Reference no: EM132179190

"Nonverbal behaviors are cues or signals that may be unconsciously recognized with those that we interact with. In international business negotiations, these behaviors can have a significant effect on the outcome of a business agreement. As mentioned in the text, three common behaviors are conversational overlap, facial gazing, and silent periods.

The text describes conversational overlap as the number of interruptions during negotiations. In other words, does that person wait until someone is finished speaking or do they interrupt immediately when they have something to say? This can cause problems in negotiating because one side may think that the other is withholding information while the other side may think they are being disrespectful and aggressive.

The second common nonverbal behavior described by the text is facial gazing, which is the amount of time that one person looks at the other person’s face. Depending on the culture, eye contact can indicate that one is attentive to getting business done or can be interpreted as signs of developing trust and reliability. On the other hand, too much eye contact may be considered disrespectful or overstepping your bounds in a hierarchical culture. The issues here would be that one could either be seen as serious and firm or arrogant and stubborn.

The third nonverbal behavior from the text is silent periods. This is the length of time between conversations. From one perspective, many silent periods could be interpreted as a miscommunication, no understanding, or disagreement. On the other hand, no silent periods could be considered as someone who may make impulsive decisions.

By understanding general basic nonverbal behaviors of your international counterparts, one will not be so quick to assume and compare the other party to their own behaviors. Showing that you understand their culture can be a benefit towards the negotiation process."