Cross cultural understanding: a handbook to understand others’ cultures

Signal
Possible
Meaning(s)
Detailed Explanation
one is easy to see, but do you 
always detect tiny head nods 
when addressing or observing 
a group?
slow 
head 
nodding
attentive listening This can be a faked signal. As 
with all body language signals 
you must look for clusters of 
signals rather than relying on 
one alone. Look at the focus 
of eyes to check the validity 
of slow head nodding.
fast 
head 
nodding
hurry 
up, 
impatience 
Vigorous 
head 
nodding 
signifies that the listener feels 
the speaker has made their 
point or taken sufficient time. 
Fast head nodding is rather 
like the 'wind-up' hand 
gesture given off-camera or 
off-stage by a producer to a 
performer, indicating 'time's 
up - get off'.