G107 Communication in the Global Workplace

PBL PROBLEM WORKSHEET

Title of Problem: More than Words Module: G107 Communication in

the Global Workplace

Crafted By: Natasha Ismail Date: 16 April 2020

Seow Siok Mui

Reviewed By: Joanna Lim, Samantha Date: 21 April 2020

Loh

Problem No.: 04 Topic: Non-Verbal

Communication

1. Read the following resource and study images 1 to 3 below.

G107_CGW04_Types
of Nonverbal Communication.pdf

(a) Identify the message each person conveys; and

(b) Describe the non-verbal cues that led to this interpretation.

Image 1

PERSON A PERSON B

Source: Stock.adobe.com

(a) Message conveyed (b) Non-Verbal Cues

From
[emotions conveyed]
A to B Person A is trying to convey
frustration and anger to person B
[Description of the cues]
When Person A is speaking to
person B,person B is not
maintaining eye contact with
person A.

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 G107 Communication in the Global Workplace
Person B eyes is looking at the
paper which is holding on his left
hand
And his right hand is below his chin
B to A
which shows that he is relaxing and
he doesn’t care about other people
feelings even though someone is
speaking to him
Image 2
Source: https://www.lensculture.com/articles/joel-
grafnings-women-at-work
(a) Message conveyed
From
[emotions conveyed]
C Moody
Unhygienic person ,unhappy with
his job as a working crew
© 2020 RP/SMC/DMC/Sem 2/SSM
Instead person B is looking at the
transcript .When person A is trying
to speak to person B,person B
eyes must be looking at person A
eyes.
Person A hands is wide apart and
his eye browns are furrowed
meaning that there is frustration
and anger
Person B was impatient as his eyes
was away.He is not engaged as he
is looking away and not caring
about others trying to tell him
(b) Non-Verbal Cues
[Description of the cues]
The person appearance is not
correct. His clothes is very dirty and
he is working in the kitchen. Others
will think negative of him because
he is not practising good personal
hygiene and it will have a bad
image on others.Also,the company
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 G107 Communication in the Global Workplace

reputation will also be affected if

someone made a complain
His uniform is covered with stains
and very dirty
Facial expression: Lips are
together(pierced lips)
Eyes are dull(not smiling)
Hence she is not happy
She does not take pride in work

Image 3

PERSON E PERSON D

PERSON B

Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/entertainment/late-night-with-president-obama

(a) Message conveyed (b) Non-Verbal Cues

From
[emotions conveyed] [Description of the cues]
They are smiling to one another Both of them are professional as they
There is eye contact as the body is have eye contact and they are smiling
tilted to person E directions
Person D hands is on person E
which means they like each other.
D to E They are also sitting quite close to
each other
Person D is leaning more to
Person E more
Formal attire: suit and tie

(c) Refer to persons A, B and C. Describe how each person’s non-verbal cues can hinder
communication with their colleagues, supervisors or clients.

Person A is unwilling to listen and hence very hard to cooperate

Person A
Not easy person to discuss
Person B Person B does not care about others and listening to others, person B

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 G107 Communication in the Global Workplace

might not do the work properly. He is not interested in work and he is not
unreliable
No motivation to do the work
It can be disgusted as they are not professional and messy attire. The
person C does not have proper hygiene
No responsibility to clean up the plates and not caring about the
Person C environment
This person is disorganised
Others will not feel secure and safe to buy food from this person as proper
hygiene is not in placed

2. (a) Read the PDF resource embedded in Question 1 and listen to the recording for (i) to
(v). For each part:
 Describe how each sentence was pronounced; and
 Interpret the meaning of each sentence.

**Your descriptions may include descriptions of tone, pitch, pace, volume, pauses,
emphasis and fillers.

No Sentence Description of Interpret the meaning of

. how it was said the sentence
(i) I don’t know. It was said in a slow manner Not interested to care
monotonous(dull),no variation Neutral not really much
Q2ai.mp3 in pitch and pace and down

(ii) I. DON’T. KNOW. It was said in a slow Person is angry and very
manner(one word by one stern
Q2aii.mp3 word)
Loud volume
(iii) I don’t know lah! It was said in a fast manner Don’t care at all
with no pauses Frustrated angry or
Q2aiii.mp3 The word lah has the highest annoyed
pitch
It is emphasising the word lah
Playing around with the words
Pace is faster
(iv) Umm… I… d-d- Umm is paralanguage which This shows that the
don’t… kn-know… means no feeling person expression is not
The words are said very slow confident
Q2aiv.mp3
with long pauses between Nervous expression, not
Not smooth too sure what to say
(v) Hahaha I don’t know Relatively fast,in sarcastic This shows that the
hahaha manner person is not serious
Hahaha means laughter Joking manner
emotion
Q2av.mp3

(b) With reference to the recording for (iii) to (v), explain why some of the paralanguage
used above is not suitable for use in a workplace setting.

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 G107 Communication in the Global Workplace

(iii) The use of singlish lah is not allowed. When there is a formal presentation, do
not use singlish as people will not be serious about you and they will not listen to
you .Instead, people will take for granted
(iv) Nervous,not to sure about what to say can let others have no confidence in you.

(v) It has a sarcastic tone and thus people will take it for granted as people will think
that you are not serious. People will not want to work with you

(c) Share with your teammates an incident (in your personal life or in class) where
someone’s NVCs sent a strong message to you. Describe the person’s NVCs and how
you interpreted them.

I have an incident where one of my classmates said this to me:”Are you stupid?
Figure it out yourself lah”
So I felt very irritated and I felt that my classmates are bullying me.As I cannot
believe that they will say such words to me

3. Read the resource embedded in Question 1 and watch the video called “Seinfeld-
Personal Space”.

Source: Professor Ross (2017, March 21). Seinfeld- Personal Space. Retrieved April 14, 2020, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12ngQixZ4II

Answer the following questions:

(a) Describe Aaron’s non-verbal cues.
Aaron is being too close with the person that he talked to
(b) What message did Aaron convey to Jerry Seinfeld and his friends?
Over enthusiastic, friendly to others as he is smiling
Trying to get in touch with others although he does not know others
(c) Describe the non-verbal cues that Jerry Seinfeld’s friends sent through their body
language (kinesics) to Aaron and interpret the feedback they are trying to send to
Aaron.

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 G107 Communication in the Global Workplace

They actually stepped back when Aaron get close to them and one men fall
Not comfortable when Aaron get close to them
(d) Do you think this behaviour is acceptable in the workplace? Why or why not?
Standing so close to others others might think it is rude
Social – maintaining social zone with1 arm length. Avoid touching colleague with
opposite gender. Maintain smile and eye contact

(e) In a workplace setting, how can we use proxemics to aid effective communication?
Doing presentation,we can maintain distance of 1 arm length. Avoid touching
colleague with opposite gender.Maintain smile and eye contact so that others will
respect and listen to you

CHALLENGE YOURSELF

4. Not all NVCs are universal. Watch the video below for some examples of how gestures
differ across cultures.

The World is Our Thing. (2017, Mar 8). Gestures Around the World. YouTube. Retrieved from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCo3wSGYRbQ

Answer the following questions:

(a) Based on the video, what are some gestures that have different meanings in different
cultures?
(b) Are there differences in proxemics zones across cultures? Name two cultures with
different proxemics zones.
(c) Why do cultural interpretations of NVCs matter in the workplace?
(d)

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