[本科毕业论文]国际商务谈判中的非语言交际-文学学士

[本科毕业论文]国际商务谈判中的非语言交际-文学学士 Abstract Besides verbal communication, nonverbal communication also plays an indispensable role in international business negotiation in which the negotiators can get lots of favorable information about their opponents. Therefore, it is of great importance for the negotiators to have a good command of nonverbal communication. However, many people fail to recognize the significance and diversity of nonverbal behavior in international business negotiation. Although there is no lack of researches about the classification and importance of nonverbal communication, the researches about nonverbal in international business communication is rare. This paper analyzes the important impacts of nonverbal communication and its classifications in international business negotiation with the help of the existing theories. Finally, it arrives at some solutions about avoiding misunderstanding for the misuse of nonverbal behavior during the negotiation. Key words: international business negotiation; nonverbal communication; importance; diversity 中文摘要 在国际商务谈判中，非语言交际起着举足轻重的作用，通过非语言信息可以判断对方的真正意图， 体会 针灸治疗溃疡性结肠炎昆山之路icu常用仪器的管理名人广告失败案例两会精神体会 不可言传的交际内容，帮助谈判者及时做出正确的判断和反应。正确的非语言交际行为能起到加强信息交流的作用，而错误的非语言行为则可能因文化风俗不同引起冲突和误解。关于非语言交际的类型和意义,国内外不乏其研究成果，但其研究方向主要在跨文化交际的大范围上，鲜有专门研究其在商务谈判中的实际作用。 本选题在结合已有理论的基础上，探讨了非语言交际在国际商务活动中的作用、类型，在分析了相关例子后 总结 初级经济法重点总结下载党员个人总结TXt高中句型全总结.doc高中句型全总结.doc理论力学知识点总结pdf 出防止和消除非语言交际的冲突与障碍的方法。由于在国际商务谈判中人们对非语言交际的了解程度较浅而影响谈判效益的现象屡见不鲜，因此，结合语言交流，观察谈判对方的非语言 表 关于同志近三年现实表现材料材料类招标技术评分表图表与交易pdf视力表打印pdf用图表说话 pdf 现，准确地把握其非语言行为的变化，对掌握谈判大局十分关键。 关键词:国际商务谈判;非语言交际;重要性;差异性; 1. Introduction With the rapid development of science and technology, the world is becoming a global village. The communication among international business negotiators is also becoming more and more frequent. The communication in international business negotiation can be divided into two kinds, verbal communication and nonverbal communication. On one hand, nonverbal communication is universal as it is used accompany with verbal messages or independently. On the other hand, nonverbal communication is important in international business negotiation, because it can exert influences on people’s communication, reflect the people’s thoughts and supplement the verbal communication. What is more, one distinct feature of nonverbal communication is its diversity in different countries. Thus, if people ignore it or can’t handle it appropriately, it will inevitably cause conflicts or misunderstanding when two or more cultures encounter each other. This paper mainly explores the significance, classification and diversity of nonverbal communication in international business negotiation. Finally, it put forward some suggestions on how to avoid the conflicts or misunderstanding in international business negotiation. 2. Literature Review The employment of nonverbal communication has a long history, which was the main way of transferring messages by our ancestors in human society before the invention of languages. Along with the increasingly frequency of cross-cultural communication in business world, nonverbal communication arouses the great attention of scholars. In 1959, Hall Edward T. and Hall Mild. Reed’s The Sounds of silence put forward the impact of culture on nonverbal communication through observing and analyzing the different nonverbal communicative behaviors among different races systematically, which provided fundamental basis for nonverbal communication. What’s more, Wolfson’s Rules of Speak in 1983, Bolinger Dwight’s Aspect of English in 1994 and Fred E. Jandt’s Intercultural Communication in 2000 all have profound research on this special communication skill. In China, there are also plenty of works in this field, such as Liu Runqing’s Language and Society in 1989, Hu Wenzhong’s Culture and Communication and Cross-cultural Nonverbal Communication in 1995 and 1999. However, most of these researches are not specific enough. Although the researches on nonverbal communication developed so fast and achieved delightful results, the common people, especially the international business negotiators still attach inadequate importance to the influence and employment of nonverbal communication on the entire process of communication. This paper focus on the importance of nonverbal communication in international business negotiation. 3. The Definition and Classifications of Nonverbal Communication 3.1 Definition of nonverbal communication Nonverbal communication refers to the sending of a message without using words literally. (Li Qingming, 2007:95)Generally, nonverbal communication can be divided into several categories, such as kinesics, paralanguage, object language and environmental language. 