Nonverbal Communication Skills

Paper Summary:

In the present day, nonverbal communication evokes the interest of a broad spectrum of academic disciplines including psychology, sociology, anthropology, communications, and linguistics and has a similarly wide scope. Most research in the field of nonverbal communication, however, has focused more on the process rather than the skills aspect of the subject.
In this paper about nonverbal communication skills, the author discusses the following questions:
Why learn about nonverbal communication?
What are the challenges of interpreting nonverbal messages?
Why is it important to understand nonverbal communication code?
How does nonverbal communication help us improve our interpersonal communication skills?

From the Paper:

"Another important culturally different aspect of a common non-verbal gesture is the appropriateness or otherwise of "eye contact." In most Western cultures, particularly the United States, making of eye contact is considered to be very important. Americans perceive people who do not make eye contact during conversation as evasive and untrustworthy; they are often considered to be hiding something. Most American business communication books recommend it as vital for success during interviews and during making of speeches or business presentations. Making direct eye contact in several Eastern and African cultures, on the other hand, is considered to be extremely rude and insulting-especially if the people involved are different in status, power or age. Children in many Asian and Latin American cultures are taught to show respect to authority figures by avoiding to look into their eyes."

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