Non-verbal communication is significant in any form of communication and knowing the cultural context before communicating non-verbally is essential. Non-verbal behaviours differ widely from one country to another. The principal elements of non-verbal behaviour include face-face interactions, eye tracking, hand and arm signals, tones of voice, patterns of touch, expressive movement and other non-verbal acts.



Face-Face Interactions

The face expresses your inward thought patterns and is thus an important channel in the field of non-verbal communication. A solid understanding the messages conveyed by the face, that critically underpin concurrent verbal communication is a must for effective communication. These emotional behaviours are produced by the muscular system. There are basic human expressions, such as a smile, that almost universally represent joy and a scowl equally represents anger in most locales. Facial expressions are not however common in all countries: the same expression in one country may embody an entirely different meaning in another. As an example, in Spain, tilting the head sideways and resting the cheek in the palm of the hand is a signal which says ‘sissy’, while in India the same gesture indicates that the speaker is simply feeling sleepy.

Eye Tracking

People depend on visual clues to assist them when deciding how to interpret a message. It develops trust in the speaker and thereby increases credibility. Again, there are notable variances: in China people will not focus on the speaker’s eyes when conversing, whilst in the UK people are trained pretty much from birth to do the opposite.

Hand and Arm Gestures

Hand and arm gestures accompanied by verbal communication emphasise elements of the delivered message. The Hook ‘em horns gesture is one of the most famous hand symbols in US college sports. But beware: in Italy this salute accompanied by a twisting of the wrist is considered an insult!

Tones of Voice

The overall tone embodies various aspects such as voice, quality, rate, pitch and more. If you are in a strange working environment, you will need to explore the tones accepted in that geography, primarily through practice and research. In the UK messages are often delivered in a soft tone and negotiations are not usually handled in a public place, whilst in India negotiations are often undertaken quite publicly and volubly.

Personal Space and Touch

There are many different rules regarding the personal space applied in various countries. The Germans, for example, tend to maintain a larger personal space around them: approximately 6 inches more than their North American counterparts.

Expressive Movement

Body movements reflect willingness and the degree of acceptance of verbal content. Turning away, looking forward, bowing and other movements may express feelings that are difficult to translate into words and which may vary wildly in meaning across geographies.

The Importance of Non-Verbal Communication

The principal elements of non-verbal behaviour have wide variations and cultural understanding and contextual interpretation is a key determinant in the success of communication both verbally and non-verbally. Non-verbal communication should be given equal importance in the field of communication for many reasons:-

•A message is not complete without accompanying non-verbal behaviour.

•Non-verbal behaviour is a key means of influencing people.

•People are open books for a proficient non-verbal reader.

•The use of non-verbal signs may assist in making the communication shorter and more understandable.

•Differences between true and fake emotions can usually be detected by non-verbal indicators.

Conclusion

The context in which non-verbal communication takes place affects the meaning and interpretation of the overall interaction. Thus, understanding the non-verbal behaviours of each culture and acting accordingly will help to pave the way for effective and successful communication.