else but at work they dress to match their environment conservative. A sporting-goods store on the other hand, is selling leisure products and should reinforce the leisure image with casual dress. Dressing casually when working in a bank or wearing a suit in a sporting-goods store would non-verbally contradict the desired message. Take a look at this office and see if you can draw any conclusions about me: Am I sloppy and disorganized? Who knows? You can't judge by this office because it's not mine. I didn't say look at "my" office, I said "this" office. Your brain interpreted what you thought I said not what I actually said.
Bird
in the
the hand
Narrator Here's and old saying. Or is it?
Bird
in the
hand
Narrator What you perceived was "bird in the hand" but what you saw was "bird in the the hand".
Bird
in the
the hand
Bird
in the
hand
Narrator You physically saw one phrase but your brain perceived another: which was the most powerful? Now, if we're going to communicate, you'll have to pay attention and that's not easy. Since this program began how much time have you spent in the present? How much time have you spent thinking about last night? How much time have you spent in the future? On average, you've only been in the present about 50% of the time and somewhere else the other 50%. You've heard everything I've said so far but only listened to half of it. Don't confuse hearing and listening. Hearing is a physical process while listening is a cognitive process. Think about how many time you've been introduced to somebody at an event and within five minutes you forgot their name. You forgot their name because you didn't listen in the first place. You heard but you didn't listen. You didn't make a conscious effort to internalize what was said.
Non-verbal communication is
the process of transferring
meaning without the use
of words.
Narrator Non-verbal communication is the process of transferring meaning without the use of words. For example, a BMW is a good car but don't we buy it because it sends a message and not because it's a good form of transportation? Aren't we non-verbally telling the world "Hey! Look at me, I'm successful! I can afford a luxury car!" If you remember anything from this program, remember that you'll communicate as much non-verbally as you do verbally so make sure that each process supports the other.
5 Major Categories
Non-verbal Communication
1) Proxemics
2) Objects
3) Posture
4) Gestures
5) Environment
Narrator Today we'll discuss five major categories of non-verbal communication: one proxemics, two objects, three posture, four gestures and five the environment. To help us understand how each of these categories may be interpreted differently in the international marketplace we'll visit with Dr. Ashish Chandra from India and Dr. Ahmed Ozturk from Turkey . Throughout this program, keep in mind that every culture is unique in its use and interpretation of non-verbal communication. So, a good rule of thumb for the international business-person is to become knowledgeable about the specific culture within which you are doing business. Proxemics is the language of space. It's how we communicate our feelings our attitudes and our ideas by managing spatial dimensions. For example, have you ever watched how people act on an elevator? They'll look at everything but the person next to them. They'll look at the numbers, the ceiling, anything just not each other. Why? because it violates their spatial comfort zone. We just don't like people being that close to us. In our society we avoid close contact with others unless it involves romance, so when we violate someone's personal comfort zone, the receiver will concentrate on the violation and not the message. However, this predisposition will vary from culture to culture. Let's listen in and see if it's any different in India .
Dr. Ashish Chandra Hugging is a very acceptable practice in India , among men also, it's a form of showing fondness, friendship. Over here if you see a couple of men hugging, I mean, people think twice about that thing, but over there it's very acceptable and hugging among females is also very acceptable but that hugging will not be the first time, you have to establish that relationship before you go out and hug the other person. Now, if a man hugs a female over there, a male and a female hugging is still off-limits kind of, in most of the places, don't do it that way.
Narrator In India , it appears that both space and gender are issues; what might be appropriate spacing between two males, for example, hugging is not acceptable between a male and female. Once again, you have to make an effort to learn what's acceptable in the country where you are doing business.
