In many instances, people use nonverbal communication, knowingly or unknowingly, to convey information. Non-verbal communication can occur with or without verbal messages. 1 It provides the context for how the accompanying verbal messages should be interpreted and understood. Non-verbal messages serve multiple information functions in intercultural situations. Non-verbal communications are the primary means used by people to signal emotions, attitudes, and the nature of their relationship with others. There are many forms of non-verbal communication, including physical appearance, paralanguage, facial expression, gestures, and haptic. 2 Physical appearances as a nonverbal cue have significant effects on how communication and gospel can be received in an intercultural setting.
Physical appearance impact on the daily interactions between peoples. Appearances, in the form of body type, height, weight, hair, and skin color, as well as dressing and artifacts, often convey various nonverbal messages during communication. 3 The physical characteristics of an individual often determine the initial response to another as relational, or as too causal or unconcerned. People tend to judge a person's personality and abilities based on the first impression presented by physical appearance. Since standards or perception in the various cultures of the world determine how people interact with each other, gospel evangelists should be wary of the physical characteristics that permeate the culture of a given society. 4 It is, therefore, essential to determine how the physical appearance of an individual will affect the interactional process between people from different cultures.
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A person's physical appearances, particularly in the form of the clothes and artifact worn, can lead to a misunderstanding. As mentioned earlier, a person's physical characteristics are, to a significant extent, a depiction of an individual's cultural background. In addition, different physical appearance manifests different values depending on their cultural context. 5 Therefore, physical appearance might negatively impact on communication as it can be misunderstood within the context of another culture. Due to the ignorance of the beliefs and values of other cultures, people tend to interpret their appearance according to what they understand. Resultantly, if a person's appearances, for example showing hair or wearing certain clothes, contradict the cultural values of a given community, the communication process will be affected significantly.
Physical traits, such as the appearance of the face, the body, or the color of the skin, might result in premature judgment, which affects communication. The face is the epicenter of human attractiveness. In addition, the appearance of people varies from one community to another. People tend to develop different attitudes depending on the facial appearance and color of an individual. Color affects communication due to the preconceived stereotypical facts about people. In addition, body appearance and how people dress can be used to gauge the level of self-esteem by an individual. Therefore, a person whose physical appearance can be interpreted to show that he or she has low self-esteem will not receive similar responses as individuals portraying high self-esteem. 6 Since people often tend to just into conclusion without attempting to understand a different culture, physical appearance might lead to premature judgment, which affects the communication process and, thus, the delivery of gospel in an intercultural setting.
Physical appearance, particularly clothes, artifacts, and facial and bodily appearances, are often connected to the cultural setting of a given society. Therefore, when conveying gospel message, it is essential to separate cultural messages from gospel messages. The misunderstanding of a person's physical appearance or the premature judgment of individuals depending on their physical appearance makes it difficult to distinguish between gospel and human culture. Besides, since gospel messages ought to be put in a given cultural context for it to be communicated to a certain group, physical appearance, if it does not align with specific cultural contexts, can lead to a breakdown in the conveyance of gospel messages.
Bibliography
Pope, Mark. "A Practical Guide for Pastors in the Nonverbal Communication Process." (2012).
Ting-Toomey, Stella, and Leeva C. Chung. Understanding intercultural communication . 2 nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012.
