UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY

IN THE CONTEXT OF VIETNAMESE BUSINESS

SUBJECT: INTERCULTURAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

LECTURER: NGUYEN TAN QUANG

CLASS: AV001 BATCH: K45

GROUP MEMBERS:
1. TRAN HOANG LAN
ID: 31191026462
2. DO HONG QUAN
ID: 31191022214
3. PHAM NGUYEN SON TRUONG
ID: 31191024171
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Contents
1. Introduction..................................................................................2
2. Literature review ...........................................................................2
2.1. Definition of non-verbal communication ..........................2
2.2. The role of non-verbal communication in business ..........3
2.3. The significance of non-verbal communication in
business .........................................................................................3
3. Discussions ...................................................................................4
3.1. Non-verbal Communication for Better Interaction ..........4
3.2. Influence on working relationships ....................................5
3.3. Workplace performance improvement ..............................5
4. Implication: How to apply good non-verbal communication in
Vietnamese business: ..........................................................................6
5. References ....................................................................................8

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1. Introduction
When it comes to effective communication in business, there are two ways of expressing
a message: verbal communication and non-verbal communication. Within this article, we
especially stress the relevance of non-verbal communication in business. It is the art of
conveying quickly and concisely so that most of the masses can understand and grasp
information quickly. We cannot deny that non-verbal communication is especially
important in the context of business. It is the most fundamental human requirement. It
includes all the manipulations of each part of the body such as gestures, facial
expressions, eyes, smile, tone, posture, distance. Simultaneously, non-verbal contact
assists one in understanding the partner we are meeting so as to have the appropriate path.
Besides, you have to learn to interpret and appreciate the context of the other person's
gestures, facial expressions, and conveyed information to understand yourself and learn
to manage yourself properly in conversation.

2. Literature review
2.1. Definition of non-verbal communication
It can be asserted that non-verbal communication is a very crucial part of the human
communication process, it is one the essence of all person-to-person situations.
According to Knapp (1972): “Non-verbal communication refers to actions or verbal
manifestations. Actions or expression of inherently shared meaning that society is sent on
purpose either is interpreted as intentional and sent or conscious reception. Non-verbal
communication is a term to describe all of the forms of communications that goes beyond
verbal language and pen language”.
Levine and Adelman (1993) said that: “Non-verbal communication is a "silent" language,
including using gestures, displaying face motions (facial expressions), eye contact, ...”
Dwyer (2000) has a more general view: “Non-verbal communication includes all parts of
the message that are not encoded by words, e.g. voice, facial expressions or gestures and
movement.”
So non-verbal communication (NVC) is usually defined as the kind of communication
achieved through any code, medium, or channel other than verbal language. It can be
simply understood as a way of sending and receiving messages from what we expose in
our communication. It includes all manipulations of each part of the body such as
gestures, facial expressions, eyes, smile, tone, posture, distance. As a form of
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communication, non-verbal communication meets all the requirements of this general

phenomenon, such as a functional, procedural, dynamic, irreversible, and meaningful
character, and a presupposed systematicity that qualifies it for scientific study. As a non-
verbal entity, non-verbal communication relies upon an implicit definition of human
verbal language, which is the basis for its delimitation.

2.2. The role of non-verbal communication in business

In today’s up-to-date world, non-verbal communication is considered to hold a critical
role when doing business. It assists each person in becoming more sophisticated, self-
controlled, self-aware, and be able to control their body language. At the same time, non-
verbal communication also provides us the capability to understand the partner we are
approaching in order to transmit the accurate direction of the message.
The value of non-verbal communication is also mirrored in situations when we interact
with another person for the first time. Apart from noticing the body language of the other
person, you must also learn to read and recognize the meaning that lies behind it. By
doing that, you will acquire maturity, and it will help you to understand other persons,
identify yourself, and control yourself better in communication.

2.3. The significance of non-verbal communication in

business
The significance of non-verbal communication cannot be denied. Up to now, a lot of
research projects on communication in general and non-verbal communication, in
particular, have been carried out in turn to confirm the importance and independence of
this type of communication in an intercultural environment. Pease (1984) said that people
hardly notice that their own postures, movements, and motions can tell a story while their
voice could tell a whole other one. Hall (1959) claimed that 60% of all human interaction
is non-verbal communication. Harrison (1965) said, in face-to-face communication, only
35% of meaning is conveyed by verbal messages. Some scientists even give three reasons
for the justification for the importance of non-verbal communication:
First, it is easy to memorize what people see more than they hear. Second, non-verbal
communication is more frequently used than verbal communication. Third, people can
easily deceive verbal communication, but it is very difficult to deceive by non-verbal
communication.

