“WE CONSIDER THE NEEDS AND RIGHTS OF ALL PEOPLE IN THE COLLEGE COMMUNITY” UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENT FORMS OF COMMUNICATION Everyday, we may be inclined to communicate thousands of verbal and nonverbal messages to others. Besides verbal, how else do we communicate? Are we always inclusive about how we do it? Kinesics: Including bodily postures and gestures, kinesics originates from the left side of our brain, where our gestures work in association with speech. Gestures are something that translate differently between cultures. You may only know their full meaning if you are a member of a culture that uses the specific gesture or have learned from a member of that culture. It’s always important to be mindful of your body language and how it may be perceived by others. We can all interpret it differently! For Example: • In North America, this hand symbol means “A‐OK” • In Tunisia, it means “I’ll kill you” • In Japan, it means “money” How may your body movements be interpreted by others? Olfactics: The study of smell is another Haptics: Known as the study of touching Proxemics: The study of distance we may behaviour, haptics delves into the cultural and situational differences behind differences in how we all feel comfortable with touching in public settings. Touch may convey emphasis, affection, or greetings, and it varies greatly across cultures. For example, two men walking arm‐in‐arm in Western culture may draw attention, even if society has become generally accepting to such action, whereas in the Arab world this behaviour is merely a common sign of friendship. The seven types of touching are: Positive effect: Referring to touching that shows support, appreciation and is inclusive (such as a pat on the back) Playfulness: Good‐natured touching intended to lighten a conversation (such as a light punch on the shoulder, or a friendly hug) Control: These touches aim to establish compliance, to gain attention, or to garner a response (such as grabbing a person’s shoulder) Ritual: Touches that associate with greetings or exits (such as a handshake)
Hybrid: Mix of the other types combined (such as a hug and handshake hello) Task­related: Directly associated with the performance of a task (such as pointing out or inspecting a person) Accidental: Touches perceived as uninten‐
tional (such as bumping into a person walking by) have in interactions, there are four different kinds of distances we have in interactions: Public: Extends from about 8 feet and beyond, this space is reserved in settings to where one is publicly speaking (such as a teacher in class) Social: About 4 to 8 feet in distance, this is typical for business people, sales people, or even chatting with classmates Personal: The distance of about 1.5 feet‐4 feet, at which most of our interactions occur. This could be a student asking a teacher questions after class, or working in group projects. Intimate: Reserved particularly to friends or people you may be close with, this distance extends to as far as about 18 inches (such as students whispering to each other). Oculesis: Known as the study of eye contact, this is something that can range from culture to culture. In North America, eye contact is considered to be important for honest communication, where as in other cultures, such as some Asian cultures, not showing eye contact can be perceived as a form of respect. type of communication that can be interpreted differently from culture to culture. For example, a person’s food in one culture may be interpreted as something pleasant, whereas in another culture the food may have a distasteful odour. Helpful References: Kathryn Brillinger, MEd, Professor, Conestoga College ThinkQuest Library – http://library.thinkquest.org Visit Respect Online
www.conestogac.on.ca/respect