donchenko_angliyska_ddlya_psikhologiv_i_sotsiologiv

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6.Why do we say that nonverbal communication is culture-specific?

7.Is it easy or difficult to control nonverbal communication?

8.Give examples of nonverbal communication.

III. Make up disjunctive questions of the following sentences:

1.Nonverbal communication is based on the use of the body to convey information.

2.Facial expressions are crucial to nonverbal communication.

3.Eye contact is a widely used means of body language.

4.Hand gestures are also eloquent in communicating with people.

5.Hand gestures supplement spoken words.

6.Body language is largely culture-specific.

7.Nonverbal communication is often difficult to control.

IV. Prove the following statements by the facts from the text:

1.Facial expressions are crucial to nonverbal communication.

2.Nonverbal communication is greatly based on the culture we live in.

V. Speak on the text.

VI. Think of all possible situations where nonverbal communication plays a greater part than spoken words.

VII. Look through the text, find and read sentences on:

•the most common indicators of approval and disapproval;

•universal nonverbal signals.

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What Body Language Can Tell you That Words Cannot

The most successful lawyers, teachers, and salespeople, among others, have one thing in common: A capacity to understand nonverbal signals and use them advantageously. It is important for people to understand body language - that is, communication by means of movements and gestures.

For example, the most successful lawyers are those who look at a jury and a judge and pick up little cues that tip off what people are thinking. An observant lawyer may notice that the judge is compressing his lips into a thin line as the lawyer is speaking. That is a common sign people use when they disagree. Such signals are used constantly, even though people generally don't realize they are communicating through their movements, posture and mannerisms.

Nonverbal language is likely to reveal a person's true feelings, which may be contrary to what is usually being spoken. There are some common indicators of approval and disapproval. For example, when people show rapport with each other, they face each other squarely, they lean slightly toward each other, and there is more eye contact. If they disagree, they unconsciously turn their bodies away from each other. Such forms are unmistakable signs of body language.

There are some universal nonverbal signals. One is an automatic raising of the eyebrows that a person does when he or she meets someone else. It is a natural and universal form of greeting. Another obvious cue is known as the

«hand behind head», which signals uncertainty or stress.

About 125 nonverbal signals of the type have been catalogued as recognizable.

Mannerisms we get are almost entirely inborn. Nonverbal behaviour occurs naturally, without being taught, and even shows up in newborn infants and in lower animals. It is firmly grounded in evolutionary development. It's something that Mother Nature provides to help us get along with each other.

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Nonverbal communication is also what we call culturefree; it applies worldwide. People can go anywhere and understand these signals, even if they don't know the spoken language.

Notes:

to tip off - намекать; a Judge - судья.

VIII. Read the text again and be ready to answer the following questions:

1.What does body communication mean?

2.What is a common sign people use when they disagree?

3.What does nonverbal language reveal?

4.What gesture signals uncertainty or stress?

5.How many nonverbal signals exist?

6.Are mannerisms inborn or learned?

7.What is the other name for nonverbal communication?

IX. Give the main idea of the text.

TEXT 5

I. Read and translate the text:

The Functions of Nonverbal

Communication in Marriage

In the marital situation, as in most others, it is impossible to «not communicate» - communication can

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continue to occur, either nonverbally, or through the situation, long after the last word has been spoken. Many people acknowledging the importance of nonverbal communication limit its scope to body language — facial expression and gestures in particular - and thus fail to realize that communication is going on whenever we are in the presence of somebody else.

Effective marital communication demands that the communicator gets across to the spouse the message that he or she intends. When they talk to each other how they say what they say will be more important than what they say - the posture, the facial expression, the tone of voice, the volume, and any sighs, grunts, etc., which may accompany the words all may have a powerful effect on how those words are interpreted and the response which will follow them.

When a husband comes home from work and sits silently with hunched shoulders, a wife may interpret this behaviour as indicating that he is angry with because she has somehow displeased him - how, she doesn't know. On the other hand, if he is upset about something that happened at work, how can she know that unless he tells her. While some would say that he has failed to communicate, a message has been communicated to his wife. But the intent of the communication and the impact that it has on the spouse are quite different. Misunderstanding has occurred, and the potential for argument is great. Communication continues to occur in situations like this whether the interactants realize it or not.