3.2 Main classifications of nonverbal communication 3.2.1 Kinesics Kinesics is the nonverbal behavior related to movement, either of any part of the body, or the body as a whole (Li Qingming, 2007:94). In short, all communicative body movements are generally classified as kinesics. Kinesics communication is properly one of the most important and obvious nonverbal communication form, including eye contact, facial expression, posture and gesture. Eyes, almost in all cultures, are regarded as the “the windows of the soul”, which can promptly and precisely display the subtle emotional activities in the brain. As the most sensitive organ in the face, eyes express unlimited messages consciously or unconsciously. Though people can control their lower part of face, in accordance to culture convention, the upper part of the face, especially their eyes, always reacts spontaneously and rapidly. Therefore, eyes always speak louder than words. They have overwhelming power to help people express themselves and also get insight into others. When messages conveyed by language contradict that conveyed by eyes, the latter ones is more reliable. Eye contact can convey a variety of emotion or attitude: agreement, appreciation, disgusting, objection and so on. During the international business negotiation, people can use the expressions of their eyes to encourage or prevent the speakers. If the listener keeps looking around or has blank eyes, it means that he/she is not interested in the topic or suggesting the speaker to change the topic or just close the talk. What’s more, the degree of the direct eye contact, the length of the eye contact and the way of people look at each other matters a lot during the conversation. Facial expression, like a mirror, reflects the inside world of people. People are emotional animals whose feelings can be seen on their faces. Appropriate expression at the right time can make the conversation go smoother. Darwin (1872) pointed out that all human beings inborn with the common ways to express their emotions on the face. A frown shows displeasure; the winkling of one’s nose is a sign of dislike, disgust or disapproval; smile means friendliness, approval, satisfaction, pleasure, etc. Therefore, people should keep an eye on the opposite side’s facial expression for the deep favorable message during the business negotiation. A person’s posture can speak numerous about his/her feelings, self image and attitude. The movement of head, arms, legs and feet can be very revealing. The recognizing of some postures is also similar among most cultures. Straight, head held high is generally considered confident, energetic and self-assured. Abrupt movement, shifting seating position, crossed arms or legs may signal defiance, disinterest or an unwillingness to listen. A businessperson should at least be aware of the inclination of the following postures: firstly, leaning forward shows openness and interest, while leaning backward or away from the speaker indicates a defensive posture or disinterest; secondly, crossed arms or crossed legs signals a defensive position and uncrossed arms shows a willingness to listen. Gestures mainly refer to a matter of how to use the hands to convey a message. They are frequently used to strengthen the idea of the speaker or act as the role of supplemental specification to the main points. For example, hand chops are used by a speaker to cut through an argument. It is usually used with cadence of the speaker’s voice and the concept he/she is trying to make. Whereas, a second thought should be given before employing the gestures, for a slight difference in making the gesture itself can mean something quite different from that intended. A wrong interpretation of a gesture may arouse quite unexpected reaction. Once a British businessman got everything done nearly perfectly because he was very careful with all he should do and demanded when he did business in Iran. Until one day he signed the papers and turned to give his Persian colleagues a big thumbs-up gesture, one Iranian executive left the room suddenly. The British executive didn’t have any clue as to what was going on and the Iranian hosts were too embarrassed to tell him. Finally, the Iran colleagues of the British business accepted his apology, but their relationship was damaged. (Hu Mengrong, 2008,300) Actually, In Britain, the thumbs-up gesture means “good, great, well-played”, but in Persian culture it is a sign of discontent and highly offensive. This gesture also signals approval in China, the United States and Russia as in Britain. 3.2.2 Proxemics Proxemics is the study of what governs how close one person stands to another. In other words, it is about the physical distance between two communicators (Li Qingming, 2007:96). In international business negotiation, different arrangement in space carries different messages of the distance. Therefore, it is vital that how far should people keep away from each other while they are talking, namely how large an office should be, what kind of table should be put in the meeting room, such as a round table, an oval one, or any other shapes in international business negotiation. Distance from another person, or personal space, is a powerful concept, and researches suggest it directly relates to our interpretation of the meaning of message conveyed by the other person. It is generally recognized that the space close to