Nonverbal Communication

In the Beginning was the Word (The Gospel According to St. John I:I). I wonder. The trouble was and still is that the Word--or any word for that matter conveys quite different truths to different people. Culture, education, religion, perception, state of mind and health all filter the word to conform to acquired and conditioned behavioral patterns. Another problem is that "in the Beginning" there was no word, and there still isn't in new beginnings. Was primitive man's grunt a "verbal" expression? How about the lion's roar? Or the baby's cry? Can't Man and God, to maintain the myth communicate without speaking?

Doesn't a grieving mother's face express grief, pain, desperation? Didn't a Hitler's or Mussolini's arrogant gestures entrance the masses? Doesn't a ballerina's graceful body language charm the viewer? Behold the eyes of the lover or of the poet or of the spaced-out drug addict: Don't they tell something? Watch the arthritic hands of an oldster trying to grab a pen, or of an Italian discussing politics!

In the Beginning there likely were the cry, the grunt, the scream, and the gestures, body language, hand movements, and facial expressions. As there are today. Nonverbal communication was in the Beginning; the verb was a late human invention which developed into sophisticated languages over the millennia. And yet, nonverbal communication still overshadows verbal communication today. Sometimes it alone speaks, sometimes it complements the

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older than they; they use direct eye contact; they are apt to gesticulate when speaking (although the Italians beat them at this game!); they respect individual ideas; they care less about what other people think of them than do the Japanese; their self-image is more important to them than their perception of other's images; they tend to be boisterous and speak loudly; they are optimistic and action-driven; the "now" and "how much" drive their lives. (See, f.i. nawat94.176@ftp.swin.edu.au(FTP), Microsoft Internet Explorer). The Japanese handle expressions of respect and humility not only through the spoken language, but through body language. In fact, the Japanese's apparent humility is often cause for misunderstandings between them and Americans. The Japanese never seem to cease nodding and uttering Hai which does not indicate agreement but only the fact that they are listening. The matter gets worse when the Japanese nods and smiles in the face of complete incomprehension. In America, a "yes" is a "yes", and a "no" is a "no". To Americans, the polite "yes" of the Japanese appears deceitful or uncooperative. Americans rarely perceive that some things may not be either black or white. To the Japanese, there is more grey in the s

Category: Psychology - N