Nonverbal signs of dominance: a comparison of the perspectives in Hungary and the USA

Abstract

The key to success in the business world is effective communication. Nowadays we have a lot of information about what and how, when and in what kind of situation business people should say in order to successfully close negotiations, but we are even less aware of how to accompany what they say with the rest of their body, more precisely, how to use nonverbal communication in order to achieve negotiation success. In my research, I examined nonverbal behaviours that the American literature labels as dominant or submissive, comparing the perspectives of the Hungarian and North American business worlds. According to my assumptions, Hungarian businessmen value dominance signs as less dominant and submissive signs as less submissive, compared to US businessmen. 61 businessmen working in Hungary and 44 in the USA evaluated the signs of dominance and submission, using the scale of Dunbar for measuring dominance. All participants have been working at Hungarian or American multinational companies for at least three years and have been actively participating in negotiations within the company for at least one year. Comparing the answers of the two cultures, the Hungarian businessmen saw all seven dominant signs as less dominant, and they considered all three submissive behaviors less submissive. A possible explanation for this is that along Hofstede's dimensions, the two cultures differ in terms of indulgence, future orientation and uncertainty avoidance, which are all related to how important the expression of dominance is in the given culture: less in Hungary, more in the USA. In the following, I would like to use focus groups to compare the business negotiations of the two cultures, from the perspective of Hungarian businessmen.