Nonverbal Behaviors in Different Cultures.docVIP

Nonverbal Behaviors in Different Cultures Abstract: The globalization endows the intercultural communication with extreme importance. Effective intercultural communication has become an indispensable part of success in international business activities. This article is intended to go into some essential nonverbal factors in different cultures. Key Words: nonverbal, culture, intercultural communication With the development of globalization, the amount of international business activities are increasing at an unprecedented speed. Effective intercultural communication has become one of the key factors to guarantee success in business arena. Therefore, it is essential to have a good command of intercultural communication skills, among which nonverbal factors take priority over verbal ones. Researches show that the majority of the meaning or impact of a message comes through nonverbal means, with only about 40 percent or less conveyed by words or sounds. Most of the time we are no more conscious of interpreting nonverbal signals than we are conscious of breathing. When presented with both verbal and nonverbal messages, we consistently find the nonverbal messages more powerful; when conflicts appear between verbal and nonverbal messages, we usually believe nonverbal messages because most of our nonverbal actions are not easily controlled consciously. This means that they reflect a person’s real internal states. Verbal communication is very much culture-bound, as we know, and the same is true of nonverbal communication. Different cultures present different systems of nonverbal signs, and often endow the same sign with different meanings. Accordingly nonverbal communication can be easily misinterpreted. And the misunderstandings can lead to communication breakdowns and become obstacles to success in international business activities. Thus particular attention should be paid to nonverbal behaviors (hereinafter referred to as NVBs) in differ