Japanese Communication Style

Japanese Communication Style

Japanese communication patterns, like most Asians, can be baffling to Westerners. Americans are used to straight talk. Great effort is made to convey the exact intent of the speaker.Japanese tend to use words as only part of the message. Other factors, such as silence, subtle body language, mood, tone, and intuition imply https://www.360docs.net/doc/f44575684.html,munication styles.Click each topic for more information.

on first introductions, American can seem very friendly, polite and solicitous of your well being which seems to be at odds with the verbal behaviour exhibited half an hour later in the meeting. This overt friendliness (Have nice day!, Hi, how are you doing? etc.) should be taken for what it is — part of the protocol of the language and not as an attempt at establishing a life long friendship.

Americans are much more open in conversation about private affairs than many European cultures and the converse of this is that Americans will often, quite naively, ask very personal questions at an early stage in a relationship which may be perceived by some people as intrusive.

The Chinese make significant use of nonverbal communication, such as implied, hidden, nonverbal cues, indirect statements and symbols. They will always quote or introduce a famous Chinese quote or proverb. Their speaking is enriched by imagery and tidbits from their ancient wisdom. It definitely has right-brain flair to it. Their communication comes from a thread of long history of close families and interpersonal relations. It assumes a shared understanding between communicants. There are hidden meanings and implied assumptions

The emphasis is for the purpose of guanxi based on the trust and understanding, acceptance of long-term relationships coupled with the importance of face and social harmony. The effort is to save face, to not offend another person and to not upset the order of things.

For instance, Chinese people will never say no in response to a suggestion or question. They will often suggest instead that the matter be given further study, or another meeting be held. Open-ended questions are common because they don’t force a person into a corner like yes-or-no questions do. Rather than valuing directness, the Chinese are more likely to be polite, but vague. A high value is placed on ambiguity and tact.

German is one of the world's major languages. As it belongs to the same family of languages as English, German is relatively easy to learn for native English speakers, and beginners will notice much

vocabulary and grammar that is similar between the two languages. However, there are aspects of German verbal and non-verbal communication styles that may be surprising to those communicating in a German-speaking environment for the first time.

Body Language

?Germans value direct eye contact, particularly during face-to-face conversations, seeing it as a sign of honesty and interest in the discussion. A person who does

not look you in the eye is regarded as untrustworthy and of weak character.

Smiles are used with discretion, typically being reserved for close friends and

family only. Germans do not normally smile to express politeness as is common in the United States.

Directness

?Verbal communication in Germany tends to be clear and to the point. Germans value language that is frank and direct and may be suspicious of indirect,

ambiguous comments. When Germans answer the telephone, for example, it is

common to simply give their last names rather than a greeting such as "hello,"

which might be expected in the United States. This directness is sometimes

difficult for foreigners to deal with, and misunderstandings may occur if a typically blunt German statement is mistakenly interpreted as an insult.