Verbal communication refers to the use of words or sounds in order to express ourselves. For example, saying "yes" when you want to confirm your food orders. In contrast to verbal communication, non-verbal communication is basically a wordless communication established largely by visual cues. This includes body language, gestures, eye contact and facial expressions. One good example of a non-verbal communication would be the shrugging of the shoulders when we are unsure of something.
Communication can also be affected by other factors such as age, gender and culture. Culture could be defined as a set of characteristics shared between a group of people. This may include their beliefs, languages, values and also attitude. Apart from that, culture can also include regions of the country. For example, the shaking of hands between opposite genders is not practiced by the Islamic cultures unlike the USA where handshakes are common.
As for age, the younger generations especially the teenagers prefer to communicate through social media e.g. twitter. Teenagers rarely share their emotions or problems directly to people but instead, they express themselves through social media. As for the older generations, for example my mother, she tends to write in her diary or shares her problems directly to her loved ones.
Apart from that, I have also observed a few incidents where verbal and non-verbal communication brings a different meaning. The first incident happened a few years back when i was having dinner at a local coffee shop. There was a little commotion between a Chinese national waitress and a local man. Apparently, the woman felt offended after the man called her "xiao jie", which means "young lady" in Singapore. However in China, the word was mainly used to label prostitutes. After a few explanations from the locals, the unhappiness was resolved.
The second incident happened when i was in Malaysia. My cousins and i have decided to take a tour around the village. After a few hours of walking, we took a break. Upon noticing a full moon, my cousin started to point towards it using her index finger. In less than a minute, she was scolded by a villager nearby and was asked to use her hand or thumb instead.
Referring back to incidents, it made me realize that age, gender and culture does influence the way a person communicates. With that, it is up to us to observe, research and learn more about a certain culture in order to prevent any miscommunication.
HyirahhSyahirahh
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- Steven[6 C's] : http://steven-iwcom150.blogspot.sg/
- Daphne Tan : https://daptan.wordpress.com/
