Week 7 Verbal/Nonverbal communication



For this week, I will talk about the different ways people communicate through verbal and nonverbal communication. I see a lot of similarities in how Germans use their body language in nonverbal communication. I notice that some Germans do stare more than others but that must be because I look and dress like an American. I can usually tell what some Europeans look like based on how they dress when they are in America. I do notice the same social cues for when people walk by like if a girl or guy walks by (my age) and smiles, I think they are just being friendly which is like what I experience at home. I don't get asked how I’m doing or how my day is going. I know when Americans ask someone "how is it going" sometimes they will ask this and keep walking, this can be used as hello sometimes.  When I talked to a German student and asked, "how is it going" they told me about their whole day for the next 30 minutes. The book mentioned that these are considered "idioms" because their literal meanings are different.

In general Germans are more direct for example they would ask you what you would like to order and how much you need to pay. There is defiantly a big language barrier at times and maybe they do ask how I am doing in German when I go to order a coffee, but I think this is more of an American thing and it's not supposed to start a huge conversation, just another way of saying hi. I noticed once I start speaking in English, it might just be easier for the German culture to get to the point because they may not know a lot of English words. The book also mentioned intercultural interactions may be harder to develop a common ground and that it takes more conscious effort to initiate, sustain and end a conversation. (Martin S.Remland, 2015) I've ran into the self-fulfilling prophecy; we expect things to go wrong in certain situations before even buying a couple products at the supermarket I had this happen to me. I didn't want to want to draw a lot of attention to myself but I knew there would be a translation issue so what happened was the German speaker was asking for my License because I was buying alcohol. I was kind of surprised because the drinking age for beer is 16 and I’m 25. But I assumed they were asking for another card to be used.  I’ve been to the same super market before and used that same exact card So I was really confused. I showed them another card and they just looked at it and used the original credit card I gave them but this whole process took a lot longer than it would have if we spoke the same language.

The book mentioned three different styles that deal with the quantity of talk in most social situations. I don't know which one I am but if I had to choose one I would pick exacting style which is when people value honest, straightforward communication and are not avoidant about speaking their mind in unpredictable situations. (Martin S.Remland, 2015) That is the style I would like to have, but most of the time I have a succinct style which involves the least amount of talk, and deliberate use of understatement and silence. (Martin S.Remland, 2015).



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