GLOBAL: Beat the body language barrier

Clear cultural differences have been detected between the body language used by Western and Asian negotiators.

Understanding these differences will prevent negotiators from inadvertently sending the wrong signals to their opponents, according to research by Wendi L Adair, an associate professor of organisational behaviour at the University of Waterloo in Canada.

Adair gave details of her findings during a visit to the Melbourne Business School last week. She says previous research has found that territory and space is associated with a visible indication of status and power across cultures.

Therefore sitting in more open body positions, occupying more physical space and using expansive gestures is an expression of dominance. Another indicator is the ability to be relaxed and poised.

Superiors are more likely to lean back in the chair, use an open-arms position, stretch out, and place their arms and legs in relaxed positions, Adair says. A third non-verbal indicator of dominance is the expression of emotion, particularly negative emotion such as anger.

A person expressing anger is thought to be dominant, competent, smart and persuasive but not warm and friendly.

Adair found that the level and form of dominant non-verbal displays vary depending on a negotiator's culture and gender. She says Chinese negotiators express dominance by manipulating their environment, rather than their bodies.

"Our Chinese negotiators had more restrained and rigid posture and fewer displays of negative emotion than the Canadians. However, they took up more space than Canadian negotiators."

According to Adair, one reason for this might be because of the social norms which constrain Chinese male negotiators from expressing dominance with a free and relaxed posture, so they instead reveal it through spreading their papers out and taking up space. This is also demonstrated by Japanese negotiators who seat the most powerful and senior executive at the head of the table, facing the door.

"In contrast, typical dominant cues used by Westerners include the use of negative emotions, sitting in more open body positions, and the use of expansive gestures."

The research also found the more dominant behaviour displayed by a negotiator, the more satisfied the negotiator is with the negotiation process.

International business negotiators face complex challenges "including cultural differences in communication styles, strategic repertoires and cognitive schemas", Adair says.

She warns these differences often lead to a culture clash, either due to negotiators failing to adapt or over-adapting to their partner, which can cause a variety of misunderstandings, misattributions and conflict.

"Given that 80% of communication is conveyed non-verbally, by understanding cultural differences in non-verbal communication we can develop a clearer picture of why and how communication problems arise in cross-cultural negotiation.

"Based on gender role stereotypes, men are viewed as active, strong, critical, dominant, aggressive and extroverted. Females, in contrast, are viewed as passive, weak, nurturing, adaptive, relational and agreeable."

Adair's research showed that non-verbal displays of dominance were more common among male than female negotiators, and cultural differences in display were primarily evident among the males.

Her other research shows that Western and Eastern cross-cultural negotiators try to adapt to one another. But she warns that Western negotiators should be aware that using space like their Eastern counterparts may be perceived as a display of dominance. Likewise, their own tendency to sit in a relaxed position and display negative emotion may head negotiations in the wrong direction.

"The biggest risk for Easterners is that Westerners perceive their rigid body posture and lack of emotional expression as a sign of disinterest or a lack of engagement," Adair says. "This misperception could lead a Westerner to walk away from a deal that the Eastern negotiator really wanted."

geoff.maslen@uw-news.com