4 Spatial Zones
1) Intimate
2) Informal
3) Formal
4) Public
Narrator There are 4 spatial zones you should be concerned with: Onethe intimate zone: Anything less than three feet. Two the informal zone: From three to seven feet. Three the formal zone: From 7 to 12 feet. And four the public zone: from 12 to 20 feet. We've already discussed the intimate zone, so let's discuss the informal zone. For business communication, the informal zone allows you to establish a personal contact with the receiver without invading their privacy bubble. Standing 3 to 7 feet away communicates to the receiver that you're focused on him individually and not merely as part of a group. When you want to create a more formal atmosphere for something like a committee meeting or business presentation the formal zone is most appropriate.
Formal zone
Narrator If you're counseling a subordinate and praising their performance probably the informal zone would be appropriate. But if you're counseling her for marginal performance the formal zone would be most appropriate. Violating this spatial arrangement would be like saying "Hey Louise , what did you think of the ball game last night? You're fired!" a little contradictory communication there. Let's listen in and see what Dr. Chandra has to say about business meetings in India .
Dr. Ashish Chandra One of the things they say in India is that a lot of communication happens through eyes and they will try to look at your eye movements as well, and you're staring at them directly in a very strong stare, that's basically like you're rude and if you're looking up then you're avoiding them; so you don't want to avoid them either. Sometimes you don't have to look all the way down either but don't have a direct eye contact.
Narrator Once again, the basic criteria is similar but perhaps there's a bit more sensitivity to subtle deviations. His comments about eye contact were interesting; we'll explore that a little further in a minute. As you'll see in a second, Dr. Ozturk indicates that business meetings in Turkey tend to be less formal, suggesting that informal zone spacing may be the most appropriate there.
Dr. Ahmed Ozturk At meal times, Americans eat very fast, Turks eat very slow. Especially dinner is a big occasion, you sit down, and if you go into a dinner negotiation for business you should get ready for a 3-4 hour dinner. They will negotiate after drinking quite a bit so you should have something to eat before you go because the first thing they will serve is some alcohol and in business this very good strategy to soften up your opponent so you should have something in your stomach before you go and be ready that you're comfortable with loose pants so you won't be uncomfortable because you will be there 3-4 hours.
Narrator After a three hour dinner meeting, I think my negotiation skills might be a bit dull. Hey, that's not a bad strategy, is it? Have you ever noticed how the back of the classroom always fills up first? You can always tell who came in last. They get stuck sitting in the front. A classroom is a public forum and when in the public zone, we're most comfortable when we are 12 to 20 feet away. from the speaker. Let's move on
Objects
Narrator To our second major topic. Objects. We all communicate through our objects. What we wear, our hairstyle, our jewelry, our make-up. Would you guess that this fellow is an accountant or an attorney? Probably not. He could be, but his objects don't communicate that to us. Here are two women, both dressed nicely. One is more appropr iately-dressed for work and the other for a social engagement. Tony looks nice, but not professional. Heather looks more professional. If asked which one is the manager, I would bet 9 out of 10 would choose Heather because of her dress. Marsha's jewelry is nice, but it's inappropriate, there's too much of it. In business, apply the rule of five.
Rule of 5
Narrator Count your pieces of jewelry and when you hit five, don't wear any more. This doesn't mean you have to dress boring, but it does mean that in business, understatement is preferable to overstatement. Virtually every Dress For Success book will tell you the same thing. Dress conservatively. Let your objects help define you, but don't communicate an inappropriate image for the situation. Doctor Chandra doesn't specifically talk about dressing for success in India , but listen to his comments about how women are viewed in India .
Dr. Ashish Chandra In India , one thing you really don't want to do is when you are a brand new person visiting that country and smetimes you will see sometimes females don't even extend their hands to shake hands, it's not an acceptable behavior. It shows that maybe you're flirting or you're a little bit too forward. And not a good idea over there.
Narrator If Dr. Chandra's comments didn't suggest to you that a successful business woman in India will dress conservatively, you're back to thinking about those racecars again.
Posture!
