Contents Various Aspects of Body Language

9. The Japanese Eye Contact

Eye contact is a very important component of body language, and different countries place different subtexts to the same action.
In many countries, maintaining eye contact while you speak to someone signifies that you’re paying attention. (Think of a mother demanding “Look at me when I’m talking to you!”) In Japan (and a few other East Asian cultures), however, eye contact can signal aggression and disrespect.
These days, it’s becoming more socially acceptable to look people in the eyes when you’re talking to them, but in certain situations (like more formal encounters or conversations with older people), you can be in for a bit of awkwardness if you maintain eye contact for too long!

10. The Russian Finger Count

Here we have another method of counting that probably differs from the way you’re familiar with.
Count on your fingers from one to five.
Chances are, you started with a balled-up fist and gradually uncurled each finger as you went along the numbers.
You’ll be glad to know that in Russia, people also count with their fingers. But instead of starting with a closed fist, they start with an open palm.
To count to five, for example, Russians open their palm then, sometimes with the help of the pointer finger on their other hand, curl in their pinky finger, followed by the ring finger and so on. By “five,” they’d have a balled-up fist.
By now, you should understand how important (and how different) body language is for different cultures.