people’s body left for the relatives or intimate friends, whereas space further away from that is open to persons one is less intimate with. People express their degree of intimacy and trust towards that person through choosing the distance when communicating to others. However, if a person from a culture where the personal distance is generally close, person from a culture where personal distance is generally greater may appear as evading and possibly mistrusting. And the person from the culture where personal distance is generally greater may feel threatened for the “intrusion” into his personal space. In the counties of Arab, Latin, Mediterranean areas, people tend to show their welcome or friendliness by standing close to each other, usually 20cm to 30cm. However, the most parts of Asian area, European countries and North Americans get accustomed to large distance communication, normally 40cm to 60cm, or they will feel their privacy being invaded and uncomfortable. (Xu Xianguang, 2001,93) 3.2.3 Paralanguage Paralanguage deals with how things are said beyond the actual meaning of the spoken words, which mainly include the pitch, volume, speed of the sound and the use of silence. (Li Qingming, 2007:100). Pitch refers to the raise and fall of one’s tone. People generally will not feel comfortable when they hear a high-pitch voice, no matter how important it may be. A high-pitch voice often makes people nervous. Besides, it sounds more like scolding than talking. Therefore, people should try not to raise the voice unless some special occasion, such as calming down a noisy crowd or an excited group. However, everything has two sides, so is the case of pitch handling. Pitch can be charming and effective when used properly. For example, when inviting a team member to give his/her opinion, a little bit pitch-raise and fall in one’s voice will give the person an encouragement to speak up. Volume refers to the loudness of one’s voice. People do need a loud voice, but it should be used prudently. Instead, the medium or low voice when communicating with each other is more preferred. Volume can add color to what people say, and it can also tell others what kind of person he/she is. Besides, although business people are often taken as working against time, it does not mean that they should speak in a hurried or very fast way all the time. Actually, unless there is something really urgent, they should try to speak at a normal speed, about 110-150 words per minute (Shi Dingle, 2004:97). What is more, various ways of talking among different countries make the conversation more complicated, which greatly influence the atmosphere. For example, the notion that Americans are talking too loud is often interpreted in Europe as aggressive behavior or may be a sign of uncultivated behavior. Likewise, the British way of speaking quietly may be understood as secretive by Americans. Further importance should be also given to the amount of silence during the conversation, which always makes the communication more unpredictable. Like the Japanese proverb goes, “Those who know do not speak; those who speak do not know”, would be opposed by the Americans greatly，because even a slight silence is regarded as embarrassing in America.(Richard, 2004: 60) 4. The Popularity and Significance of Nonverbal Communication in International Business Negotiation 4.1 The porpularity of nonverbal communication in international business negotiation Communication in international business negotiation is considered more often at the verbal level than in terms of body language and the signs and symbols that people use instinctively to convey messages and attitudes. Yet a survey shows that the 65% of the message is contained in nonverbal messages when people in face- to- face communication (Samovar et al, 1981). There is also another relevant research claiming that the content of what we said counts only 7% of the initial impression we left on each other, the rest are based on the nonverbal behavior when we meet somebody at the first time, such as the body language, accent and tone of the voice(Levine at al, 1982). These researches intensify our belief that human communication is make up of both verbal communication and nonverbal communication. During the negotiation, interpersonal nonverbal messages are presented in our postures, our dress, our facial expression, our gestures, the tone and loudness of our voice, the way we use personal space, even our body odor. As the phonetician David Abercrombie pointed out that while we speak with our vocal organs, we are conversing with our whole bodies (Peng Dingle, 2004:93). Therefore, people never stop sending information during the whole process of communication, intentionally or unintentionally, through what they say and what they behave. Since China adopted the opening-up and reform policy and jointed the WTO, Chinese usiness negotiation are getting involved in more and more international business with people b from all over the world who have different culture backgrounds and working habits. Due to the language obstacle, people get used to negotiating with foreigners for better communication with body language unconsciously. 