Useful to students

1. Silence as a Mode of
Communication

2. • Silence is the absence of any sound or noise. The
state or fact of being silent; muteness.
• Communication is the activity of conveying
information through the exchange of ideas,
feelings, intentions, attitudes, expectations,
perceptions or commands as by speech, non-verbal
gestures, writings, behavior.
• Silence generally means absence of any kind of
noise. But in communication it is seen as absence
of speech.
• Silence is a very powerful form of communication
tool.

4. • Silence is a method of communication. Silent
communication happens when we don’t use words or
sounds during a conversation.
• Sometimes, silence can most effectively express the
response or reaction to a communication.
• Silence can effectively communication several
responses.
• It can express anger, fear, refusal, disapproval,
resentment, etc.
• When a proposal is put to an individual and he/she
keeps quite, it signifies his/her acceptance of the
proposal.
• Silence can also be used to improve oral
communication.
• A good speaker gives a slight pause before and after
making an important point during his speech.

5. • Silence can be harmful in some cases.
• When a listener does not reply to a specific
question, a communication gap may arise. But
there is no doubt that silence is also a medium
of communication.
• In face to face situation, silence on the part of
the speaker may indicate that he is not sure of
what to say or does not like the reaction of the
audience.
• Facial expression and posture indicates the
meaning behind the silence.

6. • Silence is golden, even just to pause
momentarily between sentences and topics in a
conversation can have such a dramatic effect on
the listener.
• Silence is an invitation to sit with an idea or
thought, like the blank pages of a book, space
to savour.
• According to one study, only 7 percent of the
total communication is non-verbal. Rest is all
communicated through other means. Silence is
one of them.

7. • Silence is an important communication tool.
Ironically, people consider silence as the absence of
communication.
• Actually, silence can be used as an effective
communication tool.
• Silence acts as a best way of communication when
an individual wants to connect with god. An
individual through silence prays and asks for
blessings and shares problems with god. By bowing
in front of the almighty and joining hands an
individual connects to god. So, best way is to
meditate.
• Silent communication can be more powerful than
words

8. • Silence can also be positive or negative.
• For instance, positive silence can be
constructive by helping to move a conversation
forward, change the subject or indicate an
endpoint to the verbal exchange.
• In contrast, negative silence can be destructive
by shutting down communication or relaying
hostility.
• It can also be used as the “silent treatment” by
people who shut down when emotions run high.

9. Tips to use silent communication effectively:
• Use gestures: When silently listening to others, use your eyes,
gestures and posture to convey interest.
• Pause before speaking: During an important conversation, like a
job interview, allow a few seconds to pass before you answer
questions. This can prevent you from divulging too much
unnecessary information and give you time to formulate an
appropriate response.
• Use silence for effect: You can use silence to add weight to your
statements. For instance, try pausing for a moment after you’ve said
something powerful and important to you to allow your message to
sink in.
• Practice active listening with silence: While you remain quiet in a
conversation, consider making a conscious effort to understand the
underlying thoughts, feelings and ideas the other person is trying to
communicate.

10. Inter-cultural, Intra-cultural,
Cross-cultural and International
communication

11. Intracultural Communication:
• Intracultural communication describes
communication between at least two people who
are from the same culture or have culturally
similar backgrounds.
• Intracultural communication is reserved for when
people of the same culture are communicating. So,
a conversation between two American citizens
who both grew up on the farms of Georgia would
be intracultural because they will essentially have
the same background and cultural orientations.

12. Intercultural Communication
• Intercultural communication describes
communication between at least two people who are
different in significant ways culturally.
• In short, Intercultural communication is
communication between two or more people, from
different cultures.
• For instance, a conversation between a man who grew
up in Nepal and a woman who grew up in Micronesia
would probably be an intercultural conversation
because we could study how the different cultural
backgrounds of the two people affect their
communication strategies towards each other.

13. Cross–Cultural communication:
• Cross-cultural communication is an area of study
which looks at the communication tendencies of
people from various cultural backgrounds.
• Another way to put it is the exercise of
recognising the communication tendencies of
various cultural groups in order to increase
effective communication and collaboration.

15. • Cross-Cultural communication IS NOT the same thing as
intercultural communication. While intercultural
communication deals with the interaction between at least
two people, cross-cultural communication describes the
comparison of communication styles across cultures. For
instance, a paper about what happens when a Moroccan
man speaks with a Hawaiian woman would be
intercultural, but a paper comparing the communication
patterns of people from Morocco with the communication
patterns of people from Hawaii would be cross-cultural.

16. International Communication:
• This one is similar to intercultural communication
because it also describes communication between at
least two people who are from different cultures.
However, topics concerning international
communication don’t really look at how cultural
differences affect specific interactions between two
people because they are often focused on a larger
picture.
• For instance, international communication might
describe how government offices from the U.S.
communicate with government offices from Turkey.

17. • Furthermore, they may describe communication
between individuals who live in different cultures, but
have similar experiences
• Eg. Email communication between friends who both
studied together in the U.S. as exchange students but
then went back to their own respective countries.