Chapter Overview

Interpreting verbal messages requires the application of your personal experience to the words being used by group members.

Verbal communication is affected by perceptual bias, ambiguity of language, the labels we use, and too much or too little information. Bias is experienced because perception is a subjective process in which people strive for stability and assume what they perceive to be meaningful. Ambiguous language causes communication problems because the more abstract words are, the less likely it is that members will be visualizing and understanding the same thing. Labels that we attach to people and things create problems because they can shape the way other people feel and think. Biased labels are particularly problematic in this respect. Finally, groups can suffer from too much or too little information. Too much information can create an overload situation that makes thought and processing of information difficult. Too little information may mean that a group is acting without full understanding. Suggestions are offered for each of these problems.

Gender is a word used to describe learned characteristics and psychological attributes of masculinity and femininity. In contrast, sex refers to the biological characteristics a person has from birth. Research suggests that behavior differences in initiating behaviors, interrupting, and verbosity are based on gender. Women initiate more topics, but more topics are dropped. Men ask questions to acquire information, but women do so to maintain conversations. Men interrupt more than women do. Women are as capable as men in leading groups and are not "frozen out" of decision making if they are high-status, successful businesswomen.

Group members may be of low- or high-context cultures. People from low-context cultures--for example, Canada and the United States, use language to express thoughts, ideas, and feelings as clearly and as logically as possible. People from high-context cultures, for example, most Asian and Middle Eastern cultures, use language with the aim of maintaining social harmony. Communicators from these cultures learn what is meant by examining the nonverbal behaviors, context of the message, history of the relationship, and social rules governing interaction.

Language varies cross-culturally in terms of succinctness and formality. Some cultures use language that is rich and expressive, Arabs, for example. People from the United States are known for their "talkativeness" when they meet people. Native Americans may handle an ambiguous social situation with silence. People in the United States and Canada generally approach their relationships with informality. On the other hand, people from Africa and Asia are careful to define the other person's position in a relationship by the language. Obviously, culture has dramatic effects on group communication.

Nonverbal messages form an important part of the total group communication event. They serve to reinforce the verbal message through repetition, elaboration, and accenting. Sometimes they modify the words by contradiction. When this takes place, the nonverbal portion of the message is generally believed. Some nonverbal messages serve as substitutes for the verbal message, whereas others may regulate the flow of communication.

The physical environment of a group, the attractiveness and appearance of the meeting room, can cause the members to view the task more positively and want to stay with it longer. Seating preferences and arrangements also affect groups.

Gesture, posture and movement, face and eye behavior, and use of time also communicate in a group setting. You can use gesture, posture, and movement to exert influence and to affect leadership emergence. Positive head nods and greater gesticulation help people to emerge as leaders. Face and eye behavior convey evaluation, interest, intensity of involvement, amount of control, and probably understanding. Finally, use of time is an important message system. Starting meetings on time and regulating their length can help the efficiency of any group.

Nonverbal messages are ambiguous, can be unintentional, and can inhibit communication. You must depend on the context to interpret the meaning of the message. Remember also that some of the nonverbal messages you observe may be unintentional and therefore misleading. Messages like improper clothing, fidgeting, and doodling can distract the listener and create problems for the group.