Question

Discuss the relative use of nonverbal behaviors, such as silent periods, interruptions, facial gazing, and touching by people from various cultural backgrounds. How does this affect the negotiation process in a cross-cultural context?

Answer 1

Non verbal behaviours are extremely important in the context of negotiation. When we negotiate, we express a lot of our thoughts through our language. However, much of the meaning we want to convey actually comes from our nonverbal behaviours. For example, our facial expressions, body language, silences and interruptions often convey how we feel about a particular topic.

However, these behaviours are not universal, which means that they do not always mean the same in every context. This can prove problematic, particularly when we find ourselves in a cross-cultural context. When we find ourselves in this context, we can misunderstand what people mean based on their behaviour. We might also be misunderstood ourselves. In order to reduce this as much as possible, we should be mindful of our behaviour and the message we convey. We should also familiarize ourselves with the culture of the people receiving the message.