Narrator Our third topic is posture. It's real simple: Sloppy posture
Posture
Narrator Non-verbally communicates a sloppy performer. Someone with no get-up and go, someone who is inefficient. It may not be correct, it may not be fair, but it happens. you're probably making judgments right now, watching these folks. Some people just stand out and look energetic, while others just fade into the masses. It's your choice. If you want to project a positive image, maintain an open posture, not a closed posture. A closed posture is when you do things like fold your arms in front of you, or sit with your legs crossed. What you are doing is building a barrier that the other person has to hurdle. Look at how the communication seems to have changed with their change in posture. No more barriers to overcome. A positive relationship has been established and communication will be enhanced. Your posture should be direct, face the receiver and make eye contact. Notice how both parties are incorporating each other into the communication. They are utilizing all three of the topics we have discussed so far. Appropriate distance, appropriate attire and appropriate posture. Have you ever had a teacher that you wouldn't recognize outside of class and let you saw the back of his head? He may have been real smart, but he wasn't a real good communicator.
Dr. Ashish Chandra If you want to make a point to them in a very assertive manner and you want to do it, do it in a different manner except for staring directly at them. Kind of shows like you're arrogant, you don't know anything. So, be humble and they will accept you.
Narrator I guess I should have said "Always be direct when communicating in this culture!" Because that's not true in every culture. Once again, I'll emphasize that you can be knowledgeable about how your non-verbal communication will be perceived throughout the world, so do your homework! Of the four topics that we are discussing in this program today, gestures may be the strongest non-verbal communicator, although I'm not quite sure what Dr. Ozturk is telling me.
Dr. Ahmed Ozturk One movement, one gesture that is quite difficult to __ is this. Means "You can't fool me!" "What are you, don't tell me stories! My eye's open!" And of course, it is not rare, you will see it among young people, but you can see it at any age group.
Narrator Well, now I know! Gestures might be the most powerful Form of non-verbal communication.
Gestures
Narrator But it also may be subject to the most variation in interpretation.
Dr. Ahmed Ozturk Another typical Turkish gesture is pulling the earlobe.
[non-English narration]
Dr. Ahmed Ozturk Means "How pretty it is!" You can do it for a baby, for example. It shows appreciation, but, more importantly, typically for that culture is it is a prevention from evil eye. Evil eye is an ancient belief in Middle East and Asia Minor, is believed often that somebody will bring you evil with their look. So, to protect yourself or somebody you love from that...
Narrator I never thought of pulling my earlobe as a sign of showing appreciation, but I guess when in Turkey , do as the Turks. It doesn't require words to see that this guy is upset with this lady. In fact, he is non-verbally communicating that he's real angry. Here's the same two people, same environment, look at the difference in the atmosphere. All of their gestures suggest that they're having a positive encounter. Notice how he briefly touched her, just enough to say he's feeling positive. Here's an interesting sidelight, just to show you how differently cultures interpret gestures.
Dr. Ashish Chandra In India , one of the things that many foreigners do not understand what is going on is that younger people touch the feet of their elders, or it maybe like their teachers, even the older brother. and parents, grandparents, relatives they touch their feet. It's a form of showing respect for the elders. And that's very acceptable, actually that is something you will still see in Indian movies and people don't understand why the person is bowing down and they're touching the feet. It's a form of showing respect. Holding hands in public is a little different over there. Even if you're married, still walk next to each other, respect each other, but holding hands, people still have a little bit of hesitation over there. But holding hands with kids, that's ok.
Narrator Touching elders' feet shows respect in India . But holding hands in public is too intimate. For most encounters, a handshake is the most appropriate form of touching. It establishes a relationship, but it's not too personal. A good handshake on an interview isn't going to get you the job. But it will influence that initial impression. Once again, however, what a handshake non-verbally communicates in one cultures may be quite different in another.
Dr. Ashish Chandra If I were going to India , what I would do is that I will not go out straight to the woman, the business woman and shake hands with her. The way you greet is "Namaste!" That's how you greet. That's the way you like you say "Good morning!" and "Good evening!" , "Namaste!" is the term you say for both, it's a greeting. You can say when you coming there and when you're leaving, you say "Namaste!" And it's the same thing. You're greeting, but there is no physical contact in that greeting.