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3. Discussions
Vietnamese workers tend to use verbal as well as non-verbal communication in order to
interact with each other since both of these two means are equally important for
communication in the workplace. However, if there exists a mismatch between words
and actions, where verbal and non-verbal messages are incongruent, people will usually
believe the non-verbal cues over the uttered words.
Let’s have a look at an example:
Supposing that one of your friends just had an argument with her parents and she reached
the class with a furious look. She hardly talked to any classmates and kept looking at a
book with a grim-face. After seeing her behavior, you approached her and asked whether
she was alright, to which she answered “I am fine” but angrily. Now, which message will
you believe here- her verbal communication (her words) or her non-verbal message (her
behavior and voice tone)? Most certainly, you will believe the non-verbal message.
Because of its variety in meaning in different cultures, non-verbal communication can
harm your conversation or even your relationship. In Vietnam, staring at someone can be
a signal of disrespect and shaking hands firmly will show that you are challenging them,
which may lead to some unwanted arguments.
Since non-verbal communication plays an important part in today’s business
communication around the world in general and in Vietnam in particular, it may have a
great impact on many aspects of the workplace.

3.1. Non-verbal Communication for Better Interaction

You may have to talk to many people in order to express your ideas or to convey your
messages on regular basis depending on your jobs. People who work as teachers, doctors,
lawyers, etc... spend a great deal of their workday on communication. Using non-verbal
cues while interacting with people will make a great contribution to enhancing the way
they receive your message as well as benefitting your conversation.
The same thing happens in the workplace. How would you feel if you were only a new
member of a department and were asked to see your director to discuss something? When
you reached his office and saw him stand with crossed arms and keep glaring at you as if
you had committed a crime, were you still confident enough to work with him? This is
when non-verbal communication matters. The director probably did not mean anything
but his behaviors still conveyed an aggressive message to the new staff. Using
appropriate non-verbal signals and taking advantage of non-verbal cues will surely
benefit you a lot. People in the workplace will receive the message you want to send
them and therefore your interaction and communication will consequently be greater.

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3.2. Influence on working relationships

From the example of the new member mentioned above, we may realize that non-verbal
communication can influence your relationship with your colleagues if it is used
improperly. Having a conscious understanding of your non-verbal interactions and still
delivering verbal messages helps others to receive your message in the way you expected.
Positive non-verbal communication in the working environment can help colleagues to
build and strengthen their business relationships. In Vietnam, you just need a smile to
greet your coworkers and keep eye contact when talking to show your interest. This will
have a good impression on your colleague and gradually cultivate the relationship
between you two.
Negative non-verbal communication, on the other hand, may lead to workplace conflicts
and other negative disruptions. Would you still work with those who always have a
furious look and do not even look into your eyes when discussing or talking to you?
Would you remain the relationship with someone who keeps a too close distance to you
or constantly looks at your body but not your face? If you have been in these situations,
then you know how uncomfortable it can be to interact with someone who has poor non-
verbal communication.
Always be mindful of your non-verbal cues and if you want to build a strong relationship
with others in the workplace, make sure you are delivering positive non-verbal
communication to others.

3.3. Workplace performance improvement

Communicating effectively with subordinates is essential to managers in business
institutions since it affects the way employees perform their tasks. Managers can provide
staff with information on a variety of job-related topics, such as employee policies, job
performance goals, work schedules, and deadlines. Employees must adapt to any changes
communicated by managers on workplace issues.

The way managers communicate with their employees, especially the managers’ attitude,
which is often conveyed by non-verbal messages, can create either positive or negative
attitudes for the employees. Managers’ negative attitudes can directly affect staff’s
emotions and spirit, which results in reduced performances, while positive attitudes can
boost employees’ morale and convey interest in each other, which helps increase their
performances.

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In other words, communicating positive non-verbal cues when working can help increase
employee morale and job performances, build strong relationships, and enhance
communication within the workplace.

4. Implication: How to apply good non-verbal

communication in Vietnamese business:
In the context of Viet Nam business, people communicate with each other in the
workplace by using both verbal and non-verbal communication for most of the day. In
fact, non-verbal communication also plays a particularly important role in the context
now. So how individuals convey non-verbal messages is just as important as how they
communicate verbally. To interact effectively by using non-verbal cues is that eye
contact, expressions, posture, body movements, and voice volume in conversation are all
ways we can transmit our message. It affects how people understand what you're trying to
convey and how they respond based on how you conveyed it. But be careful, it can either
assist or impede clear comprehension of your message.

