Understanding and Misunderstanding – Verbal and Nonverbal Communication

This course deals with verbal and nonverbal aspects of human communication and their relevance in intercultural communication settings.

In the course section on verbal communication you will learn about the relevance of language and potential misunderstandings occurring in verbal interactions. The communication model by Schulz von Thun will illustrate that every message has four sides (factual information, appeal, relationship and self-revelation) and that sender and receiver potentially address/hear different sides of the same message. You will also get to know some methods of improving verbal communication and mutual understanding.

In the second course section we will explain various aspects of nonverbal communication and their cultural determination.