Body Language in Different Cultures

A Language with No Words and with Multiple Interpretations Around the World

Subconscious communication

The body language is the rich layer of mostly subconscious communication. Dr. Albert Mehrabian, the author of Silent Messages, lead many studies on nonverbal communication. According to him, 7% of any message is presented through words, 38% through assured vocal elements, and 55% through nonverbal elements (which includes gestures, postures, and facial expressions). In other words, these percentages leave us with 93% statistics on body language.

How do we speak the body language? We have put together five different body languages you should get familiar with.

Eye contact

The window of the soul, as the eyes are called, are able to send many non-verbal signals. As noticed, people looking up when thinking are probably trying to visualize their thoughts.

A few examples of the eyes movements:

• when glancing sideways:
  shows a possible romantic interest, or a flirt

• staring intensively without losing eyes:
  reveals threatening feelings

• prolonged blinking:
  indicates a losing interest, usual to happen with raised eyebrows

The eyes tell our story of emotions and sometimes even intentions. They are more than just a body language for a human being. They say the eyes say everything.

Intense eye contact in many Middle Eastern countries symbolizes trust and sincerity between the same gender. On the other hand, sharing intense eye contact with the opposite gender may be considered as inappropriate.

Personal space

Even though we do it in a modern day setting, we still act like animals, we instinctively mark our territories. We put up fences around our houses to establish an outline of our land. It is the same principal when it comes to our invisible space bubble around us, which we indirectly call personal space. The size of personal space is culturally determined, for instance, the Japanese who are used to crowded spaces. While others prefer wide open spaces and distance when communicating.

Some examples of cultural norms listed by region:

• Talking with a distance where elbows could touch the other person’s body, is something you can see Italians, Arabs and Latin Americans do.
• Russians have a distance of where the wrists of an outstretched arm could reach the other one talking to.
• In North America and Western Europe, they prefer to keep a distance of an outstretched arm where they might touch the other’s fingertips.

Remember, having personal space is interpreted differently according to your origin. The easiest way to go when you are unsure about someone’s personal space demands, you can start off with your own comfort zone.

Touching

In many cultures in South America, around the Mediterranean, and in Arabic countries, touching is part of normal communication and regular body language. It is found important for communication and social harmony. One should not feel threatened by any touching when travelling around these areas, they mean no harm. It is often a way for local people of putting the tourists at ease.

Latin Americans have the abrazo, a brief hug, as their way to express that they like you. This hug is common among the males and if it is not done properly, it may be interpreted as you acting cold.

Greetings

The most common greeting worldwide is handshaking, it is common in Western countries as well as in other countries. Without being verbal, your handshake or the way you greet someone else, will describe and send a vibe to the other person of what kind of person you are.

For instance, offering a handshake when in terms of applying for a job position, will make you seem as a confident and serious person.

A few other examples of how to greet in different countries:

• In France, people kiss cheeks, as well as in Italy. Matter of fact, if two people are family and about to greet, it is customary to Faire la bise in France.
• New Zealand’s people, the Maori, will greet their visitors with hongi. It is a gesture when pressing foreheads and noses together with the eyes closed.

• In India they salute by the word “Namaste”. When greeting, the palms are pressed together over the chest while saying “Namaste”.

Gesture

It is usually normal to use gestures as a way to illustrate what you mean when going through a language barrier. Even though it is still tricky to know which motions are interpreted in the right way and not offending because of difference in cultures.

Something as simple as nodding as “yes” and shaking your head as “no” may be misunderstood in other countries. This gesture is reversed in Bulgaria and Albania. In Turkey, the gesture for a “no” is by nodding your head up and back.

Some countries are known for talking a lot with their hands, while others are more reserved with their movements in order to be polite.

Gestures have a rich history in Italy. Isabella Poggi, a professor of psychology at Roma Tre University and an expert on gestures, identified around 250 gestures that Italians use in everyday conversations.

There is one theory meaning that Italians developed a new form of communication during the time they lived under foreign occupation by France, Austria and Spain. That was a way for them to communicate without their overlords understanding.

Silent language

We do not have to think about applying any of them since they run through us mostly by autopilot. However, it is how we show the meaning of what we are trying to communicate that matters in the end. It can all go wrong if you use the body language you are used to in a foreign culture. Now, after we have listed these five different body type of languages, we are more aware of the silent language and how people are using it without adding words.

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