ESSAY PLAN & ESSAY
Part A. ESSAY PLAN
Thesis Statement: No two people can see the world in exactly the same way because of differences in their status, gender, culture, traditions and environment where they were raised as shown through non-verbal communication.
Non-verbal communication can create barriers between people and may elicit different interpretations and responses based on the people’s personal beliefs, status and expectations.
People have different outlooks in life where some have positive views in life, where some of them have pessimistic outlooks.
Supporting point 2
Some people tend to stereotype based on race, color, religion and social standing.
Non-verbal communication within organizations with a strong hierarchy can be influenced by status because of differences in power.
Some powerful people tend to monopolize society because of their strong political influence and fortune.
Supporting point 2
Ordinary people do not voice out their opinions because they are afraid that the powerful people may take it against them.
A person’s gender can affect communication, particularly in terms of body language because of social cues.
Supporting point 1
Non-verbal communication can be clearly understood by using facial expressions and gestures.
Supporting point 2
A clear message can be communicated even through eye contact and body language.
Culture determines the way males and females perceive and interpret non-verbal communication because of different roles and expectations.
Supporting point 1
The collectivist and individualist cultures vary because of different beliefs and environments where they were raised.
Supporting point 2
People have different responses based on the various roles that they play and different perceptions on conformity and obedience.
B. ESSAY
According to Phutela (2015), non-verbal communication has the power to regulate relationships that has the ability to replace verbal communications in various situations and settings. In fact, different genders and cultures have utilized non-verbal communication is various ways and such differences may affect the nature of interpersonal communication between and among them (Phutela, 2015). Nonverbal communication has its advantages and disadvantages. One of the negative aspects of nonverbal communication is that it can become a barrier towards effective communication between individuals and communities. On the other hand, one advantage it brings is that it can also tear down the barriers to effective communication (Phutela, 2015).
Past studies show that non-verbal rules may differ in each situation, and each situation shall determine the set of rules to be applied. The various types of people have distinct sets of non-verbal communication behaviors through body language, facial expressions, hand movements, gestures and eye contact (Phutela, 2015). The non-verbal communication deals with multifaceted channels that may bring about vagueness and ambiguity among individuals, and usually leads to contradict the spoken word. Non-verbal can create conflict as the people have the tendency to rely on non-verbal clues to interpret the true meaning of the message that the other party is trying to convey (Phutela, 2015).
People have different views on the past, present and future based on the different world views which can be seen through non-verbal communication. Some of the communication problems may arise in every community and organization if people come from different nations. Individuals may be influenced by multiple levels of culture, where each of them may contribute in their own ways to shape their cultural identities (Onea, 2012). On the other hand, national culture has the greatest influence in order to build cohesion in a community or organization through verbal and nonverbal communication. It is important to look for ways on how to overcome some of the communication barriers when dealing with people from various cultures in a global economy (Hulbert, 1994).
Nonverbal communication plays a significant role in conflict escalation and can help in increasing communication barriers among people with different cultures (Jones & Remland, 1993). Thus, the limitations of current models of nonverbal immediacy exchange should also be analyzed in order to improve the flow of ideas among the people with different cultures and beliefs. Non-verbal communication has the tendency to send strong messages that can get people in trouble, especially if the meaning of the message is misinterpreted. It is important to get the real meaning of the nonverbal communication to discover which may be in the form of facial expression or body language. Since people interpret non-verbal communication differently, it is vital that before judgments can be made, both words and body language are taken together to get the clear message to avoid conflicts. Being flexible is the key to avoid hostility of the other parties who are trying to convey a message, whether verbally and non-verbally.
According to Kwon, et al. (2015), nonverbal communication is an essential factor in human communication, as characterized by body movement synchronization. Some researchers have analyzed body movement synchronization that makes use of body movements to convey a message. It bears to note that “body movement synchronization” remains to be vague and unclear. Therefore, there is a need to measure the synchronization of body movements using phase difference.
The purpose of this study was to provide a quantitative definition the different interpretation of nonverbal communication that may be in the form of face-to-face communication with eyes contact and unidirectional visual perception (Kwon, et al, 2015). According to Kwon, et al (2015) their study shows that the difference in nonverbal synchronization between different communication types shall depend in various situations. Non-verbal communication within organizations with a strong hierarchy can be influenced by status because of differences in power, wherein some of the powerful people tend to monopolize society because of their strong political influence and fortune.
