Body Language in Different cultures.

GROUP 3 (Introduction Ctd.)

 Tang Jia
 Pushpendra Tomar
 Patrycja Musial
 Shivaday Shetty
 Deepak Uniyal
Reflect and Reply: (Introduction Ctd.)

 Imagine that you wake up on an island where

people are not able to understand the
language you speak......

 how will/would you communicate?

Covered In the Slides Ahead.....
(in 20 minutes approximately) (Introduction Ctd.)

 Introduction by Shivaday

 Types of Body Language by Jia

 Body Language in Different Cultures by Pushpendra

 Gestures by Deepak

 Tone of Voice by Patrycja

 Summary by Shivaday
 (Introduction Ctd.)

Body language is a form of 

non-verbal communication, which consists of 
body posture, gestures, facial expressions,
and eye movements. Humans send and
interpret such signals almost entirely
subconsciously.
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_language
 (Introduction Ctd.)

Body language is a very powerful tool.

We had body language before we had
speech, and apparently, 80% of what
you understand in a conversation is
read through the body, not the words.
-Deborah Bull (http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/d/deborahbul241310.html)
Body Language plays Five Roles
(Introduction Ctd.)

 Repetition

 Contradiction

 Substitution: ex. Eyes and Verbal Message

 Complementing: ex. Pat on the back by BOSS!!

 Accenting: ex. Pounding the table.

 (Introduction Ctd.)

Today we are going to talk to

you about using Body language
‘appropriately’ in different
culture settings.
Types of Body Language

 Face
 Eye
 Ears
 Nose
 Lips & Mouth
 Arms
 Hands & Fingers
 Walking
Face - Facial Expressions

Facial expressions reflect emotion, feelings and attitudes

EYES

 Eye contact

 Raising eyebrows

 Winking eye

 Closed eyes.
EARS

* Ear grasp

* Cupping the ear

* Pulling ear.
NOSE

 Holding the nose

 Nose tap

 Pointing to nose

 Blowing nose.

15
LIPS AND MOUTH

 Whistle, yawn, smile, bite, point, sneeze, spit

 Kiss

 Kissing sound

 Finger tip kiss

 Spitting

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ARMS

 Folding arms are interpreted by some social

observers as a form of excluding self, “I am taking
a defensive posture,” or “I disagree with what I am
hearing.”

 Arms akimbo.

 Arms behind back

 Arms in front

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HANDS

 Of all the body parts, the hands are probably used

most for communicating non-verbally
 Beckoning
 Handshaking
 Right hand or Left Hand
 Hang loose
 Clapping hands.

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FINGERS

 The “O.K.” signal. (the thumb and forefinger form a

circle) means
 Thumb-up
 Avoid a thumb-up in these countries: Australia, New
Zealand, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Russia, and most
African countries.
 Pointing.

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WALKING

 Walking can reflect many characteristics of a

culture. For example,
In parts of Asia and some of the Middle
Eastern countries, men who are friends may
walk holding each other’s hand.
In Japan and Korea, older women commonly
walk a pace or two behind male companion.
Asians often regard Western women as bold
and aggressive, for they walk with a longer gait
and a more upright posture.

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Body Language – Culture difference
                                                                                                                                  

The Head
 Nodding of Head

 Tossing the Head backward

 Rocking head slowly back and forth

Body Language – Culture Difference
Facial Expression
 Eyebrow
 Eyes
 Ear
 Nose
 Lips
 Mouth
Gestures
 Definition : A gesture is a form of non-verbal
communication in which visible bodily
actions communicate particular messages,
either in place of speech or together and in
parallel with spoken words.
Source - Wikipedia
Gestures - 3 Most Common “cross-culturally” used
gestures.

 The Ring

 The “Thumbs-up”

 The V - Sign
Gestures – The Ring
 Sign of “Okay” or “all correct” in
Western World.
 In Mediterranean Vulgar, you
infer that the person is
Homosexual.
 Don’t do this to French, if you
want to appreciate his creation,
food or outfit – as it means a BIG
ZERO
 Don’t even try this when in
Turkey !!
Gestures - Thumbs - Up
 Signifies the
expression of “Power”
because of its strength.
 Sign on “all the best”,
“All OK” in West.
 But in Greece, it
extremely Vulgar sign
of sexual nature.
Never hitch-hike in Greece !!.
Gestures – V Sign
 Can mean :
 Victory to a German
 Two to an American
 Up *%£^& in Britain (if
palm is facing towards the
speaker)

Englishman who uses it to tell a German 'up yours' could leave the
German thinking he'd won a prize
Body Parts - Hands
 Hand shaking is a form
of greeting in most
Western cultures.
 In middle east, a gentle
grip is appropriate.
 In most Asian cultures,
a gentle grip and an
avoidance of eye
contacts is appropriate
Tone of Voice

 Tone of voice affects the way we interpret

the information.
 Presenter should be aware of volume.
 In Japan never raise your voice, however in
Nigeria it is acceptable.
 Pace – Americas : Fast Pace
 EU and Asia: Slow Pace
Summary

 Its very important to be aware of the cultural

differences while presenting.
 Now we know how to use body language to
communicate and present better in different
cultures.
 Thank You

 Question’s Please ?