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Communications 180

Hillary Sanding

How does my culture differ from the Military in Non Verbal communication?

In a Filipino household, some of the cues in nonverbal communication that are important to me such as:

  • When I greet an elder relative or parent, I take their hand to touch my forehead as a sign of blessing and my respect to them.
  • Another gesture is through the use of pointing at things that I am directing to with my lips instead of pointing with my fingers.

Bibliography

  • Blascovich, James J., and Christine R. Hartel. Human Behavior in Military Contexts. Washington, D.C.:National Academic Press, 2008. Print.
  • Martin, Judith N., and Thomas K. Nakayama. Intercultural Communication in Contexts. Boston:McGraw-Hill, 2010. Print.
  • "Non-verbal communication." BusinessDictionary.com. Web Finance Inc., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2017.

My Reflections on the Military culture's Nonverbal Communication

As raised under Filipino immigrant parents who have no background in the military while also having some relatives who have served in the U.S. Military, I am at first clueless and unaware of the nonverbal cues that are used in the military. However, that has changed after being exposed to the culture through media, pop culture, research, and job experience as I recognized a whole new world apart from my own culture. There is much to understand about how the military works as I am still hitting a dent into it, but I am now more open to visiting as well as asking stories the Veterans who are still alive today. By this research, I hope to become more respectful to are serving and to have served in the Armed Forces, too.

Nonverbal Communication in the Military

Within the context of the Military, non-verbal communication is an important part of the job, which is exercised through social power. “Whether it is in formal leadership settings, as when a lieutenant commands a platoon, or less formal settings, as when a physician attempts to change the behavior of a patient, nonverbal signals vary dramatically with social role.” (Blascovich and Hartel 48).

For a soldier or member of the military, they follow rules and go by the commands as well as take on an appropriate response depending on the situation they are in.

What is Non Verbal communication?

Do all cultures have the same kind of Non Verbal Communication?

The definition of “Non-verbal communication includes pitch, speed, tone and volume of voice, gestures and facial expressions, body posture, stance, and proximity to the listener, eye movements and contact, and dress and appearance.” (BusinessDictionary.com).

It is “Indeed, many cross-cultural studies support the notion of some universality in nonverbal communication, particularly in facial expressions. Several facial gestures seem to be universal, including the eyebrow flash just described, the nose wrinkle (indicating slight social distancing), and the “disgust face” (a strong sign of social repulsion).” (Martin and Nakayama 272).

How do we notice and acknowledge behavior as Non Verbal?

The general behavior of human people can be explained by “Both verbal and nonverbal communication are symbolic, communicate meaning, and are patterned—that is, they are governed by contextually determined rules. Societies have different nonverbal languages, just as they have different spoken languages.” (Martin and Nakayama 268).

A simple, yet odd example to explain non-verbal behavior is:

by “the American raised thumb gesture of “way to go” is a vulgar gesture, meaning “sit on this” in Sardinia and “screw you” in Iran.” (Martin and Nakayama 275). If misunderstood by either culture while on the case of being unaware of each other’s customs and general behaviors, the misunderstanding could lead to conflict. So it is important to learn and research about other cultures before going out into the world as openness can help lead to civil conversations.

Continued...

However and regardless of the expressions upon someone’s face, the gestures and expressions that we may associate to be friendly and harmless in our culture- can also be seen in unfriendly and harmful light in the view of someone from a much different culture than of our own.

Nonverbal Communication in the Military

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