Name:Eshiebel Organista BSN-E

Roselle Pagaduan BSN-2E

Narrative Essay on Communication Modes

Communication is crucial in order to interact with other. Clear and open communication
fosters understanding, promotes collaboration, and helps avoid misunderstandings. Hand
gestures, eye to eye contact, and head movement are some of the ways we can use in order to
communicate. Through this, ideas can shift at the speed of electricity and can convey different
communicative meaning across cultures. However, problems may arise in cross-cultural
communication when speakers use and interpret body language differently. Thus, before we visit
a country, we should familiarize ourselves with its customs and know how to communicate both
verbally and nonverbally. We can’t fix or ruin everything with just words after all.

For example, In the Philippines and some country, nodding means "yes" and shaking the
head means "no". But according to Daniel Kirk (2017), the most common way to show
agreement and say ‘yes’ in Bulgaria is to shake your head from side to side, and nodding your
head means "no". He also stated that Greece, Iran, Lebanon, Turkey and Egypt also follow the
same method.

Another non-verbal cues is thumbs up which can be a way to show approval. But the
thumbs up acts as the middle finger in Iran. In fact, in Western culture the middle finger is an
offensive gesture to show someone you don’t like their vibe (Daniel Kirk, 2017). Therefore,
misunderstanding may occur when inter-cultural people communicate because the meanings of
nonverbal communication differ. People can unintentionally insult others in part to cultural
differences in nonverbal communication.

Aside from head and hand gestures, eye contact is also crucial to maintain confidence
and attentiveness in communicating because eye contact shows that you are actively listening
and paying attention to the person you are talking to. However, the study of Shoto Uono, et at.,
people are taught not to maintain eye contact with others because too much eye contact is often
considered disrespectful. In fact, in Japanese culture, taught children to look at others' necks
because this way, they can avoid eye contact in order to show respect and humility.

Nonverbal communication supports verbal communication, allowing us to communicate

more successfully by better expressing ourselves and understanding others. Furthermore, it can
reveal information about our characteristics, background and culture. However, many
nonverbal expressions that we deem acceptable in our own culture could put us in trouble in
other regions of the world or when working in an intercultural setting.As can be seen, nonverbal
communication has a great influence. Frequently, it speaks even more loudly than our words,
because we use nonverbal communication in order to intensify our ideas, underline some
statements, display a certain feeling, etc. When it comes to nonverbal communication in cross-
cultural interaction, there may be times when our body language contradicts our words. To
avoid this, it would be advisable to understand more about different cultures and their
nonverbal communication practices. The need to learn more about nonverbal communication in
many countries is very important.In conclusion, it’s very important to know the culture
difference of nonverbal communication as it will enhance the relationship between countries
and improve the international cooperation environment.

Kirk, D. (2023). Did you know that in Bulgaria, nodding your head actually means no? Six-two
by Contiki. https://www.contiki.com/six-two/article/nodding-head-bulgaria-means-no/
Uono, S., & Hietanen, J. K. (2015). Eye contact perception in the West and East: A Cross-
Cultural Study. PLOS ONE, 10(2), e0118094.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0118094

Lexika, & Lexika. (2018). Cultural differences in nonverbal communication | Lexika. Lexika.
https://www.lexika-translations.com/blog/cultural-differences-in-nonverbal-
communication/
Bajracharya, S. (2018, February 15). Non-verbal communication in different cultures -
Businesstopia. Businesstopia. https://www.businesstopia.net/communication/non-
verbal-communication-different-cultures.