INTRODUCTION

Why study IC?

cultural diversity; multiculturalism
interdependence of people and cultures in a global

society
communication is vital to international business
Recruitment, sales, management, marketing and
workplace environment are all affected by cultures
within an organization

Definition of Key Terms

Intercultural communication - a form of global

communication; cross-cultural communication; the

base for international businesses
reasons for the development of intercultural issues:
the development of technology; globalization of the
business world; widespread population migrations;
multiculturalism

The Importance of Intercultural Communication

"...the single greatest barrier to business success

is the one erected by culture." Edward T. Hall and

Mildred Reed Hall
promotes clearer communication, breaks down
barriers, builds trust, strengthens relationships, opens
horizons and yields tangible results in terms of
business success.

Intercultural business
communication competence
flexibility and ability to tolerate high levels of

uncertainty, reflectiveness or mindfulness, openmindedness, sensitivity, adaptability, and the ability to

engage in divergent and systems-level thinking
a Cross-Cultural Bridge in the workplace, connecting
people to one another , according to P.S. Perkins
(2008:175)

A Short History of Intercultural Communication

Edward T. Hall 1950; The Silent Language-1959

Hall introduced terms such as intercultural tensions

and intercultural problems in 95 and intercultural

communication in 959.

IC in The USA
The country is a land of immigrants from many diverse

cultures;
There are thousands of new immigrants entering the
country every year;
The U.S. has large numbers of foreign students and
tourists; and
The American involvement in the global economy

The development of IC
1970 IC was recognized by the Intercultural

communication Association (ICA)

1970s training - Peace Corps members
Sietar (Society for intercultural education, training
and research) was set up in 1975
1977-International Journal of Intercultural Relations
The International Association of Communication over five thousand members.

The Chronological Development of

Intercultural Communication Study
(1) The Burgeoning Period: 1958, Lederer and

Burdick's The Ugly American; Hall's The Silent

Language was published in 1959; Leeds-Hurwitz
(1990); Hall: The Hidden Dimension (1966), Beyond
Culture (1976), The Dance of Life (1984), and
Understanding Cultural Differences (Hall & Hall, 1989)

A Short History of Intercultural Communication

(2) From 1960 to 1970:
Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck's (1961) discourse on

cultural value orientations

Robert T. Oliver's Culture and Communication (1962)
Alfred G. Smith's Communication and Culture (1966)

A Short History of Intercultural Communication

(3) From 1971 to 1980:
1972 Edward C. Stewart - American Cultural Patterns
1973, Samovar and Porter published Intercultural Communication: A

Reader
Michael H. Prosser's Intercommunication among Nations and People
(1973) and Cultural Dialogue (1978)
A. G. Smith's Transracial Communication (1973)
Condon and Yousef s Introduction to Intercultural Communication
(1975), Barnlund's Public and Private Self in Japan and United States
(1975), Sitaram and Cogdell's Foundations of Intercultural
Communication (1976), Fischer and Merrill's International and
Intercultural Communication (1976), Dodd's Perspectives on CrossCultural Communication (1977), Weaver's Crossing Cultural Barriers
(1978), and Kohls' Survival Kit for Overseas Living (1979).

A Short History of Intercultural Communication

4) From 1981 to the Present Time
Gudykunst's Intercultural Communication Theory:

Current Perspectives (1983), Gudykunst and Kim's

Methods of Intercultural Research (1984), Kincaid's
Communication Theory: Eastern and Western
Perspectives, Kim and Gudykunst's Theories in
Intercultural Communication (1988), and Asante and
Gudykunst's Handbook of International and
Intercultural Communication (1989).

A Short History of Intercultural

Communication
From the 1970s to the present time the direction for

the study of intercultural communication has been

determined mainly by three influences: (1) the
International and Intercultural Communication
Annual (IICA), (2) the Speech Communication
Association (SCA), and (3) the International
Communication Association (ICA).

