Lecture 2 Nonverbal BC and Intercultural BC

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Lecture 2Nonverbal BC and Intercultural BC
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Contents
1. Verbal communication and nonverbal
communication
2. Paralanguage in BC
3. Body language in BC
4. Environmental language in BC
5. Categorization of cultures
6. Tips on intercultural BC
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1. Verbal and nonverbal communication

• 1.1 Verbal communication
• -- conveys meaning with words, either in oral or
  in written form
• richer express all kinds of ideas
• easier keep and transmit information
• more clarified less possible interpretations
• more efficient especially when people are
  separated
• Then, why nonverbal?

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Why nonverbal?

• It is not what you say, but the way you say it.
• It was written all over your face.
• You are what you wear!
• Smiling is contagious.

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The way your message is conveyed
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1.2 Nonverbal communication

• -- conveys meaning without words, but through
  ones voice qualities, facial expressions,
  gestures, body movements, or attitudes towards
  space and time
• more reliable natural and unconscious, without
  our consent, Dont lie to me!
• sometimes more economical
• Nonverbal signals are not separated, but are
  inseparably linked to speech.
• There is no dictionaries to provide commonly
  agreed meanings of nonverbal symbols.
• The interpretation of nonverbal codes is
  culture-sensitive.

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Categories of nonverbal symbols
Para-language ???
also called voice qualities, has to do with the
sound of a speakers voice the closest to verbal
communication blends with speech to carry part
of the message
Body language ????
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• physical movement of a communicators body

Title
Environ- mental language ????
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Microsoft Ltd, and we develop and provide the
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involves factors around the communicator,
including time, space, seating, color, light,
architecture, office arrangement, decorations and
furnishings, etc.
Title
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2. Paralanguage in BC

• -- has to do with the sound of a speakers voice
  the closest to verbal communication
• 2.1 Volume ??
• medium/low voice mature and confident
• very soft voice young and inexperienced
• very loud voice angry, excited, or sentimental
• practice increasing your volume without shouting
• fail to exercise a good control over ones volume
  lack proper training in business communication

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2.2 Rate ??

• normal speed 110-150 words/min
• speak in a hurried or very fast way be arrogant
  (exception Northeasterners)
• slow down when making presentations
• pause for a few seconds after raising a serious
  question

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2.3 Pitch ??

• high-pitched voice make others nervous, sounds
  like scolding
• low-pitched voice authoritative, sexier and more
  pleasant
• if inevitable to use a high-pitched voice (e.g.
  calm down a noisy crowd or an excited group),
  quickly recover your normal pitch
• handle the raise and fall to create dramatic
  effect

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2.4 Emphasis ??

• Communication practice
• Read the following series of statement,
  emphasize different underscored words to feel how
  stress can change meaning.
• I will give you a raise.
• I will give you a raise.
• I will give you a raise.
• I will give you a raise.

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To check the appropriateness of your paralanguage

1. Ask a close friend Do you like the way I speak
   to you?
2. Have your voice recorded and then listen to it

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2. Body language in BC

• 2.1 Facial expression ????
• Your face is the primary site for expressing your
  emotions.
• Facial muscles can form up more than 7,000
  different expressions.
• Koreans traditionally regard a person with a
  serious face as more dependable, but now practice
  business smiling to meet the challenge of global
  business
• What facial expression do you have when you are
  in
• anger
• contempt
• disgust
• fear
• happiness
• sadness
• surprise

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Can you interpret these expressions?
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2.2 Eye contact ????

• -- the listener/speaker connection the
  audience feels connected with you and you feel
  connected with them and can read their reactions
• Westerners look people in the eye to show
  honesty and frankness (He wouldnt look me in
  the eye!) use eyebrow movements more frequently
• low-look culture (e.g. the UK) watching other
  people (esp. strangers) regarded as intrusive
• high-look culture (e.g. Spain, Italy, Greece)
  long gaze perfectly acceptable or encouraged
• Japanese/Vietnamese look down to show respect
  (doesnt mean to be shifty)
• Muslims after the first eye contact, lower their
  gaze and try not to focus on the opposite sexs
  (young or adult, other than their legitimate
  partners or family members) faces and eyes to
  avoid unwanted desires
• Chinese?