Nonverbal communication, then, could be defined as that part of a message, which is not words, but which may accompany words or occur separately from words -and includes facial expressions, gestures, posture, spacing, tone of voice, pitch, volume, speed of talking, etc.

Argyle discusses some functions of nonverbal communication. Conveying interpersonal attitudes, particularly towards other interactants, and the topic under discussion is an important function of nonverbal communication. It is important also to realize that

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nonverbal communication is ambiguous, and thus is capable of being misinterpreted. For example, a frown on the face of a spouse may mean that he is annoyed, or may indicate that he has a headache. To assume that he is annoyed, without checking out, may only lead to more misunderstanding and unnecessary argument. There is considerable evidence that where the verbal and the nonverbal components conflict, much more weight is given to the nonverbal part, despite its ambiguity.

The expression of emotion is also mentioned by Argyle as a function of nonverbal communication. How a person feels at a particular time is likely to be conveyed nonverbally - whether he/she is feeling happy or sad, depressed or confused, excited or disgusted. Such emotions may be expressed voluntarily and deliberately, as when a person feels sad and doesn't care who knows it, or may be «leaked» as when a person is secretly pleased about a situation and would prefer that noone realized that, but his pleasure still shows.

II.Answer the following questions:

1.Is it possible not to communicate in the marital situation?

2.What does effective marital communication demand?

3.What are the important components of communication?

4.How can nonverbal communication be defined?

5.What are the functions of nonverbal communication?

6.Why do we say that nonverbal communication is ambiguous? Give examples.

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III. Contradict the following statements (Start with

«Quite on the contrary»)?

1. It is possible not to communicate in the marital situation.

2. Nonverbal communication does not promote misunderstanding.

3. There is no ambiguity in nonverbal communication at all.

IV. Divide the text into logical parts and make up an outline of the text.

V. Speak on the text according to your plan.

VI. Give the key points of Argyle's theory.

VII. Do you think the following situations to be ambiguous or not?

1.A husband is sitting behind his newspaper and responding to his wife with grunts.

2.A wife walks out on a discussion with her husband and goes wandering in the garden.

3.A husband is trying to convey his wife that he sees her as an equal in the relationship, and wants her to have an equal say in the decision-making, but she doesn't seem to believe him.

Text 6

I. Read and translate the text:

Nonverbal Behavior

People from different cultures attach a wide variety of meanings to the same specific non-verbal behavior: looking another person in the eye, laughing in a certain

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way, touching a person on the head, holding up two fingers, and so forth. Many misunderstandings between culturally different people arise simply because a nonverbal signal of some kind was misinterpreted. One of the best ways to keep such misinterpretations to a minimum is to remember that it is rare for people to act deliberately disrespectful or insulting towards others, especially towards strangers or visitors. This rule applies to the people of the U.S. just as it does to almost all other peoples of the world. Therefore, if you have the feeling that an American has slighted or insulted you through a certain behavior, or through the absence of an expected behavior, you probably have made the common mistake of interpreting acceptable U.S. behavior according to the standards and expectations of your own home culture. Non-verbal behavior involves innumerable complex and subtle sounds of the voice and movements of the body.

In general, people in the U.S. do not touch each other frequently. What is particularly lacking is the freedom to come into lengthy and frequent bodily contact with other people of the same sex. Women are freer about touching each other than are men; nevertheless, one rarely sees women walking arm-in-arm, as is common in some other cultures. American men touch each other only infrequently and very briefly; lengthy touching between men is viewed as a sign of homosexuality, and therefore is avoided. As suggested earlier, lengthy and frequent touching between men and women is normal, but the implication is that sexual attraction or romantic involvement exists between the two.

