Introduction

Back to: Understanding and Misunderstanding – Verbal and Nonverbal Communication

© Institut für Lern-Innovation

One cannot not communicate.

said the Austrian-American  psychologist, communication theorist and philosopher Paul Watzlawick (1921-2007).

What does that mean?

Watzlawick formed five Axioms of Communication in order to describe interpersonal communication. The quotation above is the first axiom in his theory. According to him there is no way one cannot not communicate. We always communicate with our behaviour, and even the silence sends out a message. Whatever we do, acting, talking, sending non-verbal signals – we send out messages, which means: we communicate.

A simple example
A woman sits in the waiting room of a doctor’s practice. She sits silently and stares to the floor. Apparently she is not communicating. But is that really true? No. She sends out the message: Leave me alone, I don’t want to be in contact with the persons surrounding me. And sending out a message means: communicating.

Practical insights

We asked volunteers working in the field of migration to share their experinces with cutlural misunderstandings in their daily work. Have you been in similar situations? Watch now!

In this section we would like to introduce you to some features, challenges and pitfalls of verbal communication.

The following video illustrates the complex nature of  communication processes and the problems that might arise.