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2.3 Gesture ????

• -- physical movements of arms, legs, hands and
  head
• present and receive business cards with both
  hands
• move with a purpose e.g. walk to the other side
  of the room every five minutes or after youve
  completed a main section, step forward to
  emphasize a point in a presentation
• avoid random, constant, repetitive or purposeless
  motion
• some universal gestures

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Cultural difference in gesture

• Sri Lanka, Nepal and India shake heads to
  express agreement, nod heads to show disapproval
• Case study Handshake with the Arab officer
• Arab never shake hands with a left hand (used
  for washing ones lower part of the body)
• some culture-specific gestures

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• OK for many countries
• anus for the Brazilians
• sexual invitation for Greeks
• yen for the Japanese

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2.4 Posture ????

• -- body position as a whole, a more or less
  stable state (vs. gesture as a movement), e.g.
  seating, standing, lying down, crossed legs,
  folded arms
• Communication practice Read your mind through
  your posture
• Your classmates all have different postures.
• Can you interpret them and tell his/her state of
  mind?

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Interpretation of postures

• stand in an comfortably upright position
  energetic
• facing your audience confident and respectful
• leaning nervous or tired
• swaying or bouncing nervous or naïve
• sit with a hand supporting your chin either deep
  in thinking or in the blues
• lean forward while listening attentive and
  interested
• look away from time to time while listening
  absent-minded or lacking interest
• Always mind your posture or your image as a
  business person might be damaged.

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Professional posture when stand
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Professional posture when sit
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2.5 Appearance ????

• -- clothing, hair style, cosmetics, accessories,
  etc.
• What is appropriate in the fashion industry may
  be totally inappropriate in the banking industry.
• dress appropriately for the audience, the
  occasion, the organization, and the culture
• avoid clothes that will distract from what you
  are saying, e.g. plaits, patterns, print
• keep your accessories decent and simple (dont
  wear a loud, flashy tie)

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4. Environmental language in BC

• 4.1 Time ??
• Do you make other people wait or always arrive
  early than scheduled, or, are you always on time?
• Do you make an appointment before seeing any
  workmate?
• Do you prioritize telephone calls? How long do
  you excuse yourself from a face-to-face
  conversation to respond to an interrupting call?
• How long would you spend on a business lunch with
  your client?

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4.2 Space ??

• -- the physical distance between two
  communicators
• Latin Americans prefer a closer space
• Scandinavians prefer a more distant space
• efforts to create distance large desks in some
  offices (as a buffer zone to keep the visitors at
  a distance from the owner), a table between
  interviewers and the interviewee
• efforts to shorten distance the manager comes
  from behind his desk and sit with his subordinate
  on the same sofa to talk the CEO occasionally
  have lunch with their bottom-line employees or
  join their wedding parties

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4 types of personal space

• within 50 cm intimate distance, for exchange of
  within 50 cm intimate distance, for exchange of
  important information and physical contacts
• 50 cm 1.2 m personal distance, for casual
  conversations with friends for acquaintances
• 1.2 m 3.7 m social distance, for an interview,
  a business talk, etc., not fit for sharing
  anything personal
• 3.7 m the limit of our sight public distance,
  for public speeches and meeting strangers

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Case study The American and the Arabic space

• Read the American and the Arabic space case on
  Page 26-27, and think it over what lead to their
  communication failure?
• The decrease in personal space would make the
  other party feel that he/she is distanced and
  rejected.

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4.3 Seating ????