4.2 The significance of nonverbal communication in international business negotiation Since nonverbal behavior was wildly adopted by both sides during the international business negotiation, the indispensible role of nonverbal communication is becoming more and more distinctive. Also, effective communication depends on nonverbal messages greatly. Having a disregard of nonverbal messages will result in incomplete communication. Nonverbal behavior is significant also because it reflects the subconsciousness of the other sides. People normally attempt to control over the words that they say. Occasionally people may have to apologize for losing control over their words, but usually some degree of control is there. However, people may leak their true feeling in other subtle behavior with nonverbal behavior. In fact, even accomplished liars can be detected by subtle nonverbal messages they emit unknowingly. Hence, experienced negotiators will be alert to these details and fetch favorable information to take control of the overall situation. For example, silence for a moment sends the message that speakers are ready to begin their speech; direct eye contact with someone makes him or her know the channels of communication are open; nodding the head in agreement indicates that the speaker should or may continue talking. Some shrewd negotiators may even take advantage of this kind of special communication skill to protect their interest intentionally because some people assume that nonverbal behavior is spontaneous and not easily manipulated, so they tend to believe it, even though it contradicts the verbal ones. During the business negotiation, both parties are actually measuring the wisdom and strategy with each other. Thus, it is very important for the business negotiators to figure out the psychological change by observing the other side’s nonverbal behavior with the verbal communication. Effective nonverbal behavior helps to push the business negotiation goes smoothly and successfully. 5. Differences and Aspects of Nonverbal Communication in International Business Negotiation 5.1 Causes of the differences in nonverbal communication of international business negotiation The above-mentioned samples indicates that nonverbal communication of international business negotiation vary from country to country. It mainly results from the influence of culture differences, the gender of the negotiators, and their the personal features. Culture plays a very important role in nonverbal communication, just like in verbal communication in international business negotiation. Culture differences in history, convention, individual values, religious beliefs and thinking model makes the same behavior have totally different meanings in different countries. Though there are some general ways of nonverbal communication, such as, smile means happy, frown means worry, the extent to which feelings and motion are expressed through facial expression is culture bond. In other words, although people from different cultures are likely to agree on the emotions or feelings that a certain facial expression signals, they are unlikely to attribute the same importance to this in international business negotiation. For example, Asian negotiators are often considered as less expressive in their facial expression than Latin negotiators in international business negotiators. On the other hand, the recognition and interpretation of the facial expressions also seems to be different in international business negotiation. For example, it may be easier for a Portuguese business negotiator to interpret facial expression of a Spaniard than that of the business negotiators from Asia in international business negotiation. The least accurate judgments are made by business negotiators from dissimilar cultures. Contrarily, the most accurate judgment is made by business negotiators from similar cultures. In some cultures, individualization, equality, strong competitive spirit is prevail, whereas people have regard for team work, harmonious working environment, rules-orientation in other cultures. All of these may lead to totally different nonverbal behaviors in different countries. Therefore, the ways of expressing and interpreting nonverbal communication are deeply affected by culture differences profoundly and immanently. As nonverbal communication is a kind of subconsciously behavior generated with the influence of culture, it is meaningless to study nonverbal communication solely, which may easily give rise to misunderstanding, even cultural conflict. Apart from cultural differences, gender is another key point in influencing the interpretation as well as usage of nonverbal communication symbols and behaviors. It is suggested that women smile more frequently than men do. And men will use a different nonverbal communication style when they are speaking to women. It is even unacceptable and unrespectable for the Japanese to negotiate with a female opponent, which