Nonverbal Mix-up

Society

In our society, it is not unlikely that we come into contact with individuals from different cultural backgrounds than ourselves. In the United States, we are surrounded by people who have themselves immigrated to this country or come from a recent line of immigrants. Many of us ourselves can be grouped in this category. The United States is unique in this manner as there are many different cultures blended together to make one.

Intercultural Communication

It is for this very reason that we all take the time to understand and respect that we all communicate differently. There are nonverbal movements that one culture finds acceptable and another can become offended by. Language can be a barrier. There are times that those that do not speak the same language as their first language could misinterpret the meaning of words.

Many situations can arise that will force us to interact with someone that comes from a different background than ourselves. Companies house very diverse employees. In these situations, it is not unlikely to have a meeting with individuals that come from different cultures or speak different languages as their first language.

Personal Experience

My experience does not deal with a business interaction. Instead, it deals with a personal trip to the Dominican Republic. My father is an immigrant who was born in the Dominican Republic. The two of us now travel to this country annually in order to maintain our land and bring items to those that live in the poor town that our house was built in. This is the same town that my father grew up in.

In the United States, it is not uncommon to wave goodbye to another person with your palm facing them and your four fingers, excluding your thumb, moving up and down in a waving motion. I attempted them farewell to a child when they were leaving my home. As a result, they approached me. Not long after, they looked confused.

What I later learned was that the nonverbal communication that I expressed did not mean goodbye. To them it was a way of informally calling someone over to yourself. After this was explained to me, I could understand the confusion of the child when I did not express any need for their presence.

Essentially, I broke one of the ten commandments of intercultural communication. I was not aware of differing body language (Hahn, n.d.). I simply acted as I always did and expected the same result. I was shown that this is not the best way to communicate.

Reference:

Hahn, M. (n.d.). Ten Commandments of Intercultural Communication. Ezine. Retrieved April 24, 2012 from