Body Language
Gestures, facial expressions, and eye contact all give clues to your emotions, but also to the cultural behaviors you have learned. Being able to transmit body language can increase your chances of understanding and being understood. Understanding ‘local’ body language clues can help you accurately interpret much of what is happening in an interaction. At the beginning of this module, it was stated that ‘communication is focused on the receiver’, and this goes for body language as well. It doesn’t matter how effectively you think you are sending a message through your gestures or through your facial expressions, if the local social norms differ in meaning, your interaction will be interpreted (and possibly misinterpreted) from the viewpoint of the receiver.
Example: The shaking or nodding of the head has different meanings around the world. When traveling in South Asia, I was confused with the sideways head ‘wobble’ of tuk-tuk drivers. During my first week of living in Chennai, India, I offered a price for a tuk-tuk ride to a specific destination, and this was met with a sideways head nod. In my culture, this looked a lot like a ‘no’. The driver then waved me into the tuk-tuk which confused me even more. I got to where I was going at the price I had offered. How did that happen?
I asked local friends about this, and I was given a full explanation on what the sideways nod meant. It was fascinating to learn that different nods suggested different levels of acceptance or rejection. It took me a long time to kind of ‘get it’, but it was rewarding in the end to have figured out (at least to some extent), a nuanced movement which didn’t require words to complete a transaction.
Discussion Questions:
What gesture, or facial expression would you consider unique in your culture?
Demonstrate the body language to a partner or group and ask for their interpretations.
Eye Contact
Eye contact is also something which carries meaning in different cultures. In Western cultures, people are taught that direct eye contact shows interest, and engagement - it can also build trust. We see this in movies or on television when a character who is looking for an honest response, tells the other person to, “look me in the eyes when you answer”. In other cultures, looking into someone’s eyes may be seen as disrespectful, aggressive, or just simply confusing.
The Use of Space
The anthropologist, Edward T. Hall was interested in how people use physical space. Known as proxemics, this area of study focuses on space and the distance between people as they interact. Space refers to everything from how far people stand apart from one another to the amount of territory that is established in work, social, and public settings – the use of space can communicate strong messages.
Distance
Standing too close or too far away from someone can give a message about level of trust, or perceptions about a relationship. Our personal space is a comfort zone, and varies from culture to culture. In Canada, a ‘safe’ distance for interactions is about an arm’s length while in Saudi Arabia for example, two men doing business may stand much closer.
In the example of a person from Canada having a business meeting with someone from Saudi Arabia, things could get a bit uncomfortable with the Saudi businessman moving closer, and the Canadian moving backwards to create more space.
The following are four ‘space’ categories that take place during interactions:
- Intimate: Romantic partners, family members, and closest friends
- Personal: Other close friends and friendly relationships
- Social: Casual acquaintances and professional interactions
- Public: People/strangers that you walk past on the street, or stand next to on public transport. Typically, there would be no intentional personal contact
Exercise
Territory
In some cultures, there is a low need for territory. As such people stand closer together and share their space. This can be seen in more heavily populated areas such as in East and Southeast Asia, and in densely populated urban centers at workplaces, in restaurants, or on public transportation.
In places such as Canada, or Australia, those living in rural areas may have a very high need for territory. A person standing too close would feel uncomfortable, and someone trying to share a table in a restaurant would send an unclear message.
Touch
Haptics is the study of touching as nonverbal communication, and includes handshakes, holding hands, kissing (cheek, lips, hand), hugs, back slaps, shoulder pats, ‘high-fives’, etc. Each of these gives off messages as to intentions/feelings for both the sender and receiver.
Cultural Snapshot
How we meet, greet, and acknowledge people in different cultures changes considerably.
You would most likely bow in Japan, shake hands in the UK, and kiss on the cheek in France or Spain, but this can change with context and can be a point of confusion.
- You may be expecting to shake hands with your best friend’s new boyfriend (who you are meeting for the first time), but he surprises you instead with a hug because he wants to get to know you quickly and wants to make a good impression on your friend.
- While in Switzerland, you may have heard that you should expect two kisses on the cheek. Instead, you get three kisses because of regional variation in the town you are visiting.
- You are a female who has worked in Japan for three years and have a close colleague with whom you’ve become friends. At your going away party, you give her a hug to show appreciation, and she does not return the gesture, but instead moves back and bows.
Discussion Questions:
- How important is touch in one of your cultural settings?
- What is considered appropriate in work and social settings?
- What is considered inappropriate in work and social settings?