2013.08.04
Question 14 ”How important is body language in communication?” 英語学習法
ビジネス英語の学習法やポイントについて聞く Q&A 第14弾は、
“How important is body language in communication?” です。
Ｑ．ボディー・ランゲージは、コミュニケーションする上でどれくらい重要か？
Hika は動画の中で次のように言っています。
『日本人の多くが、英語を話す際には、常にたくさんのジェスチャーをつかうべきだと思っています。
でも、絶対に必要というわけではありません。
確かにカナダ人やアメリカ人は、他の国の人よりもボディー・ランゲージを多く使う傾向がありますが、
中にはボディー・ランゲージをあまり使わない英語圏の国も存在するのです。
そもそも、ボディー・ランゲージとは何なのでしょうか？
ボディー・ランゲージは、単にジェスチャーをするだけではなく、
体全体で表現する言語を表します。
そして、いつ、どのように使うべきかは、誰とコミュニケーションするかによる、と思うわけです。
それでは、どのようなタイプのボディ・ランゲージがあるのでしょうか？』
Hika は動画の中で、5つのタイプのボディ・ランゲージを紹介しています。
5つのタイプのボディ・ランゲージについては、ぜひ動画をご覧ください！
Hello and welcome to this Bizmates question and answer
video series for Japanese businesspeople.
And today's question is
how important is body language in communication?
Yes, great question. OK.
Let's look at this.
But first, what is body language?
Because many people say, "Yeah, you know, Hika,
I think you should always use lots of gestures
when you speak English."
Well, you know, in Japanese we don't use so much.
But in English we, it's important to use.
Not necessarily, OK.
Now yes, people in the West,
you know, Canadians, Americans tend to use more
body language than other English speaking countries.
You know, but there are other English speaking countries,
they don't use that much body language or gestures. OK.
And body language is more than just gestures, OK.
It's more than just using your arms and your head.
OK, it's a lot more than that. Let me explain.
OK, the types of body language.
One is posture. Let me just explain what this means.
It means the way you stand or the way you sit.
And if you're like this, it's bad posture.
Of course this is good posture.
Back straight, head a little bit up.
Yes, you're confident.
OK this is one type of body language.
Another one is your facial reactions.
People often forget that they're communicating
a lot with their face.
OK, so smile when you're happy.
You know, look confused when you're confused.
OK, so your facial reactions are really important.
Eye contact, very important as well. OK. If you
look the other way, it looks like you're not listening.
OK, but if you look at them,
it looks like you are telling them you're listening.
If you look too much,
it's like you're being a little bit aggressive.
So, the eye contact has a big impact as well.
Hand movements are important.
But when you speak English,
it doesn't mean you should use a lot of hand gestures.
If you use it too much, it means you're nervous.
At least it looks like you're nervous.
I try to use hand movements with a purpose.
You know there're 3 things I want to talk about.
Please, go ahead.
You know, that's OK.
But everytime you speak you're using gestures,
hand movements, it's not always good.
And it also depends on the country.
Like I said, some cultures, they don't use
that much body language or hand movements.
And the last one is space.
The personal space, OK.
If you're far, you know, if you're close.
You know, I try to keep a bit of a distance.
You know. OK, not too close if I don't know the person.
Of course touching, you've got to be really careful as well,
especially if it's the opposite gender.
OK, so all of this includes, is included in body language.
OK, and how and when to use what. It really depends
on, you know, which culture you are communicating with.
But you know from Canada, from the United States,
yes, we tend to do a lot more than other cultures.
OK, so I hope I answered a little bit of
your question about body language.
OK, thank you.
video series for Japanese businesspeople.
And today's question is
how important is body language in communication?
Yes, great question. OK.
Let's look at this.
But first, what is body language?
Because many people say, "Yeah, you know, Hika,
I think you should always use lots of gestures
when you speak English."
Well, you know, in Japanese we don't use so much.
But in English we, it's important to use.
Not necessarily, OK.
Now yes, people in the West,
you know, Canadians, Americans tend to use more
body language than other English speaking countries.
You know, but there are other English speaking countries,
they don't use that much body language or gestures. OK.
And body language is more than just gestures, OK.
It's more than just using your arms and your head.
OK, it's a lot more than that. Let me explain.
OK, the types of body language.
One is posture. Let me just explain what this means.
It means the way you stand or the way you sit.
And if you're like this, it's bad posture.
Of course this is good posture.
Back straight, head a little bit up.
Yes, you're confident.
OK this is one type of body language.
Another one is your facial reactions.
People often forget that they're communicating
a lot with their face.
OK, so smile when you're happy.
You know, look confused when you're confused.
OK, so your facial reactions are really important.
Eye contact, very important as well. OK. If you
look the other way, it looks like you're not listening.
OK, but if you look at them,
it looks like you are telling them you're listening.
If you look too much,
it's like you're being a little bit aggressive.
So, the eye contact has a big impact as well.
Hand movements are important.
But when you speak English,
it doesn't mean you should use a lot of hand gestures.
If you use it too much, it means you're nervous.
At least it looks like you're nervous.
I try to use hand movements with a purpose.
You know there're 3 things I want to talk about.
Please, go ahead.
You know, that's OK.
But everytime you speak you're using gestures,
hand movements, it's not always good.
And it also depends on the country.
Like I said, some cultures, they don't use
that much body language or hand movements.
And the last one is space.
The personal space, OK.
If you're far, you know, if you're close.
You know, I try to keep a bit of a distance.
You know. OK, not too close if I don't know the person.
Of course touching, you've got to be really careful as well,
especially if it's the opposite gender.
OK, so all of this includes, is included in body language.
OK, and how and when to use what. It really depends
on, you know, which culture you are communicating with.
But you know from Canada, from the United States,
yes, we tend to do a lot more than other cultures.
OK, so I hope I answered a little bit of
your question about body language.
OK, thank you.
