Chapter 7 Analysis
I watched Deborah Gruenfeld's video before reading chapter 7 and again after completing the chapter. My perception was not the same after watching the video for the second time. I noticed her gestures, eloquence, posture and mode of dressing and I realized that although she was talking about how to convey power and influence, she was conveying what Pfeffer talked about in chapter 7 as “acting with power”.
Gruenfeld expressed confidence as she was lecturing and her posture and gestures was like Pfeffer said in p.137 “Gestures should be short and forceful, not long and circular.” I also noticed the examples she mentioned to illustrate her points; “I talked to my colleague from Harvard … My colleague from Stamford”. Harvard and Stamford are well-established institutions and when a person uses them strategically (persuasive language) as she did, not only shows her network centrality but also her power and influence. …show more content…
Although I agree with both Gruenfeld and Pfeffer suggestions on how to speak and act with power, those suggestions cannot be applied universally since not every culture is the same.
In Africa for example, having direct eye contact during business or casual meetings is a sign of disrespect especially if is to the elderly and the same happens in Asia (Even I experienced culture shock when I first came to the US and did not used eye contact). In Middle East however, eye contact is regarded among same sex as a sign of sincerity but only to people of the same age group. Body language is also different and the “smiling” example in p.131 cannot be applied in Russia or in Japan were smiling or showing emotion during business is a sign of weakness. According to the article “Why Some Cultures Frown on Smiling” by Olga Khazan, countries like India, Argentina and the Maldives correlated smiling with dishonesty while countries like China, Switzerland and Germany correlated smiling with
intelligence.
To conclude, I did enjoy and learn new concepts throughout the chapter and although chapter 7 did not address culture as a factor, I believe this chapter would benefit me in the foreseeable future.
Gruenfeld expressed confidence as she was lecturing and her posture and gestures was like Pfeffer said in p.137 “Gestures should be short and forceful, not long and circular.” I also noticed the examples she mentioned to illustrate her points; “I talked to my colleague from Harvard … My colleague from Stamford”. Harvard and Stamford are well-established institutions and when a person uses them strategically (persuasive language) as she did, not only shows her network centrality but also her power and influence. …show more content…
Although I agree with both Gruenfeld and Pfeffer suggestions on how to speak and act with power, those suggestions cannot be applied universally since not every culture is the same.
In Africa for example, having direct eye contact during business or casual meetings is a sign of disrespect especially if is to the elderly and the same happens in Asia (Even I experienced culture shock when I first came to the US and did not used eye contact). In Middle East however, eye contact is regarded among same sex as a sign of sincerity but only to people of the same age group. Body language is also different and the “smiling” example in p.131 cannot be applied in Russia or in Japan were smiling or showing emotion during business is a sign of weakness. According to the article “Why Some Cultures Frown on Smiling” by Olga Khazan, countries like India, Argentina and the Maldives correlated smiling with dishonesty while countries like China, Switzerland and Germany correlated smiling with
intelligence.
To conclude, I did enjoy and learn new concepts throughout the chapter and although chapter 7 did not address culture as a factor, I believe this chapter would benefit me in the foreseeable future.