Abstract
Nonverbal messages represent an important part of everyday communication. People are seldom aware of them, and thus disregard their individual and cultural variability, in other words, their potential for misunderstandings. The present paper aims to raise students’ awareness of the importance of nonverbal messages for a successful (intercultural) communicative event, and to introduce them to various nonverbal codes. For this, it proposes several activities focusing on nonverbal communication, in general, and on its different codes, in particular. These can be done in (foreign) language and communication classes to prepare students for real-life multicultural communicative events.
Highlights
Communication plays a key role in people’s lives
The present paper focuses on the nonverbal code and its importance for a successful communication
Several topics could be approached in class, either in pairs or groups, under the form of debates or general discussions, to make students reflect on nonverbal communication and its relation to culture
Summary
Communication plays a key role in people’s lives. From birth till death, people continuously communicate. The paper aims to contribute to the training of better nonverbal communicators It briefly introduces the characteristics of nonverbal communication and its main codes, e.g. physical appearance, body movement, facial expressions, eye contact and gaze, touch, paralanguage, space and distance, time, and silence, highlighting their cultural diversity. According to Samovar et al (2010: 248) “[i]t is the setting (context) that offers norms and guidelines for [one’s] interpersonal actions” This aspect is important in interaction and crucial in intercultural exchanges, as it indicates particular nonverbal cues to be deciphered for the construction of meaning. As pointed out by Samovar et al (2010: 269) “the flow and shift of distance between [interlocutors] are as much a part of the communication experience as the words being sent back and forth” Proxemics studies aspects such as personal space, territory, seating and furniture arrangements, and the meanings assigned to this type of behavior (Andersen, 2012; Samovar et al, 2010), all of them influencing and being influenced by (intercultural) communication.
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