will arouse great opposition in western countries where equality of men and women is strongly advocated. Last but not least, the personal dimension to nonverbal behavior is also a very important factor on making the difference. It is a kind of special situation for which not everybody absolutely adheres to the convention of his own nation. He/ she may have lived abroad for many years and mixed the different ways of nonverbal communication in business negotiation in different countries together to build up his/her own set of style. Actually, it is also related to the influence of surroundings on people. People are vulnerable to change in a particular society. These personal features generally follow no real patterns and are specific to the individual. Hence, particular situations need apt and specific solutions for the negotiators. 5.2 Aspects of the differences in nonverbal communication of international business negotiation 5.2.1 Different ways of indicating the same information in different cultures The recognizing of some basic nonverbal behaviors is similar among most cultures, especially in facial expression. Happiness, sadness, hatred, angry, fear and surprise can be shown by the face clearly and similarly. Thus, the main difference of indicating the same information lies in gestures and postures. Different cultures have different nonverbal signals to convey some subtle information. In China, people put the thumb of forefingers on the nose to confirm if he /she is mentioned or called. Most English speaking people often get this meaning by pointing to himself/ herself with the palm inside. When gesturing someone to come near, Chinese people extend his/her hand toward the person, palm open downwards, with all fingers crooked in a beckoning motion. In America, people just do opposite gesture or just point to the person with the second finger, palm upwards. However, people in Yugoslavia and Malaysia, will take the latter one by Americans as a signal to call animals or to beckon someone who was looked down upon. In Indonesia and Australia, it is even used for beckoning the “ladies of the night” (Shi Dingle, 2004:100). Usually, pointing at someone with the index finger wagging is taken as sign of impolite and rude in most cultures. In China, if one wants to show “shame on you”, he /she will extend the forefinger and touch his/her own face with the tip of the finger several times. While English-speaking people extend both forefingers with palms down in front of his/her body, then one finger makes several brushing movements over the back of the other. 5.2.2 Different information showed by different nonverbal behaviors in different cultures One person’s positive gesture may be another person’s insult. The world is full of non-verbal gestures that can mean the exact opposite in different cultures. Not all cultures would take a kiss as a sign of passion: it is a greeting behavior between men and women in many Latin cultures. In Brazil, the exchange of three kisses on the checks is a common sign of friendship, not love. In Iran, men are expected to show their emotions openly. If they appear too cool and logical, they are seen as being undependable and inhuman. In Russia, receiving a very slow applause indicates great appreciation, but in many countries this would show lack of appreciation.(Xu Xianguang, 2001: 90) What is more, the signal for “No”, shaking one’s head from side to side, do not definitely carry the same meaning all around the world. In Bulgaria, Greece, Yugoslavia, Turkey and Iran, swaying head from side to side means “Yes”. (Li Qingming, 2004: So, if a businessperson wants to communicate with people of other cultures more successfully, he/she needs to sharpen his /her awareness of such differences. Here are more examples about the different interpretation of the same signal in business negotiation: (1) In oriental cultures, the only seat in front or in the middle of the setting is a symbol of power or seniority, and the one who wins respect from all the other people around could be privileged to be seated there. Whereas, it seems that standing is one of the Westerners’ habits in social interactions: they stand to have meetings, stand to have receptions and stand to talk to others in gathering. The young are never blamed for not offering his seat to the aged. In Germany, there is no single chair even in president’s garden on the occasion of the celebration of national day. Thus, if here is a picture, one man stand among two seated men in a meeting, we can tell the relationship of the them by their positions that the man stood will be a head and the seated men will be the subordinates in oriental cultures, while it is opposite in western cultures. (2) Hands on hips signals hostility in Mexico, anger in Malaysia and impatience in United States and it even indicates a challenge in Argentina (Li Qingming, 2004: 106). In China, it is a sign that there is a need for relaxing or a pause as one has been tired or a sign of relieve after hard work; it is sometimes adopted( especially by women) to display