The Content of Intercultural

Communication Study
intercultural communication - an ambiguous concept
Rich (1974) classification: intercultural

communication, international communication,

interracial communication, interethnic or minority
communication, contracultural communication
Outline of Intercultural Communication (1978),
Stewart
William B. Gudykunst (1987) - four categories: (1)
intercultural communication, (2) cross-cultural
communication, (3) international communication,
and (4) comparative mass communication.

Value Orientation Method

Description of Five Common Human Concerns

and Three Possible Responses

Human Nature: What is the basic nature of people?
Man-Nature Relationship: What is the
appropriate relationship to nature?
Time Sense: How should we best think about time?
Activity: What is the best mode of activity?
Social Relations: What is the best form of social
organization?

Communication Theories
Theories focusing on effective outcomes
Theories focusing on accommodation or adaption
Theories focusing on identity negotiation or

management
Theories focusing on communication networks
Theories focusing on acculturation and
adjustment
Other Theories

QUESTIONS
Why study Intercultural Communication?
Are people able to understand one another if they

do not share a common cultural background?

How can intercultural business communication
competence be built?
What are the benefits of the Value Orientation
Method (VOM) in understanding core cultural
differences related to the basic human concerns
or orientations?

CULTURE AND
COMMUNICATION
INTERCULTURAL BUSINESS
COMMUNICATION

OBJECTIVES (7.11.2016)
Upon completion of this chapter, you will
understand the relation between culture
and communication, as well as the
functions of culture;
understand such terms as culture,
communication, multicultural
collaboration, cultural awareness;
distinguish/ differentiate between
communication/symbolic communication;
cultural universalism/cultural relativism;
language/non-verbal communication;
group/organization/society;

Lets agree on:

culture complex collection of knowledge,
folklore, language, rules, rituals, habits, lifestyles,
attitudes, beliefs, and customs that link and give a
common identity to a particular group of people
at a specific point in time.
cultural universalism (food, shelter, clothing,
family organization, religion, government, social
structures)/cultural relativism (particular
traditions, values and ideals)
social units groups, organizations, societies or
nations

CULTURAL UNIVERSALISM
All human beings create culture;
Their action is meant to respond to basic
needs such as food, shelter or family
organisation;

CULTURAL RELATIVISM
Each culture possesses its own particular
traditions, values, ideals;
Cultural diversity;
Unique representation;
I am not a failed version of you;

Common functions
From a communication perspective these
are truly important:
(1) linking individuals to one another,
(2) providing the basis for a common
identity, and
(3) creating a context for interaction and
negotiation among members.

Characteristics of Culture
Edward Hall (1959, 1979)
New concepts in cross-cultural
communication such as: proxemics,
polychronic / monochronic time, high/low
context

Cultures are subjective;

Cultures change over time;
Cultures are largely invisible.

The Relationship Between Communication and Culture

Cultures are created through

communication;
Cultures are a natural by-product of
social interaction;
Communication practices are largely
created, shaped, and transmitted by
culture;
Communication shapes culture, and
culture shapes communication.

CROSS -CULTURAL
COMMUNICATION
CHALLENGES

Kevin Avruch and Peter Black (1993) :

...One's own culture provides the "lens"
through which we view the world; the
"logic"... by which we order it; the
"grammar" ... by which it makes sense.
() In other words, culture is central to
what we see, how we make sense of what
we see, and how we express ourselves.

Patterns of Cultural Difference

Different Communications Styles

Different Attitudes Toward Conflict
Different Approaches to Completing Tasks
Different Decision-Making Styles
Different Attitudes Toward Disclosure
Different Approaches to Knowing

Diversity and differences in the

workplace
When faced by an interaction that we do
not understand, people tend to interpret
the others involved as "abnormal,"
"weird," or "wrong."
(Kevin Avruch and Peter Black)
prejudice, ethnocentrism
to adjust and integrate

Respecting Differences
LEARN:
to collaborate across cultural lines as
individuals and as a society
about different ways that people
communicate
about people's cultures
about people from other cultures

Multicultural Collaboration
Learn from but don't use generalizations
Practice
Don't assume that there is one right way
(yours!) to communicate
Listen actively and empathetically
Look at the situation as an outsider
Check your interpretations i

QUESTIONS

QUESTIONS
What is culture? What are its
characteristics? How does it function
in society?
What is the role and importance of
culture?
How can one distinguish different
cultures?
What does multicultural
collaboration involve?