So, how do you use non-verbal communication in a business conversation effectively,

especially in Viet Nam? I'd like to make the following points:

• The first one is focusing on the volume of voice. From passion to indifference to
indignation, the voice will convey a wealth of knowledge. Begin to notice how
your speech influences the responses of those around you, and then use your voice
to emphasize what you intend to clarify to your audience. Present your passion in
a lively accent, for example, if you want to show that you genuinely care about
something.

• The second one is posture, gesture and handshake. According to Asian is that “the
best body, the second skin, and the third facial expression”. The first twenty
seconds of meeting each other, impressing on listeners is our appearances, a
dignified posture. It elicits inherent respect; otherwise, it elicits aversion. A
posture is a form of illustrative and regulatory body language. When we try to
strongly persuade others, we must maintain a solid and active stance posture. The
trick to a flexible, versatile stance is to force on the front leg, place 80 percent of
the weight on the pivot leg, and constantly swap legs. After a social greet, an
experienced person will usually begin to notice the other person's nonverbal
gestures like that he/she makes a motion of stroking his/her hair or covering his
lips with his/her palm. In certain cases, gestures can be said to be a great support
to words. In addition, the thumb to the chin is a critical and negative gesture. The
gesture of rubbing the chin indicates consistency and determination. They don't
want to talk about some things as they touch their nose. The act of putting glasses
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on one's lips signifies reluctance or procrastination in making a decision. Speaking

with the required movements would have an effective influence on the
communicator. Today, both in the West and in Vietnam, handshake gestures are
commonly used in official correspondence. A handshake consists of holding the
right hand with an open palm to communicating with the object and greet. The
handshake and answer movements should also be performed carefully and
appropriately, to prevent unintentionally not holding hands, but just holding
fingers, or not clenching, but just half-grasping the hands of the objects
communicating to, causing out feeling embarrassed or offended in the context of
communication.

• The third one is to connect more effectively and successfully that is eye
contact. Researchers have admitted that the eyes can reveal personal
emotions, knowledge can convey the largest amount of information, and the
most inspirational. The eyes instinctively disclose the person's inner
thoughts and emotional state. We can understand a component of a person's
mind simply by looking at their eyes. If a person likes it or not, their eyes
reveal their true feelings. It reflects our respect for others, enhances the
speaker's integrity, and acknowledges the emotions of others by appropriate
actions through making eye contact. For example, direct eye contact with the
other person is usually used to confess their honesty or looking down
conveys shame and so on.

So that is all ways to be able to apply effectively in Viet Nam business that I mentioned
above. Besides, many people seem to have a natural talent for successfully using non-
verbal contact and comprehending others' movements. These individuals are known for
their capacity to "understand people."

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5. References

https://books.google.com.vn/books?hl=vi&lr=&id=Bl_eNRNMco4C&oi=fnd&pg=PA16
3&dq=non-verbal+communication+definitions&ots=O7FLm9-
d0r&sig=0xS4lNvAVS_gFsDlg7ZYIAMh8Fw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=non-
verbal%20communication%20definitions&f=false

M. Knapp, Non-verbal Communication in Human Interaction. Holt, Rinehart and

Winston, New York, 1972

D.R. Levine, M.B. Adelman, Beyond Language ‐ Cross ‐ Cultural Communication,

Regents, Prentice Hall Inc, 1993

J. Dwyer, The Business Communication Handbook, Fifth Edition, Prentice Hall, 2000

A. Pease, Signals – How to Use Body Language for Power, Success and Love, Bantom
Books, 1984.

E.T. Hall, Silent Language, Doubleday and Co, New York, 1959.

R.P. Harrison, Toward an Understanding of Non-verbal Communication Systems,

Journal of Communication (1965) 339.

Susan M. Heathfield (2019), “Non-verbal Communication in the Workplace”, The

Balance Careers, https://www.thebalancecareers.com/nonverbal-communication-in-the-
workplace-1918470#when-nonverbal-communication-matters
Susmita Sarma (2021), “Understanding Nonverbal Communication In The Workplace”,
Vantage Circle, https://blog.vantagecircle.com/nonverbal-communication-in-the-
workplace/
Marie Huntington (2019), “How Non-verbal Communication Can Help in the
Workplace”, Chron, https://smallbusiness.chron.com/nonverbal-communication-can-
workplace-21523.html