Nonverbal Miscommunication by Afnan Albahli

Afnan Albahli

Essay #1 Cause/ Effect Essay (Final)

October 21, 2013

Vickie Mellos

Nonverbal Miscommunication

     People may communicate in various ways with verbal and nonverbal communication. Those two ways of communication may lead to several misunderstanding issues. When two people speak to each other in different languages the verbal communication in this case is not able to be understood, but it will not lead to any serious problems. However, nonverbal communication between people with different cultural background can cause considerable misunderstanding.

     Eye contact is one of the nonverbal communication methods that can cause misunderstanding across cultures. The way of looking in someone in the eyes while they are speaking may have different meaning depending on the culture where these people are raised. In some cultures, it is essential to look in the speaker’s eyes while he/she is talking. In contrast, in some other cultures it is a sign of disrespect. For example, in the United States eye contact is important between people while they are talking regardless of gender, age and work position. If the listener does not do so, the speaker may take this as disrespect. On the other hand, in most of Asian cultures, especially Saudi Arabian culture, eye contact has many roles depend on different factors. For instance, it is immoral for women to stare at a strange man’s eyes while they are talking, and via versa. Moreover, it is impolite to look directly in parent’s eyes especially if they are discussing an issue or giving advice to their children. Due to this slight difference, a misunderstanding between people from these countries may occur. The Saudis may think that the Americans are disrespecting them, while the Americans may consider that the Saudis do not pay enough attention to their speech.

     Another nonverbal communication misunderstanding often results from a different way of greeting. Cultures have differential ways of greeting when people meet friends or strangers. In American culture, it is common to shake hands when someone meets a person for the first time. Sometimes, close friends or relatives will even hug and kiss one cheek when it has been a while. However, in Saudi Arabia when people meet, they have different ways in greeting depend on the gender. If both are male or female, they shake hands and kiss the cheeks two or more times regardless of whether they are friends or not, but men do not shake strange women's hands and via versa.  These variations in greeting between the two countries and cultures give rise to misunderstanding in communication. Personally I face this issue and misunderstanding in greeting differences between my country and the United States. Every time I meet a man in leasing offices or the bank, for example, he welcomes me by shaking hands, but I cannot shake his hand back because of my religious belief. However, he would probably think that is humiliating.  

     In addition to greetings, hospitality is another area that shows the possibility of misunderstanding in nonverbal communication. In the United States, it is default that people help themselves and the host serves himself/herself before the guest. Moreover, Americans may cook and serve food in front of guests. This shows how they are friendly and making their guests feel at home. On the other hand, people in Saudi serve and offer their guest before themselves. In addition, they prepare the food before the guests arrive. Those different ways in welcoming guests may cause direct misunderstanding between the people from these two cultures. The Saudis will probably think that the way the Americans use hospitality is rude and disrespectful. However, Americans would be surprised from the Saudi’s generosity.

     In conclusion, a serious communicational misunderstanding is a result of different cultural nonverbal communication. For instance, eye contact, greetings and hospitality have many differences between Saudi culture and American culture. Therefore, it is better to get to know new cultural customs before you interact with their people.