Non-verbal communication causes cultural misconceptions

02/28/03 - The subtleties of a touch or a glance can sometimes mean less than you might think. In a presentation on Wednesday, William Cruz showed how differences in non-verbal communication between Latin Americans and European Americans cause cultural misconceptions.

Cruz, a Native American of the Puerto Rican Taino tribe and founder of the Society of Hispanic Engineers at Rutgers University, spoke to a full crowd in the Hardge Forum on how understanding these differences can lead to fewer racial stereotypes.

The way Latinos and Anglo-Americans non-verbally communicate is different in many ways, Cruz said, "and this can cause discomfort in multicultural communications."

Because 10 percent of the United States population is of Hispanic origin, Cruz stressed the importance of understanding cultural differences. "This creates a subculture with its own cultural identity that has distinct variations of non-verbal communication," Cruz said.

"Spoken language is, at most, 35 percent of communication," Cruz said, "which is why understanding differences in non-verbal communication is so important."

Non-verbal communication can reveal a person's identity or emotions, enhance a person's conversation style and be an attraction indicator Cruz said.

"A very specific study shows that European Americans generally speak at a distance of 18 to 30 inches, whereas Latin Americans and Southern Europeans generally communicate at a distance of 8 to 18 inches," Cruz said. "The misconception occurs at an unconscious level that Latinos appear too pushy or overly sexual and that Anglos appear cold, uninterested and prejudiced."

Body movements are another difference in non-verbal communication between Latin Americans and European Americans.

"Latinos will smile in many situations where an Anglo will not," Cruz said. "Friendly touching is common in Latino culture, however it is not accepted in Northern European culture to touch another person while talking with them besides a hand shake."

Cruz cited a study where a researcher watched couples in several cafes around the world and counted the amount of times they touched. The study found that couples in San Juan, on average, touched 180 times, couples in Paris touched 100 times, couples in Gainesville, Florida touched 2 times and couples in London did not touch at all.

Even habits of eye contact are different between Latin Americans and European Americans.

Cruz was able to demonstrate his point with the racially diverse crowd. He conducted an exercise where everyone in the crowd formed groups of three and talked to each partner for one minute while looking continuously in his or her eyes.

After the exercise many Latin Americans admitted they had trouble looking into another person's eyes without feeling uncomfortable, while non-Latinos had little or no difficulty.

"This is an example of cultural differences that can be interpreted incorrectly," Cruz said. "Latinos can be wrongly judged as untruthful, inattentive or to have a lack of self-confidence simply because as a cultural norm they don't maintain continuous eye contact."

Cruz expressed concern that many Latin Americans deal with negative prejudices improperly.

"Latinos must become conscious of their own culture, it encourages high self-esteem," Cruz said. "Latinos and Anglos must become conscious of each other's culture.

"We must all learn the art of switching cultural channels to avoid the pain and discomfort of misinterpretations of non-verbal communication," he said.

The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers sponsored the lecture.