Verbal and Nonverbal Communication between Cultures and Genders based Human Communication Communication is the transfer of information fro one person to another. It is an interchange of thoughts and opinions through signs, speech or written materials. It is therefore a two way process where people exchange feelings, ideas and thoughts. People communicate thorough various means. Body languages such as eye contact, touch, gestures and eye movement are the nonverbal forms of communications. People also communicate through sign language which there is use of visually transmitted patterns that have meaning. It comprises of hand, body an arm movement accompanied by facial expression. People who use sign languages are the deaf and imperators to the deaf. Paralanguage is another form of human communication which is non verbal elements. Paralanguage can be noted in speech by determining the tone, volume, pitch and intonation a speaker has used. They can be produced consciously or unconsciously. The learners can make out the meaning of a word depending on the paralanguage the speaker has used. Chinese language is an example of a language which tonal expressions distinguishes meaning. Other silent forms of communications used by human are the use of signs, pictures, graphics, and posters. Difference between verbal and non verbal communication Verbal communication happens when one is talking. It is the spoken communication which comprises of articulation of words and their pronunciations. Through spoken communication a listener can make out the pitch, volume, tone and rate of speech. Verbal communication is usually accompanied by body movements like hands and facial expression. Sign language and written form of communication are also verbal communication. 1 / 5
Non verbal communication is the important form of communication which is not spoken. They are exhibited by the informer through signals like facial expressions, eye contact, listening, and hand gesture and body posture. An observer finds meaning from these non spoken forms of communication. For example if a husband gets home and finds his wife slumming doors, cupboards and utensils, he can know that the wife is mad. Other forms finding meaning in non verbal communications are through body distance, body position, hand gestures, silence and pauses (Hinde, 1997, p187). A cue is a signal such as an action or word that leads to another event during speech, such as change of sound effect and change in speakers as they enter into conversation. In non verbal communication, cues are more universal than in verbal communication. For example an opening and closing hand finger to somebody is a universal sign of telling a person to come where you are, with the exception of one of two cultures which means the opposite. Other cues in nonverbal communication have a greater directness in the sensory and more sophisticated than Verbal cues. Nonverbal cues are analogical and iconic while they digital in verbal communication. Challenges between gender communications Challenges that arise from men and women communication originate from the fact that women are generally relators while men are resolvers. As resolves, it means that men focus on finding solutions, solving problems and getting things done. They also focus on taking action which means they are extremely focused. Women as relators aim to understand feelings, explore emotions, make conversations, please others, and communicate and above all to be understood. This results into women being internally focused and introspective. When the internally focused/introspective and externally focused resolvers interact, it 2 / 5
leads to a lot of mistrust, confusion and misunderstanding. The two people of the opposite sex may fail to understand the perception of the other leading to confusion on how to respond, behave and communicate when faced with such a challenge (Sedacca, 2009). How different gender understand similar information Male and female brain differ in the sense that the men s brain contains approximately 6.5 times the amount of grey matter that relate to general intelligence as that of women. Women s brain on the other hand has ten times the amount of white matter also relating to intelligence as that of the men s. Researchers have asserted this finding as the cause of how men and women can interpreter similar information. For example the men are general good in mathematics while women are excellent in languages (Dow, & Wood, 2006, pp 120). Challenges arising in communicating across cultures Communicating across culture poses a great challenge of misunderstanding and one may take offences for things he/ she might not have understood due to the different styles of communication between cultures. For example, some cultures use higher pitch tone than others. This leads one to thinking that he/se is being quarreled at due to the difference in styles of communication (Ting- Toomey, 1999, p 261). How to communicate more effectively in diverse environments People can use gestures and eye contact to show emotion in diverse environments to enhance communication. For example a foreigner can use the universally recognized signs like shaking hand s to show greetings (Ting- Toomey, 1999, p 265). 3 / 5
Reference Experts magazine by Sedacca,.R, R (2009) understanding primary gender difference. Retrieved from http://www.expertmagazine.com/articles/gendergap.htm On 9th March 2010 Dow, B, Wood J (2006) the SAGE handbook of gender and communication. Sage Publishes, p 120 Ting- Toomey, S (1999) communicating across cultures. Guild ford press publishers, p 261-265 Hinde, A (1997) Non verbal communication. Cambridge University Press, p 187 4 / 5
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