Cross cultural understanding: a handbook to understand others’ cultures

particular meaning, feeling or intention. The same 
gestures can mean different things to people from 
different cultures. Nodding head means ―ýes‖ or 
understanding in many countries. In other places such as 
Genovia, nodding head means ‗no‖. In some Australian 
Aboriginal cultures, it is disrespectful to look an elder, 
superior, in the eyes. It is a sign of respect to drop the 
eyes, (whereas in Western culture not meeting 
somebody's gaze is commonly considered to be a negative 
sign, indicating deceit, lying, lack of attention, lack of 
confidence, etc). 
One of the most frequently observed, but least 
understood cue is a hand movement. Most people use 
hand movements regularly when talking. It can indicate a