Contents
Various Aspects of Body Language
Facial Expressions, Head Movements and Eye Contact
Finger, Hand and Arm Gestures
Proximity, Orientation and Physical Contact
The Korean Bow
The German “1”
The Indian Head Shake
The Italian Pinecone
The French “So-so”
The Chinese Nose Point
The Swiss Cheek Kisses
The Iranian “Thumbs Up”
The Japanese Eye Contact
The Russian Finger Count
Body Language in Different Cultures: 10 Ways to Speak Volumes Without Saying a Word
Did you know that, in some cultures, making the “thumbs up” gesture that Facebook is so famous for can get you “unfriended” really fast?
Gestures that mean one thing in your part of the world can mean the exact opposite somewhere else. As a result, it’s quite possible to offend someone without even opening your mouth, and out of no ill will on your part!
In this post, we’ll look at how body language in different cultures is used to communicate meaning, and then check out 10 examples of body lingo from around the world.
Various Aspects of Body Language
Body language is the act of communicating using anything other than your words. Let’s break down the different components of body language:
1. Facial Expressions, Head Movements and Eye Contact
The six generally accepted emotions—happiness, surprise, fear, disgust, anger and sadness—were once considered universal. You might think that everyone knows what “disgust” looks like!
Further studies, however, suggest that everything may not be so clear cut. Researchers have found meaningful cultural differences in the expressions.
For example, while a computer algorithm was quite adept at deciphering the six emotions in Western (Caucasian) faces, the same algorithm applied to Asian faces comes somewhat short.
Faces around the world, it turns out, express emotions through different levels of intensity and by engaging different facial muscles. In the specific study noted above, Asian faces display lower emotional intensity than Western faces and much overlap when registering surprise, fear, disgust and anger—which may make it hard for someone of Western origin to tell when someone of Asian origin is mad or scared (for example).
Head movements can also have different meanings in different cultures, so nodding to say “yes” might not always get you the reaction you expect!
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