Chapter 4

Nonverbal Messages

Fie, fie upon her! There’s language in her eye, her cheek, her lip, Nay, her foot speaks; her wanton spirits look out at every joint and motive of her body.

—Ulysses in William Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida, IV.5.54-57

Introduction

From the time Charles Darwin published his epoch study—Expressions of the Emotions in Man and Animals in 1872, researchers from diverse disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, and, now, management, have been interested in exploring body language and its interpretation in various cultures. Nonverbal communication is an outward reflection of a person’s emotional condition. More than verbal communication, it is the nonverbal communication that reveals the true attitudes and emotions ...

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