one’s strength in quarreling with other. (3) The showing of the sole of one’s foot or shoe in highly offensive in Thailand, Myanmar, Middle East countries. Because In Myanmar the feet are considered unclean in general and it is rude to show the soles of your feet or even raise them by placing them on a desk or a chair. ( Xu Xianguang, 2001: 90) (4) Tapping the temple with the finger means “Work with your brain!” in China. In North America and most of the European countries it means someone is crazy. In most of the Africa, Argentina and Peru it is a slight delaying tactic and means “ I am thinking about it.” In Germany, if you can be sued for making such a gesture because it is considered a form of slander (Shi Dingle, 2004:106). (5) Touching the right earlobe with the right hand means “I’m listening” when the person just wants to listen to others’ opinion in English speaking countries. However, it means four different things in the Mediterranean countries. In Spain it accuses someone of being a sponger, in Greece it is a warning, in Malta it says someone is a sneak, and in Italy it insults someone for being a homosexual (Zhao Xia, 2005). (6) Towering hands between legs when one is sitting means he is thinking a decision or a solution in English speaking countries during the business negotiation. People tower their hands under the jaw when they are assigning jobs or giving orders to the subordinates signals a confident person presenting his idea. 6. Ways of Avoiding Misunderstanding in International Business Communication 6.1 Being awareness of the importance and diversity of nonverbal communication International business negotiation is a kind of business activity about discussing certain terms between countries, enterprises or individuals which involved two or more culture backgrounds. The first thing negotiators should learn is to attach importance to the role of nonverbal communication in international business negotiation and its diversity in different countries because of the different cultural backgrounds, religious belief and social customs. For some cultures, it is easy to see the difference, but for others, sometimes it is difficult unless you are culturally sensitive, which needs well preparation about the business partners. More precisely, this kind of additional capability requires accumulating and practice during every international business negotiation. What is more, international business negotiators should never fall into the stereotype of idea about employing nonverbal behavior, taking for granted that they know the opponents absolutely. International business communication is a challenging and complicated process which involves large amount of nonverbal behaviors, including facial expressions, gestures, postures, physical distance and so on. A successful negotiator always wins at the starting line, namely, bearing in mind that nonverbal communication is very important and different in different countries. After realizing the importance of nonverbal communication, negotiators should begin to collect information about the cultural background of their opponents. Only after getting full acquaintance of the cultural background of the adversaries can negotiation gain control of the negotiation. However, one thing should not be misunderstood. The division of verbal message and nonverbal message is for the convenience of the theoretical studies, and it never means that the two are separate from each other. That is, the negotiators either sand the verbal message or the nonverbal one. In fact, the purpose of it is to encourage a combination of the two-the verbal message to go hand in hand with the nonverbal one, though there are differences relating to one’s culture, sex and personal character. As to which message plays the leading role and which one functions complementarily, it depends on the actual situation. After all, we are intended for a better and more effective communication. Take the Japanese way of making initial contact with a Westerner as an example. After the exchange of the business cards, the Japanese would read the card carefully, especially the Westerner’s position in a given organization. Then they would make some “small talk” with their Westerner partners instead of immediate talk on business. Many Westerners just feel frustrated (especially the Americans), as they would not understand what purpose the Japanese has behind those irrelevant questions and small talks. Actually, Japanese people want to be certain that the person is in a position to represent the company and is entitled to make the final decision. 