III. CONTRASTING CULTURAL

VALUES AND PERCEPTIONS
Course pages 47-61

Upon completion of this

chapter, you will:
understand the way culture functions
on different levels
understand such terms as cultural
dimensions, power distance,
uncertainty avoidance, individualism,
collectivism, masculinity, femininity,
short/long term orientation,
indulgence/restraint
distinguish/ differentiate between
culture, civilization, high/low context
culture, national/organizational
cultures

CULTURE LEVELS

Culture revolves around basic issues that

have to do with group membership,
authority, gender roles, morality, anxiety,
emotions and drives;

National level
Organizational level
Occupational level
Gender level

Edward T. Hall-founder of the

intercultural communication field of
research

Edward T. Hall-founder of the

intercultural communication
field of research
The Silent Language (1959)
The Hidden Dimension (1966)

Edward T. Hall classic

dimensions of culture - 1
High/low-context cultures
high-context communication implies the
message; the transmitted message contains
minimal information, the rest being added from
the cultural information previously acquired by
the sender of the message
low-context communication is realized by
explicit statements, using an explicit code; most
of the information must be included in the
transmitted message

Edward T. Hall classic

dimensions of culture - 2
Monochronic/ Polychronic cultures
Monochronic cultures work on a single
task until it is finished.
Polychronic cultures are involved with
many things at once, with varying levels of
attention paid to each.

Geert Hofstede:https://geerthofstede.com/

Dimensions of National Cultures

Geert Hofstede Cultural
Dimensions
four anthropological problem areas that
different national societies handle
differently:
- ways of coping with inequality,
- ways of coping with uncertainty,
- the relationship of the individual with
her or his primary group, and
- the emotional implications of having
been born as a girl or as a boy

Geert Hofstede Cultural

Dimensions
Power Distance

Power distance is the extent to which the

less powerful members of organizations
and institutions (like the family) accept
and expect that power is distributed
unequally.

Geert Hofstede Cultural

Dimensions
Uncertainty Avoidance

a society's tolerance for uncertainty and

ambiguity.
It indicates to what extent a culture
programs its members to feel either
uncomfortable or comfortable in
unstructured situations.

Geert Hofstede Cultural

Dimensions
Individualism
the degree to which individuals are

integrated into groups.

individualist - societies in which the ties
between individuals are loose: everyone is
expected to look after her/himself and
her/his immediate family.
collectivist - societies in which people from
birth onwards are integrated into strong,
cohesive in-groups, often extended families
(with uncles, aunts and grandparents) which
continue protecting them in exchange for
unquestioning loyalty.

Geert Hofstede Cultural

Dimensions
Masculinity
distribution of emotional roles between

the genders
(a) women's values differ less among
societies than men's values; (b) men's
values from one country to another
contain a dimension from very assertive
and competitive and maximally different
from women's values on the one side, to
modest and caring and similar to women's
values on the other.

Geert Hofstede Cultural Dimensions

Long-Term Orientation

Long- term oriented societies foster

pragmatic virtues oriented towards future
rewards, in particular saving, persistence,
and adapting to changing circumstances.
Short-term oriented societies foster
virtues related to the past and present
such as national pride, respect for
tradition, preservation of "face", and
fulfilling social obligations.

Geert Hofstede Cultural Dimensions

Indulgence versus Restraint
Indulgence - a society that allows
relatively free gratification of basic and
natural human drives related to enjoying
life and having fun.
Restraint - a society that suppresses
gratification of needs and regulates it by
means of strict social norms.

