Nonverbal Communication: The Messages of Action, Space, Time, and Silence
1. Why is it useful to understand the nonverbal language of a culture?
2. What are some potential obstacles to accurately reading the nonverbal messages of other people?
3. What is meant by the following: “Most nonverbal communication is learned on the subconscious level”?
4. Give your culture’s interpretation of the following nonverbal actions:
• Two people are speaking loudly, waving their arms, and using many gestures.
• A customer in a restaurant waves his hand over his head and snaps his fingers loudly.
• An elderly woman dresses entirely in black.
• A young man dresses entirely in black.
• An adult pats a child’s head.
• Two men kiss in public.
5. How can studying the intercultural aspects of nonverbal behavior assist you in discovering your own ethnocentrism? Give personal examples.
6. How late can you be for the following: (a) a class,
(b) work, (c) a job interview, (d) a dinner party, or (e) a date with a friend? Ask this same question of members of two or three cultures other than your own.
7. What is meant by “Nonverbal communication is rule governed”?
8. Do you believe that in the United States a person who knows how to effectively employ nonverbal communication has an advantage over other people? How would the use of these same skills be received in Japan, China, Mexico, and India?
9. Have you ever felt uncomfortable when someone you had just met stood very close to you? How did it make you feel?
10. How would you explain the African proverb, “Silence is also speech”?