Narrator Now you know! in India , don't shake hands unless you've already established a personal relationship with the person.
Dr. Ahmed Ozturk Since we are interested in business, is one thing that it is that people do in Turkish culture is they shake the hands very strongly, and don't let it go. They shake each other's hand and then let go. They start bargaining and as they're bargaining, they keep shaking their hand and finally one gets tired and gives in. Whoever gets tired and his hand hurts, has to give in. This is seen in the rural areas more, but Turkish market is, bargaining markets, bargaining is traditional, you go to the bazaar you will bargain, you can bargain anything. So it is another usual event to see it in towns, where there is a more modern culture.
Narrator And in Turkey , remember: Don't let go first, or you may have closed the deal. Probably the most potent gestures come from the combination of your head and hands. Smiling, frowning, shaking or nodding your head and/or moving your hands creates a strong impression for the receiver. If you shake your head, you're going to communicate negativism. And if you nod, you'll communicate a positive attitude.
Ashish Chandra If you did like this in Southern India or it will be more like an eight, a sideways eight you're making, that basically means that it's a yes. But in Northern India, yes is still nodding the head like this. But you just have to be careful over there in South India and North India , the difference is that don't get offended.
Narrator That is, unless you're in Southern India . You want to make sure you don't inadvertently nod when you're communicating negativism or shake when it's positive. Remember, the receiver will listen with his or her eyes as well as their ears. So you have to be conscious of your expressions and make use of good eye contact.
Environment
within which we
communicate
Narrator Our last topic for discussion addresses the environment within which we communicate. We'll discuss the environment from two perspectives.
Environment
Two Perspectives
1) Time
2) Arrangement
Time
Narrator First, time, or more precisely, time and allocation. And second, the arrangement and attractiveness of the environment. How do you feel when you call someone and they put you on hold for a few minutes? The longer you wait, the less important you feel. Or, what about the boss that tells her employees that her door is always open, but is only willing to allocate five minutes of her time to them. She may be efficient, but she is also telling her subordinates that they are not very important.
TIME
is our most
precious resource
Narrator Time is our most precious resource. The amount of time you are willing to allocate to an issue non-verbally communicates its importance to another.
Arrangement
VILLA DENTISR
Narrator Let's move on to arrangement. Why is it that we feel more comfortable in some offices than others? And when we are more comfortable, we communicate more effectively. A huge desk is impressive and demonstrates to everyone that you're important. But it also creates a huge barrier that the communicator has to jump over to get to you. Logically, if you want people to interact with you, design an environment that makes people feel comfortable. That makes good common sense. But it's amazing how often it's ignored. For example, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that the landscaping around your business non-verbally communicates to customers. But yet, it's not uncommon to see trashy strip centers like this, with no cars in the lot. Gee! I wonder why...
DIESEL
HERE
Summary
1) Listen with your eyes
2) Don't Contradict
3) Enhance with Space
4) Use Objects Appropriately
5) Be Upright
6) Gestures are Potent
7) Do your Homework
8) Learn what's Appropriate
Narrator Ok, let's summarize what we have covered in this program and then we'll end with some words from Dr. Ozturk. One we listen with our eyes, as well as our ears. Two don't let your non-verbal communication contradict what you are verbally communicating. Three Use space to enhance your communication not inhibit it. Four remember that the objects you employ are symbols that help to define you. Use objects to project the appropriate image. Five An upright posture projects a positive image, don't be slovenly. Six Gestures may be the most potent form of non-verbal communication. Seven The same gesture may have a wide range of interpretations internationally, so do your homework! Eight Learn what's non-verbally appropriate in the culture within which you are doing business.
Dr. Ahmed Ozturk Yes, absolutely. Most of the communication is done non-verbally, what we say is only supplements our gestures.
[music]
Produced and Directed
by:
Phil Rutsohn
d.e. VISUALS
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