• -- the way you arrange the chairs for a group
  communication (meeting or presentation)
• At a meeting
• strait lines of chairs the least interactive
• u-shaped lines encourage more interaction
• In a presentation
• stand on a stage or platform that is higher than
  you audience formal
• stand while the audience sits semiformal
• sit together with your audience around a table
  (at the some level) informal
• In Chinas formal banquet the most powerful
  person has the seat around the table just
  opposite to the door

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5. Categorization of cultures

• CULTURE
• -- a learned set of shared interpretations about
  beliefs, values, norms and social practices
• We can never be too culture-conscious in business
  communication.
• Few of us are experts in all the cultures in the
  world either is it possible to know all cultures
  in the world.
• What we should do is to enhance our cultural
  sensitivity.

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5.1 High- vs. low-context culture

• -- proposed by American anthropologist and
  cross-cultural researcher Edward Hall (1959,
  Beyond Culture, New York Doubleday)
• high-context culture context-dependent, relies
  on implicit, nonverbal messages also called
  relational culture e.g. most Middle Eastern
  and Asian cultures
• low-context culture information-dependent,
  relies on explicit, verbal messages also called
  individualistic culture e.g. mainstream
  culture in the US and Canada

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Countries in high-/low-context culture
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Remarks from communicators

• As an American project manager, I was
  expecting that if I was proposing something
  stupid, I would hear it from the people on the
  team. In reality, I had a plan with a fatal flaw,
  and the Japanese team members knew it, but it was
  not their style of communication to embarrass me
  by telling me.

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Remarks from communicators

• Before our Manila factory was set up, we sent
  20-odd people there for a one-year training
  program, and I was one of them. For all of us,
  the startup of the factory was our priority.
  Consequently, we all focused on what we had to
  do, and had little one-to-one coach from the
  Filipinos. We neglected that fact that
  Philippines is a highly people-motivated country.
  But later on we found that we should set up a
  good relationship between each other and our
  change proved to be efficient. When we became
  friends, things went on much easier. In some
  cases, we could even get them to coach us during
  off-duty hours to at their homes.

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Guidelines for doing business in a high-context
culture

• understand that contextual information will be
  important
• be aware of the implied messages that you sent
  and that others send to you
• develop relationships before focusing on tasks
• expect decision-making to be collaborative and
  collective
• understand that the employee-employer
  relationship is humanistic
• expect a reliance on trust or intuition
• use indirect style in writing and speaking
• expect circular reasoning
• accept that contracts may change

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Guidelines for doing business in a low-context
culture

• remember that contextual information may be less
  important
• expect a reliance on explicit and direct verbal
  communication
• accept that tasks are viewed as separate from
  relationships
• expect individual initiative in decision-making
• understand that the employee-employer
  relationship is mechanistic
• support assertions with facts and statistical
  evidence
• use indirect style in writing and speaking
• expect linear reasoning
• expect contracts to be firm

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Case study The American-Chinese conversation

• Read the American-Chinese conversation case on
  Page 28.
• What cultural factors led to the communication
  failure?
• If you were the Chinese in the similar situation,
  what would you say?

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5.2 The cultural dimensions theory

• -- proposed by Dutch social psychologist and
  anthropologist Geert Hofstede (1993, "Cultures
  and Organizations Software of the Mind".
  Administrative Science Quarterly, 38 (1)
  132134)
• individualistic (put their own interests and
  those of their immediate family ahead to social
  concerns) vs. collectivistic (believe that the
  welfare of the group they belong to is as
  important as their own)
• power distance high (recognize power difference,
  have a great deal of respect for those in high
  positions) vs. low (power difference not
  emphasized, more comfortable approaching or even
  challenging their superiors)

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• uncertainty avoidance high (uncomfortable with
  change and risk) vs. low (comfortable with change
  and risk)
• task orientation (masculine, focus heavily on
  getting the job done) vs. social orientation
  (feminine, focus more on collective concern,
  e.g. the feelings of members, cooperative problem
  solving)
• short-term orientation (look for quick payoffs)
  vs. long-term orientation (pursue long-range
  goals)
• (countries ranked in the five dimensions see
  Cultural Values in Selected Counties and
  Regions on Page 28)

