Chapter 7 and 8 Reflection paper
Communication is a necessary process that enables people to send and receive information. Without communication, people may end up misunderstanding each other because they might not get the right information being sent. Both nonverbal and verbal communications are essential to send and receive information helping people to understand each other. Nonverbal communication is defined by people passing messages and information from one person to another that does not have words. For example, the use of eye contact, body emotions, vocal qualities, through using face, legs, and hands. Through nonverbal communication, one can learn about the other speaker by looking and paying attention to them; for example, one can know if the speaker is confident or nervous through pay attention to their vocals. Nonverbal communication has rules that govern it but does not have syntax, unlike the verbal communication that has both regulations that govern it and grammar.
Communication is essential when sending information, but this also varies with culture and person background. When people are communicating it varies with customs and nationality. For example, the word “fuck” in the united states it’s a common word used during the conversation, but in Arabic, the same work is not pronounced in front of elderly people because it is said to be related to a sexual act. Therefore communication of people varies with culture; hence one needs to put into consideration before pronouncing certain words because they might send the wrong information to the recipient.
The same applies to nonverbal communication because different gestures and signs deliver different meanings. For example, when a person in the United States crosses the middle and index figure using the same hand, this is a sign of closeness and showing that they are tight together. On the contrary, in China, when a person claps the index figure together, then this is a sign of love and romance. Therefore this means that communication is essential and varies with culture. Both nonverbal and verbal communication varies with culture because some communication may be interpreted by one culture but understood with another culture. As a result, culture has an important role to play when it comes to issues concerning language and how people communicate.
Physical appearance and dress can be used to identify where a person comes from and their culture. For example, an Arabic and Hindus and American women have different dressing attires; therefore, defining their culture is quite easy. Dressing and physical appearance also determine how a person communicates to another person. For example, a well-dressed person in a suit will be addressed differently from a person wearing jeans with long t-shirts with jewelry all over. This means that communication also various on how a person is dressing or their physical appearance.
According to research, it has been found out that a substantial portion of individual communication people uses nonverbal. People in their everyday activities they respond to many nonverbal behaviors and clues, for example, gestures, postures, facial expression, tonal variation, and eye gaze, among others. Although all ways of passing information, including verbal communication, is essential when moving information from one person to another. Nonverbal plays an indispensable role when giving a message to other people. Nonverbal communication is critical because it helps people to interpret the action of people around them. Considering the action of a person is one of the best ways to look for nonverbal behaviors. Therefore learning nonverbal communication can help an individual to know what another party is saying just by looking at their appearance, tone of voice, and expression.