nonverbal communication

Genesis 11:1-9

11 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward,[a] they found a plain in Shinar[b] and settled there.3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”8 So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel[c]—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

http://people.howstuffworks.com/nonverbal-communication.htm

The reading Nonverbal codes & cultural space reminds me of a chapter of bible. The Tower of Babel. God confuses the language of the whole world, so there are barriers between people from diverse ethnicities and cultures. Thus, nonverbal communication becomes a universal way to understand each other. However, not all nonverbal communications can be interpreted as the same. In Molly’s article, she states, “Every culture interprets body language, gestures, posture and carriage, vocal noises (like shrieks and grunts), and degree of eye contact differently.” For example, “In the Middle East, nodding the head down indicates agreement, while nodding it up is a sign of disagreement; in Japan, a up-and-down nod might just be a signal that someone is listening…the thumbs-up signal is vulgar in Iran. The "OK" signal made by forming a circle with the thumb and forefinger refers to money in some countries, while in others it's an extremely offensive reference to a private body part.” (Molly)

Thus in my opinion, it requires more attention, patience and caution to communicate in nonverbal since when using nonverbal communication, such as gestures and facial expressions, we should be aware of the different cultural meaning of them. Besides, understanding and handling these differences are more than just identifying them, but acknowledging values and culture patterns of them. As Martin & Nakayama addressed, “ it is important to look for larger culture patterns in the nonverbal behavior, rather than trying simply to identify all of the culture differences.” In another word, Knowing the power, meaning and value behind a culture is an essential way to master nonverbal communication.