Scores around the world

Power distance: high for Latin, Asian and African countries //

smaller for Anglo and Germanic countries
Uncertainty avoidance: higher in Latin countries, in Japan, and in
German speaking countries // lower in Anglo, Nordic, and Chinese culture
countries
Individualism prevails in developed and Western countries, while
collectivism prevails in less developed and Eastern countries; Japan takes a
middle position on this dimension
Masculinity is high in Japan, in some European countries like Germany,
Austria and Switzerland, and moderately high in Anglo countries; it is low
in Nordic countries and in the Netherlands and moderately low in some
Latin and Asian countries like France, Spain and Thailand
Long-term orientation scores are highest in East Asia, moderate in
Eastern and Western Europe, and low in the Anglo world, the Muslim
world, Latin America and Africa.
Indulgence scores are highest in Latin America, parts of Africa, the Anglo
world and Nordic Europe; restraint is mostly found in East Asia, Eastern
Europe and the Muslim world

QUESTIONS
What are the levels on which culture functions?
Taking into account E.T. Hall classic dimensions
of culture, what type of culture do you belong
to?
How do you perceive and manage time in your
culture?
On what bases can we compare nations from a
cultural point of view?/ What are the cultural
values on which we can compare nations?
What are the particular values that distinguish
your own culture from others?
Do national cultures and organizational cultures
have a similar impact upon the individual?

COPING WITH
CULTURE
SHOCK
Lecture material: Chapter 4 (Intercultural
Communication Course), pages 61-77

UPON COMPLETION OF THIS CHAPTER, YOU

WILL

understand the causes of culture shock, identify

the stages of culture shock, develop awareness
of accurate responses to culture shock, practice
effective patterns of intercultural
communication, build specific skills to adapt to
a new/foreign culture (these skills imply stress
management, efficient communication,
interpersonal relations)
understand such terms as culture shock,
international moving, intercultural adaptation,
self-development, adjustment
distinguish/ differentiate between
xenophilia/xenophobia, familiar/unfamiliar
culture, universalistic/particularistic culture,
excitement/anxiety versus new communication
experiences

HOW ABOUT YOU?

Have you travelled abroad? On what
purpose? For how long? How did you feel?
What was the impact of the new culture on
you?
How did you solve your adaptation
problems?
Based on your personal experience, what
actions do you suggest to cope with the new
culture?
Did you perceive the new experience as a
conflict between your culture and the host
culture?

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

What makes some international executives

highly successful whereas others struggle with
basic everyday activities?

If we are all so global nowadays, what makes

some of us more international than others?

CULTURE SHOCK (CS) FIELD OF

STUDY
0riginally created by the anthropologist Kalervo
Oberg (1954): CS=an occupational disease of
people who have been suddenly transported
abroad.
Aim: to describe the effects that living in a
different country or culture can have, to identify
stages, to analyse them and offer advice;
C.Storti (2001): CS= a common stress reaction
that individuals have when they find themselves
immersed in an unfamiliar culture;
CS Phases: honeymoon - culture shock gradual adaptation compromise;

CS STAGES (KALERVO OBERG)

STAGE 1: xenophilia a nave fascination with

the new culture;
STAGE 2: xenophobia when the migrants
tend to group together and become angry about
the natives, negatively stereotyping them and
romanticizing home.

STAGE 3: gradual adjustment;

STAGE 4: complete adjustment;

EDWARD DUTTON: TOWARDS A SCIENTIFIC MODEL

OF CULTURE CHOCK AND INTERCULTURAL
COMMUNICATION (2011)

Close examination of each stage, biological

reactions, brain processes, chemical reactions
patterns of behaviour;
STAGE 1 CS: release of dopamine, taking risks;

mild/extreme risk
STAGE 2 CS: dislike of new environment,
frustration, depression, predictability/novelty,
altered perceptions;
STAGE 3CS: decreased levels of stressm
rendering the environment predictable,
acceptance
STAGE 4 CS: just just another way of
living(Oberg, 1960.

SYMPTOMS OF CS

STEPHEN RHINESMITH (1996-)

A TRANSATLANTIC EXECUTIVE COACH

EXPERT IN GLOBAL EMOTIONAL
INTELLIGENCE

SYMPTOMS OF CULTURE SHOCK

You get frustrated, irritable, fatigued, anxious
and depressed;
You can't cope, discovery that your way of doing
things doesnt work;
Habits vs. overwhelming number of decisions;
You withdraw, often oversleep to escape, and
turn aggressive against the host culture;
You feel isolated and helpless because everything
seems out of control.

