BODY SPEAKS: THE

IMPORTANCE OF BODY LANGUAGE

2005 NACADA National Conference

Kris Rugsaken
Ball State university
Muncie, Indiana

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How Does Body Speak?
- Like any spoken
language, body language
has words, sentences
and punctuation.
- Each gesture is like a
single word and one
word may have several
different meanings.

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 BODILY SPEAKING…
 According to the social anthropologist,
Edward T. Hall, in a normal conversation
between two persons, less than 35% of
the social meanings is actually transmitted
by words.
 So, at least 65% of it is conveyed through
the body (non-verbal channel).

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 Why Is It Important to
Understand Body Language?
 A murder case in Los Angeles in 1988.
 President Bush senior in Australia in 1993
 An American teenager in Nigeria in 1997
 An American couple in New Zealand in
1999
 People in other parts of the globe are
more perceptive to “body language” than
the North Americans (do).
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 Let’s Examine How Body
Communicates, from head to toes

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 HEAD
- Nodding the head
- “Yes” in most societies
- “No” in some parts of Greece, Yugoslavia,
Bulgaria, and Turkey
- Tossing the head backward
- “yes” in Thailand, the Philippines, India, Laos
- Rocking head slowly, back and forth
- “yes, I’m listening” in most Asian cultures

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FACE

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 FACE
* Facial expressions reflect emotion,
feelings and attitudes, but…..
* The Asians are sometimes known as
- emotionless
- mixed-up emotion

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 EYES
* Eye contacts
- Encouraged in America, Canada, Europe
- Rude in most Asian countries and in Africa
* Raising eyebrows
- “Yes” in Thailand and some Asian countries
- “Hello” in the Philippines
* Winking eye
- Sharing secret in America and Europe
- flirtatious gesture in other countries

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 EYES (Cont’d)
* Closed eyes
- bored or sleepy in America
- “I’m listening and concentrating.” in Japan,
Thailand, China

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 EARS
* Ear grasp
- “I’m sorry.” in parts of India
* Cupping the ear
- “I can’t hear you.” in all societies
* Pulling ear
- “You are in my heart” for Navajo Indians

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 NOSE
* Holding the nose
- “Something smells bad.” universal
* Nose tap
- “It’s confidential.” England
- “Watch out!” or "Be careful.” Italy

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 NOSE
* Pointing to nose
- “It’s me.” Japan
* Blowing nose
- In most Asian countries, blowing the
nose at social gathering is ‘disgusting.’

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 CHEEKS
* Cheek screw
- gesture of praise - Italy
- “That’s crazy.” Germany
* Cheek stroke
- “pretty, attractive, success” most Europe

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 LIPS AND MOUTH
* Whistle, yawn, smile, bite, point, sneeze, spit, kiss..
* Kiss. In parts of Asia, kissing is considered an intimate
sexual act and not permissible in public, even as a social
greeting.
* Kissing sound. To attract attention in the Philippines, to
beckon a waiter in Mexico.
* Finger tip kiss. In France, it conveys several messages,
“That’s good!” “That’s great!” “That’s beautiful!.”

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 LIPS AND MOUTH (Cont’d)
* Spitting.
* Spitting in public is considered rude and crude
in most Western cultures.
* In the PRC and many other Asian countries,
spitting in public is to rid a person’s waste
and, therefore, is healthy.

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 THE LIP POINTING
* Lip pointing (a substitute for pointing with
the hand or finger) is common among
Filipinos, Native Americans, Puerto
Ricans, and many Latin Americans.
* Open mouth. Any display of the open
mouth is considered very rude in most
countries.

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 ARMS
* Some cultures, like the Italians, use the
arms freely. Others, like the Japanese,
are more reserved; it is considered
impolite to gesticulate with broad
movements of the 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.”
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 ARMS (Cont’d)
* Arms akimbo. In many cultures, this
stance signals aggression, resistance,
impatience, or even anger.
* Arms behind back, hands grasped is a
sign of ease and control.
* Arms in front, hands grasped, common
practice in most Asian countries, is a sign
of mutual respect for others.

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 HANDS
* Of all the body parts, the hands are
probably used most for communicating
non-verbally.
* Hand waves are used for greetings,
beckoning, or farewells.

