An Analysis of Body Language in Intercultural Communication

Body language,the most important part of nonverbal communication,plays an essential role in human communication,especially in intercultural communication. Research results have shown that the words a person speaks may be far less important than the body language used when delivering the verbal message. It is estimated that less than 10 percent of the whole message understood by an audience is the actual content,some 30 percent is attributed to the pitch and tenor of a person's voice and 60 percent to other forms of nonverbal communication from body language to facial expressions to hand gestures. However,different people have different ways of making nonverbal communication and body language in different cultures means different things. This thesis aims to discuss the different types of body language employed in different cultures such as eye contact,facial expression,touch,and gestures, and the possible causes behind,for example,culture,tradition,beliefs,value,ethnic characters, social customs,etc. . Some suggestions will be given at the end as to how to make use of body language to achieve efficient intercultural communication and avoid misunderstandings.