Intercultural Communication: Comparative Study Of Nonverbal Communication Between The Chinese And Americans In American Multinational Companies

With the quick development of our economy, communications are no longer confined to the territory of a country. Since its admission into the World Trade Organization, China has become an active force in the globalization process. Great successes have been achieved in global cooperation, but the failures are not rare, too. The differences between cultures lead to many breakdowns in intercultural business communication.Intercultural nonverbal communication in business, as a new subject, is receiving more and more attention for its special perspective. The thesis makes an introduction to nonverbal communication from the cultural perspective, and explores the cultural differences in nonverbal codes in terms of spatial dominance, physical contact, eye contact, facial expression and body movements between the Chinese and Americans in Sino-American companies, so as to help American managers to enhance their nonverbal communication skills with Chinese employees.Nonverbal communication, like verbal communication, is also a part of culture. China and the United States have enormous differences in nonverbal communication. The proper conversational distance is different; The appropriateness of physical contact varies; As to the eye contact, there is quite a list of rules: to look or not to look, when to look, how long to look, and whom and whom not to look at; Smiles and laughter usually convey friendliness, approval, satisfaction, pleasure, joy and merriment, which is generally true in China as well as the United States. However, there are situations when some Chinese may laugh and cause negative feelings from Americans; Gestures can be troublesome, a slight difference can mean something quite different from what has been intended, and the wrong interpretation of it can arouse unexpected reactions.In all, the comparative study in nonverbal behaviors shows that there are a number of similarities and differences between the Chinese and Americans. Misunderstandings, or even worse, clash can occur when the speakers and listeners do not share the same nonverbal codes. To improve the intercultural competence, people should pay more attention to the nonverbal communication.Finally, due to time suppress and personal limitations, the research is by no means a perfect one. The opinions derived from the study are still open to further justification. The findings listed in the thesis are far from definite, and therefore must be further extended in the future.