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6. Tips on intercultural BC

• 6.1 Cultural differences in international
  business
• (1) Addressing and greeting
• The US on a first-name basis (friendly,
  indicating fondness and attachment), except
  Doctor
• Germany use formal titles to show respect until
  others invite you to be more casual
• China General Manager, Director, a deputy
  position addressed as a full
• Egypt discourteous to use first names or ignore
  titles

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• the Middle East nodding as greeting
• Japan bow as greeting (the low it is, the more
  respectful)
• Thai wai as greeting (pressed palms together
  with a head bow)
• India invite you to visit his/her home at any
  time at any place
• Japan give and receive business cards with two
  hands, study the card carefully, and nod to
  indicate that you have understood it

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(2) Reception and gift-giving

• the US go Dutch
• China treat business partners with eight or ten
  courses, Chinese hospitality What a
  banquet!, and then What a waste!
• China and Japan exchange of gifts at first
  formal encounters
• Western Europe gifts are not exchanged initially
• China and Japan avoid gifts in sets of fours
• China avoid gifts of clocks
• India avoid gifts of leather (cows are sacred)
• Arab no gift for a businessmans wife
• Latin America and Europe gifts for the family or
  children is appreciated (esp. when visiting a
  home)

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(3) Attitude towards time

• monochronic orientation time is money
  appointments are scheduled in datebooks and
  rigidly adhered to task are performed in a
  scheduled order, one at a time e.g. North
  America, northern Europe
• polychronic orientation time as taking a
  backseat to personal relationships people are
  less concerned about living by the clock
  meetings go on for as long as they take e.g.
  Latin America, southern Europe, Middle East

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(4) Attitude towards others open praise

• the US try every means to show yourself, feel
  greatly encouraged if praised in front of others
• China be modest, say that what he/she had done
  was nothing and not worth mentioning when
  praised, relate ones achievements to the
  organization and the superior
• Japan an individual should never be singled out
  from his/her group for praise, feel embarrassed
  when praised openly I cant believe how rude
  some Japanese workers are. They seem to be
  disturbed by praise and dont answer you just
  silent

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(5) Avoidance of conflict

• China, Japan and Korea maintenance and pursuit
  of harmony (?, wa, and kibun) not say no
  directly, fear of losing face and suffering
  embarrassment spare you unpleasant news or
  information
• the Middle East and southern Europe harmony
  takes a backseat to emotional expression
• the US argue fiercely, hit the table, and then
  leave the meeting room as if nothing happened
• Mexico value harmony and discourage
  confrontation, might not forgive for three months
  after a quarrel

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6.2 General guidelines

• be open-minded view diversity as an opportunity
• be flexible ready to change your way or attitude
  when required
• learn about different cultures
• avoid stereotypical representation of a culture
  you are communicate with an individual
• avoid excessive efforts to demonstrate an
  attitude of equality I never even notice that
  youre black., Youre different from most black
  people., I understand what youre going through
  as a black women because Im (Jewish, Italian,
  Latino, etc.)

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Online resources for learning about world
cultures

• www.culturegrams.com
• Brief profiles of key information for
  travelers visiting over 100 countries and
  regions, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. Each
  pamphlet begins with a simple map and background
  on geography, history, climate, and other basic
  information. Communication-related information
  include personal appearance, gestures, greetings,
  visiting, eating, and many other topics.
• Global Business Basics www.getcustoms.com/article
  s
• Executive Planet www.executiveplanet.com
• International Business Consortium
  www.cobe.boisestate.edu/ib
• United Nations www.un.org

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• After-class assignments

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1. Communication practice

• With your partner, work out hints and tips on
  how to communicate effectively in the nonverbal
  way when you are attending a
• presentation as the speaker and as a listener
• negotiation
• meeting
• interview
• and act out some of them.

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2. Case study The Dubai delegation

• Read the Company H case on Page 30-31.
• You are now assigned to take Mr. Ls place as the
  chief representative to expand the Middle East
  market, which has been listed as the strategic
  focus of the company in the coming three years.
  What actions would you take?

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Thank You!