Verbal communication refers to spoken or speech communication for exchange of information between individuals and groups. The different forms of verbal communication are face-to-face encounters, live radio and television conversations and audio discussions on telephone, Skype, Viber, WhatsApp and other media. I would like to specifically talk about face-to-face communication style in USA. However, it should be emphasized that face-to-face spoken communication could not be isolated with non-verbal communication such as eye contact, greeting, dress appearance, body language, clothing, distance, postures and gestures. For instance, the aspect of reinforcement is also evaluated through words of encouragement and motivation during a spoken communication session.
Spoken communication in USA should be more direct and open because it is a low-context culture where people expect clarity of opinions, information and meeting purpose instead of assuming the other person to infer. Secondly, there is no discrimination among genders; therefore, it is expected that males and females could openly interact as compared to several high context cultures where spoken communication between opposite sexes is not acceptable such as in Asia, Middle East and other conservative cultures. Third, the spoken communication moves ahead positively when both parties exchange information in a calm voice tone while maintaining direct eye contact simultaneously in USA. The non-verbal cues such as body language, dress, gestures and postures also create an impression on other people during the verbal communication especially negotiations because they indicate credibility, maturity level, preparedness, interest and reliability. For instance, the American verbal style is expressive even in public places as compared to high-context societies where public remains humble and modest. Next, the art of listening is extremely important during verbal communication because a good speaker is also expected to showcase oneself a good listener. Intolerance for other person’s speech and discussion badly affect oral communication in both low and high-context cultures.
Undoubtedly, I would prefer and embrace the primary cultural aspects that shape etiquettes for verbal communication in USA because it fosters freedom of speech and expression to both sexes. For example, the negotiation team in USA allows participation of both sexes because of low-context culture as compared to Saudi Arabia, UAE, Japan and other high-context cultures where female representation is zero. Next, the male members avoid face-to-face speech and eye contact with female members of society because it is considered as a social taboo in high-context environments. The support for U.S. verbal communication style is absolutely permissible; however, the researcher also truly respects the cultural differences and communication patterns of other regions as true obligation in a globalized socio-economic environment.
For instance, the Americans regard “Time is Money” that also impacts spoken communication and makes it more direct and objective-related irrespective of any relationship between two individuals. In contrast, the high-context cultures are more relationship and people-oriented; therefore, the individuals also dedicate most of their time on discussions about country, economy, politics, arts, literature, family, education, personal life experiences, customs and traditions. The focused objective-based verbal communication takes place only after the two parties have developed reasonable personal understanding and ascertained that they have mutual respect so could trust each other for further interactions and business relationship. Finally, the global communication patterns have been changing because of greater cross-cultural training that has created a reasonable mid-point between high-context and low-context individuals in verbal communication.