In effect, the national leaders and leaders of multicultural companies are tasked to develop a strong organizational culture in order to ensure the integration of the people and that they are able to adapt to the policies imposed. Thus, the adaptation of the people to the environment can be affected based on their gender, culture, personal beliefs and social status. The objective of this article is to present and explain the effect of nonverbal communication based on the levels of culture and other influences. A qualitative analysis shall be made based on deductive-type explanations that can affect the communication barriers depending on the levels of culture that may be induced through the differences between individuals (Onea, 2012).
The individuals have different outlooks in life where some have positive views in life, where some of them have pessimistic outlooks. Thus, the issue of communication between individuals and between groups have become a major source of the problem due differences in culture and personal beliefs. One barrier towards effective communication and mutual understanding between cultures is the differences in the perception of the people. There had been various research studies conducted towards overcoming barriers in intercultural communication among governments, institutions, and between national organizations (Miulescu, 2014). A well-defined communication between cultural communities should be established to be able to establish the well-defined identity of the people based on their gender, ethnicity or religious affiliations (Miulescu, 2014). In order to fully understand the barriers that can affect communication, it important to take into consideration factors such as stereotyping based on race, color, religion, social standing and national cultures (International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 2001).
According to Cepero, et al. (2015), it is through oral communication competence that can identify the relevant skills that an individual can use in both professional and personal life. The importance of communication in the daily activities can determine the success of an organization. According to Sterkel (1998), gender plays an important role because they have different responses based on their social skills. The rationale behind such theory is caused by various roles that they play and different perceptions on conformity and obedience.
Culture determines the way males and females perceive and interpret non-verbal communication because of different roles and expectations. In fact, the collectivist and individualist cultures vary because of different beliefs and environments where they were born and raised. Culture defines the way people communicate that can cause each person to have a different response based on their perceptions and personal beliefs.
It is a challenge to implement an effective communication with people who come from different cultures because of their variance in their thinking process. At the same time, they have various ways to see, hear and interpret facts and circumstances. Thus, there are instances when same words can also mean different things because individuals have different cultures. What is more alarming is when people only use nonverbal communication instead of spoken words, which can result to different translations and interpretations. Thus, when the languages are different, there is a tendency for miscommunication and misunderstandings to arise.
There are ways to ensure effective cross-cultural understanding even through nonverbal communication by taking into consideration the world views before processing message. Since the behavioral constraints may also take place, the culture of the person who is sending a message should be interpreted based on his or her behavior that may affect the nonverbal communication. Different cultures have the tendency to display a range of emotions that can be done eye contacts and body language. The rules of politeness may vary depending on various cultures of the parties involved.
Finally, the emotional constraints of people who come from different cultures must be interpreted on a case to case basis. There are people who come from various cultures who get very emotional to stress their point during a debate by showing fear, anger, and frustration. On the other people who come from various cultures who try to keep their emotions rather than showing their feelings openly. In effect, these individual differences often result to communication problems when interpreted incorrectly.
References:
Cepero, A., Clapes, A., & Escalera, S. (2015). Automatic non-verbal communication skills analysis: A quantitative evaluation. AI Communications, 28(1), 87-101.
Hulbert, J. E. (1994). Overcoming Intercultural Communication Barriers. Bulletin of the Association for Business Communication, 57(1), 41-44.
NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION AND CONFLICT ESCALATION: AN ATTRIBUTION‐BASED MODEL
Jones, T.S. and Remland, M.S. (1993). NonVerbal Communication and Conflict: An Attribution-Based Model. International Journal of Conflict Management, 4(2), 119-137.
Kwon, J., Ogawa, K., Ono, E., & Miyake, Y. (2015). Detection of Nonverbal Synchronization through Phase Difference in Human Communication. Plos ONE, 10(7), 1-15.
Miulescu, V. (2014). Communication and Culture: Cultural Paradigms and Referentials. Contemporary Readings in Law & Social Justice, 6(1), 691-700.
Onea, A. (2012). Levels of Culture and Barriers in Organizational Communication. USV Annals of Economics & Public Administration, 12(2), 123-128.
Phutela, D. (2015). The Importance of Non-Verbal Communication. IUP Journal of Soft Skills, 9(4), 43-49.
Sterkel, K. S. (1988). The Relationship between Gender and Writing Style in Business Communications. Journal of Business Communication, 25(4), 17-38.
Tension Analysis in International Organizations: A Tool for Breaking Down Communication Barriers. (2001). International Journal of Organizational Analysis (1993 - 2002), 9(1), 58.
