Cover not available

In:Discourse Studies in Public Communication
Edited by Eliecer Crespo-Fernández
[Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture 92] 2021
► pp. 245–272

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload Book PDF
authorization required

Chapter 11
Paralinguistic resources in persuasive business communication in English and Spanish

ORCiD logo with link | Universidad de Alcalá, Spain
ORCiD logo with link | Universidad de Alcalá, Spain
Published online: 7 April 2021
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/dapsac.92.11ces
Abstract
This study presents the results of research carried out to unveil how nonverbal paralinguistic signs are used in persuasive business communication in two parallel Spanish/British English corpora of TV entrepreneurial pitches. A specific analytic method has been developed to identify discrete nonverbal signs together with their function in the communicative acts studied, to ascertain frequency of sign use and the influence L1 and gender may exert on the quantity, type, and function of such devices. Results show that of all devices (i.e., volume, tone, speed, sound-lengthening, emotional reactions, quasi-lexical elements, and pauses), pauses are the most profusely used (65% of the cases), although both variables (L1 and gender) have a bearing on the socio-communicative variations of paralinguistic devices among different subjects.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Theoretical framework: Persuasive communication
  • 3.Methodology
  • 4.Results for paralinguistic resources
    • 4.1Phonetic qualities
    • 4.2Audible physiological or emotional reactions
    • 4.3Quasi-lexical elements
    • 4.4Pauses
    • 4.5The effect of language and gender in the use of paralinguistic devices
  • 5.Conclusions
  • Notes
  • References
References (32)
References
Acarín Tussel, Noslac. 2001. El cerebro del Rey. Barcelona: RBA.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Alexander, Patricia A., Michelle M. Buehl, and Christopher T. Sperl. 2001. “The Persuasiveness of Persuasive Discourse.” International Journal of Educational Research 35 (7–8): 651–674. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Aristóteles. 1995 [trans.]. Retórica [Rhetoric]. Madrid: Gredos.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bamford, Julia, and Rita Salvi (eds). 2007. Business Discourse: Language at Work. Rome: Aracne Editrice.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Birlik, Seval, and Jagdush Kaur. 2020. “BELF Expert Users: Making Understanding Visible in Internal BELF Meetings through the Use of Nonverbal Communication Strategies.” English for Specific Purposes 58: 1–14. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bravo, Diana. 1996. La risa en el regateo: estudio sobre el estilo comunicativo de negociadores españoles y suecos [Laughter in bargaining: A study on the communicative style of Spanish and Swedish business dealers]. Stockholms: Stockholms Universitet.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Burgoon, Judee K., Laura K. Guerrero, and Kory Floyd. 2016. Nonverbal Communication. London and New York: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cestero Mancera, Ana M. 2006. “La comunicación no verbal y el estudio de su incidencia en fenómenos discursivos como la ironía [Nonverbal communication and the study of its incidence in phenomena like irony].” ELUA 20: 57–77. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
2014. “Comunicación no verbal y comunicación eficaz [Nonverbal communication and efficient communication].” ELUA 28: 125–150. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
2016. “La comunicación no verbal: propuestas metodológicas para su estudio [Nonverbal communication: Research methodology proposals].” Lingüística en la Red 13 (2): 1–36. [URL].
2017. “La comunicación no verbal en discurso persuasivo empresarial [Nonverbal communication in persuasive business discourse].” Pragmalingüística 25: 124–145. 0000-0001-7836-7943. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
2018. Recursos no verbales en comunicación persuasiva: Imagen, proxémica y paralenguaje [Nonverbal resources in persuasive communication: Image, proxemics, and paralanguage]. Lengua y Habla 22: 135–159.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Daly, Peter, and Dennis Davy. 2016a. “Structural, Linguistic and Rhetorical Features of the Entrepreneurial Pitch: Lessons from the Dragon’s Den .” The Journal of Management Development 35 (1): 120–132. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2016b. “Crafting the Investor Pitch Using Insights from Rhetoric and Linguistics.” In The Ins and Outs of Business and Professional Discourse Research, ed. by Glen M. Alessi, and Geert Jacobbs, 182–203. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
De Santiago Guervós, Javier. 2005. Principios de comunicación persuasiva [Principles of persuasive communication]. Madrid: Arco Libros.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2019. “Rhetorical Analysis of a Discourse Model in the Business World: Elevator Pitch.” Círculo de Lingüística Aplicada a la Comunicación 80: 7–16. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Díez Prados, Mercedes. 2019. “Engagement in Business Persuasive Discourse: The Elevator Pitch.” In Engagement in Professional Genres: Deference and Disclosure, ed. by Carmen Sancho Guinda, 217–242. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fernández-Vázquez, José Santiago, and Roberto Álvarez-Delgado. 2019. “The Interaction between Rational Arguments and Emotional Appeals in the Entrepreneurial Pitch.” International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research 26 (3): 503–520. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Forgas, Esther, and María Herrera. 2000. “Los componentes no verbales del discurso académico [Nonverbal components of academic discourse].” In El discurso académico oral, ed. by Graciela Vázquez, 271–299. Madrid: Edinumen.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
García-Gómez, Antonio. 2018. “ Dragon’s Den: Enacting Persuasion in Reality Television.” Discourse, Context & Media 21: 1–9. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Goleman, Daniel. 1995. Emotional Intelligence. Why it Can Matter more than IQ. London: Bloomsbury.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2006. Social Intelligence. London: Hutchinson.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gordillo León, Fernando, Rafael M. López Pérez, Lilia Mestas Hernández, and Beatriz Corbi Gran. 2014. “Comunicación no verbal en la negociación: la importancia de saber expresar lo que se dice [Nonverbal communication in negotiation: The importance of knowing how to express what is said].” Revista Electrónica de Psicología Iztacala 17 (2): 646–666. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Knapp, Mark L. 1980. Essentials of Nonverbal Communication. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Matsumoto, David, Hyisung C. Hwang, and Mark G. Frank (eds). 2016. APA Handbook of Nonverbal Communication. Washington: American Psychological Association. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Olascoaga, Miguel Á. 2012. El lenguaje corporal en las negociaciones [Body language in negotiations]. Veracruz: Universidad Veracruzana.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pease, Allan. 2000. Questions Are the Answers. How to Get to ‘Yes’ in Networking Marketting. Portsmouth, NH: Pease International.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1994. La comunicación no verbal. Cultura, lenguaje y conversación [Nonverbal communication. Culture, language, and conversation]. Madrid: Istmo.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pullman, George. 2013. Persuasion. History, Theory, Practice. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Co.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Valeiras-Jurado, Julia. 2019. “Modal Coherence in Specialised Discourse: A Case Study of Persuasive Oral Presentations in Business and Academia.” Ibérica 37: 87–114. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Zhou, Hui, and Tingqin Zhang. 2008. “Body Language in Business Negotiation.” International Journal of Business and Management 3 (2): 90–96. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue