Have you ever wondered why you sometimes take an almost immediate liking to a person you have just met? We often get the first impression of a people based on the color of a person’s skin or the manner in which he or she dressed. Meaning is conveyed not only by words or verbal languages but also by nonverbal communication systems, such as body behaviors.
Nonverbal communication is important because we use the actions of others to learn about their affective emotional states .Our emotions are reflected in our posture, face, and eyes—be it fear, joy, anger, or sadness—so we can express them without ever saying a word .For this reason, most of us rely heavily on what we learn through our eyes.
Nonverbal communication is significant in human interaction because it is usually responsible for the first impressions. More importantly, those first messages usually influence the perception(感知) of everything else that follows. Even how we select friends and sexual partners is grounded in first impressions with nonverbal communication.
Nonverbal communication is important because it is culture-related. It is based on different beliefs, religions, values and customs in different cultures. When, where, how, and to whom people display his or her specific nonverbal behaviors is greatly affected by culture and context. Culture determines what the appropriate nonverbal behavior is. For example, feelings of friendship exist everywhere but their expression varies. It may be appropriate in some countries for man to embrace each other and for women to hold hands; in other countries these displays of affection may be shocking. Each culture has its own specific interpretation on nonverbal communication. What is acceptable in one culture may be completely unacceptable in another. One culture may determine that snapping fingers to call a waiter is acceptable; another may consider this gesture rude.
小题1: What is the best title of the passage ?
A．Nonverbal communication and first impression
B．Nonverbal communication is culture-related
C．Nonverbal and verbal communication
D．The importance of nonverbal communication小题2: We can know a person’s feeling through our eyes because_________.
A．we can see a person’s feeling on his face
B．a person’s emotions can be reflected through eyes
C．a person’s feeling can be reflected through his body languages
D．we can see a person’s feeling through his posture小题3: Which of the following statements is not True ?
A．Meaning can be conveyed both by words and body language.
B．We can use nonverbal communication to learn about a person’s emotional states.
C．We often get the first impression by what a person says.
D．The first impression can affect what we will do in the following.小题4:What can we conclude from the last paragraph ?
A．we can use different ways to express friendship.
B．each culture has its own specific interpretation on nonverbal communication.
C．snapping fingers to call a waiter is acceptable.
D．learning a country’s culture is very important.
