Understanding Intercultural
Communication Second Edition
Chapter 7
What are the Different Ways to
Communicate Nonverbally Across
Cultures?
Stella Ting-Toomey & Leeva C. Chung
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
PowerPoint Slides Designed by Alex Flecky and Noorie Baig

TODAY’S MENU
I. The Impact of Nonverbal
Communication
II. Forms of Nonverbal Communication
III. Boundary Regulations: Four Broad
Themes
IV. Intercultural Reality Check: Do-Ables

I. The Impact of Nonverbal
Communication
A. Nonverbal Communication:
Message exchange process involving the
use of nonlinguistic and paralinguistic
cues which are expressed through
multiple communication channels in a
particular sociocultural setting.
• Nonlinguistic cues e.g., eye contact, smiles, touch
etc.
• Paralinguistic cues e.g., tone, pitch, volume, pace
etc.
• Multiple channels e.g., facial expressions,
gestures etc.
• Sociocultural setting e.g., cultural norms, etc.

I. The Impact of Nonverbal
Communication
B. One Code, Countless Interpretations
C. Verbal and Nonverbal Comparisons
Nonverbal cues relate to verbal
messages
in five different ways:
1. Repeat
2. Contradict
3. Substitute
4. Complement
5. Accent

I. The Impact of Nonverbal
Communication
Application Exercise
Intercultural Nonverbal Communication:
Fun Nonverbal Quiz.
How many answers did you get right?

II. Forms of Nonverbal
Communication:
A. Physical Appearance: Artifacts and
clothing
B. Paralanguage: Sounds and tones
C. Facial expressions: Kinesics, SADFISH,
and cultural display rules
D. Gestures: four categories of hand
gestures
1. Emblems
2. Illustrators
3. Regulators
4. Adaptors
E. Haptics—touch behavior, high-, low-,

II. Forms of Nonverbal
Communication:
Can you
identify
the emotions?
(a) = anger (b) = surprise
(c) = fear (d) = happiness
(e) = disgust (f) = sadness

III. Boundary Regulations: Four
broad themes
A. Regulating Interpersonal Boundaries
Proxemics: study of space.
Intimate zone: 0–18 inches. Reserved for those
closest to us.
Personal zone: 18–48 inches. Closer friends,
some acquaintances.
Social zone: 48 inches to 12 feet.
Public zone: 12 feet or more.

III. Boundary Regulations
President Bush meets Saudi Arabian royalty,
Prince Abdullah
What can you gather about their spatial
zones?

III. Boundary Regulations
A. Regulating Interpersonal Boundaries:
Marking Boundaries + Expressing Respect or
Deference
• Cultural Norms & Rules
• Meanings
• Appropriateness
President Obama Bows and
Shakes Hands In Japan To
Emperor Akihito and
Empress Michiko

III. Boundary Regulations: Four
broad themes
B. Environmental Boundaries:
claimed sense of space and emotional
attachment we share with others in our
community.
C. Psychological Boundaries
1. Intrapersonal space: need for information
privacy or psychological silence between the
self and others.
2. Privacy regulation is important in
individualistic cultures, not perceived as
critical in collectivistic cultures.

III. Boundary Regulations: Four broad
themes
D. Regulating Time: attitudes we
have about time.
Chronemics: how people in different
cultures structure, interpret, and
understand the time dimension.
Two patterns of time govern different
cultures:
• Monochronic-time schedule
• Polychronic-time schedule

III. Boundary Regulations
Media Analysis: Gran Torino film clip
DISCUSSION:
• What is your initial reaction to this clip?
• Can you identify all of the nonverbal
violations experienced by both Walt and
the Hmong’s family?
• Have you experienced any international
nonverbal faux pas?

IV. Intercultural Reality Check: Do-
Ables
Nonverbal points to consider in communicating
across cultures:
A. Be flexible when you observe and identify
nonverbal display rules.
B. Attempt a deeper-than-surface
explanation for the behavior.
C. Monitor your own nonverbal behavior.
D. Be adaptive and sensitive to appropriate
nonverbal display rules for emotions in a
particular culture.
E. Be less judgmental and more tentative in
interpreting others’ nonverbal signals.

Parting Thoughts…
Our first impressions are
generated by our
experiences
and our environment,
which means that we
can change our
first impressions . . .
by changing the
experiences
that comprise
those impressions.