THE CULTURE SHOCK TRIANGLE

E. MARX , BREAKING THROUGH CULTURE SHOCK - WHAT YOU NEED
TO SUCCEED IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS (1999)

CROSS CULTURAL TRANSITION-FOREIGN

CULTURE
THREE LEVELS OF CULTURE SHOCK
The emotional side - coping with mood swings;
The thinking side - understanding foreign
colleagues;
The social side - developing a social and
professional network as well as effective social
skills.

EMOTIONS
Emotional reactions: worrying, feelings of
isolation, anxiety and helplessness;
Disorienting experience in a foreign place;
Long term effects, disorientation;
International assignments-stress category life
events;
Life events: changing country, changing jobs, and
changing house.
Psychological difficulties: depression, anxiety,
alcoholism, addictions, nervous breakdowns;
Performance deficits, company risks.

THINKING (1)
Familiar environments: well structured,
predictable, clear social norms;
New situations:
You can decide to ignore them or discard them;
You can decide to treat them as familiar
situations, thereby making the wrong
conclusions;
You can admit that one cannot make sense, work
on it and try to expand and modify our typical
thinking.

THINKING (2)
A colonialist - you do not react to the foreign
culture;
An imperialist - forcing your own value system
and way of thinking onto the new culture - not
adapting in interactions and not seeing the
necessity to change perceptions and attitude;
An internationalist/inter-culturalist - you are
fully aware of the complexity and ambiguity of
exchanges in foreign cultures and try to adapt by
changing your thinking and attitudes and by
trying to find a compromise between cultures.

SOCIAL IDENTITY AND SOCIAL SKILLS

There are different ways of living, working, and

establishing relationships and this threatens our
well-formed notions on how to do things;

We have to re-negotiate or re-define our identity,

by integrating our new experiences and reactions
into our old self;

Collision of values.

CULTURE SHOCK IN EUROPE (1)

European cultures can be divided into two main

categories (Rhinesmith, 1996):

"universalistic - the Anglophone, Germanic,

Dutch and Scandinavian countries - tend to look
at other cultures in a more judgmental fashion
particularistic - France, Italy, Spain, Portugal
and Greece - defend their own way of life with a
my-group-versus-your-group mentality

CULTURE SHOCK IN EUROPE (2)

POSSIBLE SOURCES OF FRICTION
Sense of time (planners/jugglers);
Humour;
Agenda/ attitude towards work;
Specific code;
Different approaches towards combining business
and pleasure;
Business practices.

DEALING WITH CULTURE SHOCK

Rejecters: the adaptation to the new country - particularly

difficult
isolate themselves from the host country (hostile)
returning home - the only way to be in harmony with their
environment again
Adopters: embrace their host culture and country
lose their original identity
choose to stay in the host country forever
Cosmopolitans: see their host country and culture
positively
manage to adapt
keep their original identity
create their own blend
usually have no problem returning to their home country or
relocating elsewhere

COUNTERING CULTURE SHOCK

Learn

the language;
Prepare for cultural differences;
Be open-minded;
Be patient;
Take time off.

10 STEPS FOR BREAKING THROUGH

CULTURE SHOCK (MARX, 1999: 15)
Dont let culture shock take you by surprise;
Expect culture shock to happen everywhere, anytime
identify support networks of others in a similar
position;
Dont give in to the stress;
Ask others in your position for tips;
Give yourself time to adapt;
Dont hesitate to seek professional help;
You might well experience culture shock when
returning home, in reverse;
Try and remain positive about your experiences.

QUESTIONS
Have you travelled abroad? On what
purpose? For how long? How did you feel?
What was the impact of the new culture on
you?
How did you solve your adaptation
problems?
Based on your personal experience, what
actions do you suggest to cope with the new
culture?
Did you perceive the new experience as a
conflict between your culture and the host
culture?