Americans are most likely to come into direct bodily contact with each other when greeting or taking leave. Men shake hands at such times; men who are good friends and who have been (or expect to be) separated for a long time may give each other a brief hug. Men never kiss each other. In general, the same rules apply to women greeting or separating from other women, although they are free to kiss each other lightly on one or both cheeks (or to touch cheek-to-cheek and kiss the air) if this is common in their social circle. The traditional pattern for a man and woman

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is that they shake hands only if the woman takes the initiative by offering her hand. In recent decades, however, the rules for men and women in some social circles have broadened to include men's taking the initiative in handshaking; a light kiss on the cheek between friends or relatives also is becoming increasingly common. Men and women may hug each other, even in the absence of romantic attachment, under the same conditions mentioned above for men.

When in conversation with one another, Americans generally stand about half a meter apart and look each other in the eye frequently but not constantly. The distance that is maintained between people in conversation can vary; for example, a larger distance is likely to be maintained between people who have a clear superior-subordinate relationship, while a lesser distance is common between peers who are good friends.

You should be aware that, under most circumstances, people in the U.S. instantly are made to feel very uncomfortable by others who stand very close to them. A common exception occurs on public transportation vehicles during the crowded «rush hours», but in these cases the people who are very close to one another are careful to completely ignore each other.

Americans also feel very uncomfortable when dealing with others who look constantly into their eyes; on the other hand, they feel suspicious about others who never look into their eyes. In general, the rules for eye contact seem to be these: When you are listening, you should look into the speaker's eyes (or at least at his or her face) fairly constantly, with an occasional glance away. When you are speaking, you are freer to let your eyes wander as you talk, but you should look at the eyes of the listener from time to time to receive acknowledgement that he or she is listening and understands the points you are making.

Some visitors to the U.S. are shocked, insulted, or perplexed by certain common non-verbal behaviors of Americans. Here are a few facts for you to keep in mind:

(1) Americans have no taboo of any kind associated with the left hand; they are as likely to touch you or to hand you objects with the left hand as with the right hand. (2)

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Americans have no negative association with the soles of the feet or bottom of the shoes; they do not feel it necessary to prevent others from seeing these areas. (3) A common way to greet small children in the U.S. is to pat them on the top of the head. (4) People in the U.S. often point with their index finger and wave it around as they make important points in conversation. (5) One beckons to another person to come closer by holding the hand with the palm and fingers up, not down. (6) Americans show respect and deference for another person by looking him or her in the face, not by looking down. (7) Informal, relaxed postures are commonly assumed by U.S. people when they are standing or sitting, even when they are conversing with others; lack of formal posture is not a sign of inattention or disrespect. (8) Americans are uncomfortable with silence; they expect to talk rather constantly when in the presence of others. (9) The doors of rooms usually are left open unless there is a specific reason to close them. (10) Punctuality is important to many U.S. people; they become quite annoyed if forced to wait more than 15 minutes beyond the scheduled time for appointments. (11) People who see each other on a daily basis do not shake hands every time they encounter one another; they may not even greet each other on every encounter after the first one each day. (12) Smokers do not necessarily offer cigarettes to others whenever they light up. (13) When Americans offer food or drink, they expect the other person to say «yes» at once if the food is desired; they do not expect polite refusals first.

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II. Answer the following questions:

1.What is the way to reduce misunderstandings between culturally different people?

2.Why do Americans avoid touching each other while communicating?

3.Do men shake their hands when greeting?

4.How do women behave in this situation?

5.Do Americans observe a distance when in conversation?

6.What are the rules for eye contact?

7.Which is the common way to greet children?

8.How do Americans show respect for another person?

9.What postures are assumed in conversing?

10.What is the most necessary quality to be valued by Americans?

III. Find in the text the facts to characterize the following ideas:

1.American women are freer about touching each other.

2.The rules for people in some social circles have broadened.

3.The distance between people in conversation can vary.

4.Non-verbal behaviour among Americans has some definite peculiarities.

IV. There are 13 facts for a stranger to keep in mind. Which ones do you think to be the most significant? Give your arguments.

V.Speak on:

1.Male non-verbal behaviour in the American society.

2.Female non-verbal behaviour.