Intercultural Non-verbal Communication

People do business with people who make them feel comfortable and it all comes down to sincerity and good manners. 

When entering a foreign country or communicating with people from different cultures, concentrate on reducing the broadness of your body language until you have the opportunity to observe the locals.  If you're not sure how to be polite in someone else's culture, ask the locals to show you how things are done.

Cultural misinterpretation of gestures can produce embarrassing results and a person's background should always be considered before jumping to conclusions about the meaning of his or her body language and gestures or any means of non-verbal communication.  For example, the thumbs up gesture used to show approval in North America is perceived as extremely vulgar in Iran.

I have found out a simple way to learn and understand cultural body language differences.  You can play foreign films with the sound off, without reading the subtitles and try to work out what is happening.  Then watch again, but with the subtitles this time, to check your accuracy.

The most common modes of non-verbal communication are:

• Eye contact
• Facial expression
• Postures
• Gestures
• The use of time
• The use of space
• The use of territory

Moreover, gestures can create different reactions in different environments.  For example, in Western culture silence is perceived as a negative trait suggesting rejection, unhappiness, depression, regret, or ignorance.  On the other hand, the Japanese admire silence and consider it the key to happiness.

A Japanese proverb says, “Those who know do not speak, those who speak do not know”, relating silence to respect and wisdom.