As I was watching a foreign film at home, a question popped into my mind. We use nonverbal communication to express emotions, but how might our body language be interpreted differently across other cultures? I’ll use this photo as an example. In the US, this man will likely be interpreted as happy due to the use of the thumbs up gesture accompanied with the expression on his face. While in a country like Iran, people would be offended by the thumbs up gesture. This man would be giving a very mixed message when his facial expression is taken into account. Facial expressions seem to be the only true universal means of nonverbal communication. The six universal facial expressions don’t vary much across cultures.
Beyond the scope of hand gestures, misinterpretation is open to body postures. I’ve noted whenever I’m feeling sad about something, I tend to slouch more. I found that slouching is considered rude in most northern European countries. How would you modify your nonverbal communication to avoid offense if you were to travel to a foreign country?
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