Pauses, Loudness Rhythm All Are Part Of Any Language. In Intercultural

Pauses, loudness rhythm all are part of any language. In intercultural communication one often finds that the foreign speaker of English uses paralanguage that is foreign to English creating misconception of views and emotions being expressed. It is therefore better not to judge someone on the basis of paralanguage and try to get verbal views on the subject.
Kinesis or body language is another area often found confusing in inter-communication. A smile e.g. may just be an attempt to be polite and not an agreement with the views being expressed or sign of progress in discussions.
The acceptable form of greeting also varies throughout the world. Handshake is almost universally recognized and is considered acceptable in most countries. In conservative societies a handshake with females is often not the best form of greeting a woman. In most of the Arab countries a nod is a more acceptable form for greeting ladies. Even in Australia shaking hand with women was not a common practice. Kissing cheeks is not common among male female acquaintances in most of the Asian countries. Although Arabs greet each other with a kiss on the cheek, this greeting is not normally expected from a visiting businessman and is better left to the diplomats.
Proxemics describes use of space, the interpersonal space and also the space use within rooms and other areas. The distance we maintain in different meeting context varies with the nature of contact. Friends and extended family members are not expected to come within the distance acceptable for close family and intimate contacts. Hall [in Archee et al, 2004] estimated the acceptable distance used by Americans, as 0-2 ft for intimate contacts and immediate family, 2-4 ft for close friends and extended family members and 4-10 ft for acquaintances and family business meetings. These distances are can only be considered symbolic and are fairly typical in major English speaking countries, people from Asia, Mediterranean and Latin American countries often use shorter space than that recommended by Hall for business acquaintances.
Among the other non-verbal communication dress is an important factor. For first meeting a formal dress is more appropriate. A formal suit is most common throughout the world. In subsequent meetings in hotter climate areas even coat and ties are often abandoned in favor of an informal dress. For senior level business meetings, it is polite to dress a formal suit. It is also important to appreciate that a format suit is the western style of dressing; business managers in other countries may wear their own dress without any insinuation of being impolite to the visitor. Arab executive often wear their typical dress to these meetings.
For business meetings women can wear modest western dress accompanied by normal jewelry and make-up. In some conservative countries women may be expected to wear trousers to cover their legs.