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 HANDS
* The Italian “good-bye” wave can be
interpreted by Americans as the gesture of
“come here.”
* The American “good-bye” wave can be
interpreted in many parts of Europe and Latin
America as the signal for “no.”

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 HANDS (Cont’d)
* Beckoning.
* The American way of getting attention (raising
a hand with the index finger raised above
head) could be considered rude in Japan, and
also means “two” in Germany.
* The American “come here” gesture could be
seen as an insult in most Asian countries.
* In China, to beckon a waiter to refill your tea,
simply turn your empty cup upside down.

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 HANDS (Cont’d)
* Handshaking is a form of
greeting in most Western
cultures.
* In the Middle East, a gentle grip
is appropriate.
* In most Asian cultures, a gentle
grip and an avoidance of direct
eye contact is appropriate.

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 HANDS
* Hand-holding among
the same sex is a
custom of special
friendship and respect
in several Middle
Eastern and Asian
countries.

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 HANDS (Cont’d)
* Right hand. The right hand has special
significance in many societies. In certain
countries in the Middle East and in Asia, it
is best to present business cards or gifts,
or to pass dishes of food, to get an
attention, using only the right hand or
both.
* Left hand is considered unclean in much
of the Middle East and in parts of
Indonesia. 25
 HANDS (Cont’d)
* Hang loose. (thumb and little finger
extended)
* could convey different meanings:
* in Hawaii, it’s a way of saying, “Stay cool,” or
“Relax.”
* in Japan, it means six.
* In Mexico (do vertically), it means, “Would you
like a drink?”

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 HANDS (Cont’d)
* Clapping hands.
* Russians and Chinese may use applause
to greet someone.
* In many central and eastern Europe,
audience frequently clap in rhythm.

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 FINGERS
* The “O.K.” signal. (the thumb and
forefinger form a circle) means
* “fine,” or “O.K.” in most cultures,
* “zero” or “worthless” in some parts of Europe
* “money” in Japan
* an insult in Greece, Brazil, Italy, Turkey,
Russia and some other countries

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 FINGERS (Cont’d)
* “Thumb-up” means:
* “O.K.” “good job” or “fine” in most cultures,
* “Up yours!” in Australia
* “Five” in Japan; “One” in Germany
* Avoid a thumb-up in these countries:
Australia, New Zealand, Greece, Turkey,
Iran, Russia, and most African countries.

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 FINGERS (Cont’d)
* Pointing.
* Pointing with the index finger is
common in North America and
Europe.
* But it is considered impolite in
Japan and China where they
favor using the whole open hand.
* Malaysians prefer pointing with
the thumb.

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 LEGS AND FEET
* In Asia, do not point with your toes.
* In Asia and some European countries,
putting feet up on a desk or any other
piece of furniture is very disrespectful.
* Sitting cross-legged, while common in
North America and some European
countries, is very impolite in other parts of
the world.

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 LEGS AND FEET (Cont’d)
* In most Asian countries,•a solid and
balanced sitting posture is the prevailing
custom. Sitting cross-legged shows the
sign of disrespect.
* In the Middle East and most parts of Asia,
resting the ankle over the other knee risks
pointing the sole of your shoe at another
person, which is considered a rude
gesture.

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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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 HOW PEOPLE OF VARIOUS PARTS
OF THE WORLD VIEW AMERICANS
* Careless with dress, manners, and body movement
* Generous as neighbors
* Superficial, shallow and short-lasting friendship
* Confident but demand almost too much of self
* Ethnocentric - less interested in others
* Independent - Individually feeling, not to “fit other’s
mold.”
* Source: Tyler, V. Lynn. Intercultural Interacting. (1987)

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 FOR ALL OF US…
• Becoming sensitive to the clues of
body language can help us
communicate more effectively
with students.

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• We can understand what students
are saying even when they are
not talking.

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• We can sense when students are
silent and digesting information,
or when they are silent and
confused.

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• We can share feelings too strong
or too difficult to be expressed in
words,

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• Or decode secret messages
passing silently from person to
person,

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• And we may spot contradictions
between what students say and
what they really mean.

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• Finally, we can learn to be more
sensitive to our own bodies – to
see how they express our feelings
and to see ourselves as others
see us.

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• We do not have
bodies; we are
our bodies.

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 THANKS! AND …..

∗ YOUR
∗ thoughts
∗ experiences
∗ questions

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