13
The War Cry | NOVEMBER 2013
Helpful Hints for
Effective Communication
EYE CONTACT:
In some cultures, people do not always maintain
eye contact during a conversation. They may fi nd intensive eye
contact intimidating. An immigrant's failure to maintain eye contact
before a judge or boss is not necessarily an indication
of dishonesty, shyness, or lack of assertiveness.
FACIAL EXPRESSION:
People in some cultures often use facial
expression in their communication style. Each subculture has its
own facial expressions for happiness, sadness, anger, hatred, and
other nonverbal expressions. It is extremely diffi
cult to accu-
rately read or interpret the facial expression of friends or
clients from diff erent regions. However, if you take time to
observe a recurrent facial expression and try to associate it
with a word or phrase often repeated before or after it, you
could fi gure out its meaning. For example, if facial expres-
sion X is usually preceded or followed by statements such as
"I don't think so" or "Maybe not" or "I am not sure," that
expression will most likely mean the same thing when ex-
pressed without words.
TOUCHING:
While certain types of touching may be off ensive
to those of European heritage, it may be acceptable in many
non European cultures. For instance, when people of the same
sex hold hands while walking, North Americans will most likely
tag them homosexuals, whereas this behavior is normal in
other cultures.
PERSONAL SPACE:
It is important to understand that the space
people maintain from each other during converstion varies between
cultures. Several studies indicate that Latinos and Arabs like to stand
very close to each other when talking, while Americans prefer to
stand three to four feet apart.
SMILING:
While smiling is a common expression among North
Americans, it is not always a free expression among those from
other cultures.
is still a beacon of liberty, as it has
been since its inception when our
founding fathers declared this to be
the land of liberty and justice for all.
Consequently, it
is important that
we keep our hearts
and doors open for legitimate
entry, because in showing
courtesy to foreigners and strangers,
it is quite possible that we could be
entertaining angels unaware.
Captain Daniel Diakanwa is a corps
officer in New Rochelle, NY.
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10/21/13 7:08 PM