VERBAL/NONVERBAL
INTERCULTURAL BUSINESS
COMMUNICATION
Course Unit 5 , pages78-92

UPON COMPLETION OF THIS CHAPTER, YOU

WILL:
understand the importance of nonverbal
communication in business, get familiar
with different types of nonverbal
communication, develop nonverbal
communication skills that will increase the
efficiency of your communication with a
foreign business partner;
understand such terms as nonverbal
communication, kinesics, proxemics,
paralanguage, chronemics, haptics;
distinguish/ differentiate between
verbal/nonverbal communication,
signs/symbols/gestures.

VERBAL COMMUNICATION
Operates

with signs and symbols;

Coded communication (all the verbal
messages);
It expresses ideas, opinions, directions,
dissatisfaction, objections, emotions and
preferences.

NON VERBAL INTERCULTURAL

COMMUNICATION

NON VERBAL INTERCULTURAL

COMMUNICATION (I)

It refers to all conscious or unconscious stimuli other

than the spoken word between communicating
parties;
The messages we send and receive from others
without words, both on a conscious and subconscious
level (Perkins, 2008: 29).
These non-verbal processes sometimes account for as
much as 70 percent of communication. P. S. Perkins
in her book The Art and Science of
Communication points out the role non-verbal
communication plays in the workplace.
The nonverbal codes of a society are learned in the
same way we learn language, as an integral part of
our symbol system (Perkins, 2008: 30) and convey an
impressive amount of meaning.

NON VERBAL INTERCULTURAL

COMMUNICATION (II)
It

includes all the signs, gestures and

pantomimes with which we transfer a
message, a feeling or a reaction;
Conscious or unconscious stimuli other
than the spoken word between
communicating parties;
It varies across cultures.

NON VERBAL INTERCULTURAL

COMMUNICATION (III)
Its

meaning varies across cultures;

What is acceptable in one culture may be
taboo in another;
These variations make misinterpretation
a barrier in non-verbal communication;
The social and cultural environment,
rather than our genetic heritage,
determines the non-verbal communication
system that we use.

NON VERBAL INTERCULTURAL

COMMUNICATION (IV)
Non-verbal

messages can be
broken down into visual, vocal,
physical, temporal, and
spatial messages and they
fulfill, according to Perkins
(2008: 31) seven important
functions:

SEVEN IMPORTANT FUNCTIONS (V)

1. to substitute words;
2. to control the impression others have of us;
3. to complement the words we speak;
4. to contradict our words;
5. to confirm the messages of others;
6. to distinguish relationships between ourselves
and others;
7. to maintain a congruent understanding of the
messages within a shared environment (i.e.
workplace).

CATEGORIES OF NON-VERBAL
COMMUNICATION

or body language;
Proxemics, or the use of space;
Paralanguage, or the sounds
people produce with their voices that
are not words;
Chronemics, or the use of time.
Kinesics,

SUBCATEGORIES
Haptics is a subcategory of kinesics and is
defined as the non-verbal code of touching and
touching behavior that accompanies
communication;
Symbols;
Use of colours;
Ornaments;
Olfaction.

IMPORTANCE OF NON VERBAL

COMMUNICATION IN BUSINESS

It develops interpersonal relationships such as:

Trust
Confidence
Authority
Connections

CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN NONVERBAL

COMMUNICATION
Gestures and Body Positioning
Facial Expressiveness
Eye Contact
Conversation Distance
Silence

SOMETIMES

WE CAN INADVERTENTLY CHOOSE A BODY

POSTURE THAT WILL

RESULTS.

