{ Nonverbal Communication Sarah McAllister, Lydia Martin, Stephanie Sedmak

 Nonverbal communication, or the expression of messages through facial expressions, gestures and body language, is essential to successful relationships in the workplace.  Examples of this type of communication include eye contact, posture and voice speed.  Employees and managers should be aware of how they communicate in these nonverbal ways in the workplace. Importance of Nonverbal Communication

 What a person’s body language communicates may be different from what their words communicate  Research shows that 65% to 93% of the time people will believe the nonverbal communication over the verbal communication Conflicting Messages

 The chief effect of conflicting verbal and nonverbal messages is that there will be misinterpretations  Poor communication causes problems in the workplace Effects of Conflicting Messages

 About 65 to 75 percent of all communication is nonverbal in nature  an employee may conclude that a new worker doesn’t like him or her because that person doesn’t make eye contact or keeps a reasonable distance between them. But the person could be shy or introverted and may have been interpreted incorrectly  Having a great eye contact or a reasonable distance between you and the other person shows them that you are paying attention to them. Nonverbal communication

 Body language is very different across the world, and it is becoming increasingly popular to teach businesspeople and politicians body language of a particular culture before they are sent overseas  Misunderstandings can be life threatening  1988: Two Laotian men shot outside of bar  1998: American couple in New Zealand arrested Cultural Differences

 The “thumbs up” gesture: Means “good” in most cultures, with the exception of Australia, New Zealand, and most African countries  Eye Contact: while expected in western countries, it is seen as a challenge and disrespectful in Asian countries  Hand movements: With the exception of Italy, these are not prevalent during conversation and are generally permissible in the West, they are seen as rude in countries such as Japan Examples