6.2 Two principles of employing nonverbal communication During the practical international business negotiation, the most important thing is to take both similarity and dissimilarity of two sides into consideration. On one hand, business negotiators should follow the principle of “When in Rome do as the Romans do”; on the other hand, they should also make for similarities for better communication. “When in Rome do as the Romans do” means appropriately applying the opponents nonverbal behavior by understanding and learning their local cultures, social customs and special nonverbal expressing ways. Because of the cultural background, negotiators have special ways of thinking, attitudes towards other people, and habits of doing things. In a word, business negotiators are characterized by their own ways, and there is nothing good or bad, noble or humble when they talk about their own features. However, once negotiators are in a culturally diverse workforce, they should be flexible, which means being ready to change ways or attitude when required. To change the way or attitude has nothing to do with giving up their principles or standards for business. In fact, such a change is only for solving the problem or for building up some business relationship. For example, if the opponents are Muslims, Sikhs or Buddhist, business negotiators should avoid using left hands to touch them or pass something to them by left hands, because left hands means unholy and lack of purity in their culture(Gu Guori, 2005: 130). Making for the similarities means creating a communication environment preferred for both sides by finding out the similarities and dissimilarities and removing the interfering dissimilarities. It is the highest level which needs complicated preparation and highly observation during the international business negotiation. The biggest obstacle of implementing this principle is the cultural biases exiting in both sides. Cultural backgrounds may lead to some biased conclusions or appraisals during the negotiation with people from other cultures. For example, people from a nation with a long history may think lightly of those who come from a nation with a short history and people working in big companies may have no ears for the suggestions coming from those who are working in small companies. This kind of biased thought inevitably causes conflicts during the international business negotiation. The smoothness and success of the international business negotiation base on the mutual understanding, mutual respect and equality of both sides. Actually, they are undergoing culture exchange during the international business negotiation. Nonverbal communication is one part of the culture whose affect can not be neglected in international business negotiation. 6.3 Being an effective listener In international business negotiation, information is the most important asset. When the negotiators are learning about the parties’ interests, figuring out what is most likely to lead to a bright solution, they are pursuing information. The best way to gain information is through communication. The negotiators must remember that they learn more with mouth closed and eyes open. Clear communication using common sense questions, observation and listening skills is our best way for eliciting information. Being a good listener is a better way to learn than being a good presenter. The clearer and more comprehensive the perception of what is at issue and what is going on, the more will it reach a wise agreement. Moreover, silence is a trial of strength as well as a form of reply. Proper silence can not only attract the attention and reflection of the counterpart, but also gain some time for the silent party to ponder in order to gain the initiative in negotiation. Sometimes the more accurate the answers, the more helpless and foolish the negotiators seem to be; occasionally obscure answers tend to mean proactive. Silence is the best elaboration in this case. 7. Conclusion As new markets open up for world trade and global competition intensifies, business of all sizes and in all sectors are expanding their operations overseas at unprecedented rates, which necessitates an in strategic alliance and hence cross-cultural negotiation. In general, international communication can be divided into two parts, namely, verbal communication and nonverbal communication, which both are of great importance. However, during the international business communication, negotiators always tend to neglect the importance and diversity of nonverbal communication, which leads to unpredictable embarrassing situation or even deadlock in the negotiation. For a competent negotiator, he/ she must get full acknowledgement of nonverbal communication apart from learning foreign languages or considering the negotiation strategies. Due to the variety of the nonverbal behaviors adopted in different countries, the negotiators should do well preparation for the opponents beforehand, such as the common nonverbal behaviors, local customs and taboos, in order to make less mistakes and avoid being at a loss about what to do during the communication. Three principles are suggested in employing the nonverbal communication in this paper. Negotiators should be native, create the similarities and be an effective listener. The study of nonverbal communication is so profound that it can not be discussed thoroughly in one paper. It just tries to arouse the attention of the international business negotiators and offer some practical suggestions on dealing with this problem.