CONDON

HAVE DISASTROUS

AND

YOUSEF DESCRIBE

SUCH A CASE

The British professor of poetry relaxed during his lecture at

Ain Shams University in Cairo.
So carried away was he in explicating a poem that he leaned
back in his chair and so revealed the sole of his foot to an
astonished class. To make such a gesture in a Moslem
society is the worst kind of insult. The Cairo newspapers the
next day carried banner headlines about the student
demonstration which resulted, and they denounced British
arrogance and demanded that the professor be sent home. (1
975,122)

BOWING IN JAPAN

H.BEFU:

The matter of synchrony, in fact perfect

synchrony, is absolutely essential to bowing.
Whenever an American tries to bow to me, I often
feel extremely awkward and uncomfortable
because I simply cannot synchronize bowing with
him or her. . . . Bowing occurs in a flash of a
second, before you have time to think. And both
parties must know precisely when to start bowing,
how deep, how long to stay in the bowed position,
and when to bring their heads up. (1979, 118)

JAPAN-SELF-CONTROL
Self-control, thought of as highly desirable in
Japan, demands that a man of virtue will not
show a negative emotion in his face when
shocked or upset by sudden bad news; and if
successful, is lauded as tiazen jijaku to shite
(perfectly calm and collected), or mayu hitotsu
ugokasazu ni (without even moving an eyebrow). . .
.
The idea of an expressionless face in situations of
great anxiety was strongly emphasized in the
bushido (way of the warrior) which was the
guideline for samurai and the ideal of many
others. (1982,308)

THIS HAND GESTURE HAS DIFERENT MEANINGS IN

DIFFERENT CULTURES. BEWARE! DON'T
USE THIS GESTURE IN PARTS OF SOUTH AMERICA IT
DOESN'T MEAN "OK."

MORRIS: PERILS OF NON-VERBAL

COMMUNICATION

The eyelid pull (the forefinger is placed below

one eye, pulling the skin downward and thereby
tugging on the lower eyelid)-meaning "I am alert" or
"Be alert" in Spain, France, Italy, and Greece.
The chin stroke (the thumb and forefinger,
placed on each cheek bone, are gently stroked
down to the chin)-meaning "thin and ill" in the
southern Mediterranean area.
The earlobe pull or flick (the earlobe is tugged or
flicked with the thumb and forefinger of the hand
on the same side of the body)-a sign of effeminacy
found predominantly in Italy, meaning "I think you
are so effeminate ..."
The nose tap(the forefinger in a vertical position taps
the side of the nose)-meaning "Keep it a secret."

CONRAD KOTTAK ON
MATTERS OF PERSONAL SPACE IN AMERICA
AND BRAZIL

ANTHROPOLOGIST

When Americans talk, walk, and dance, they maintain a

certain distance from others, their personal space.
Brazilians, who maintain less physical distance, interpret
this as a
sign of coldness. When conversing with an American, the
Brazilian characteristically moves in as the American
"instinctively" retreats. In these body movements, neither
Brazilian nor American is trying consciously to be
especially friendly or unfriendly. Each is merely executing
a program written on the self by years of exposure to a
particular cultural
tradition. Because of different cultural conceptions of
proper social space, cocktail parties in such international
meeting places as the United Nations can resemble an
elaborate insect mating ritual, as diplomats from different
cultures advance, withdraw, and
sidestep. (1 987, 21 0)

CONCLUSION

Although much has been made of the distinction

between language on the one hand and nonverbal
communication on the other, the two forms of
communication
are
in
fact
inextricably
interconnected. To learn just the spoken language
and to ignore the nonverbal behavior would be as
inadequate
a
response
to
cross-cultural
communication as doing just the opposite. An
understanding of both modes is necessary to reveal
the full meaning of an intercultural event. Being
able to read facial expressions, postures, hand
gestures, gaze, and space usage, among others,
increases our sensitivity to the intricacies of crosscultural communication so necessary for success in
the international business arena. To really know
another culture, we must first learn the language,
and then we must be able to hear the silent messages
and read the invisible words. (Gary Ferraro)

QUESTIONS
Generally, in communication, which is in
your opinion more important: verbal or
nonverbal communication?
As far as the business activity is concerned,
do you consider one of the two types of
communication prevails? Which and why?
Is nonverbal communication a barrier in
transmitting the message? On what
circumstances?
Are you familiar with cultural differences
in nonverbal communication? Did you
experience directly such communicative
circumstances?