University of Alexandru Ioan

Cuza-FEAA

Cultural Differences in
Non-verbal
Communication
Students:
Durnea Ioana
Iacob Beatrice-Alexandra

What is non-verbal
communication?
Nonverbal

communication or body language is

an important part of how people communicate
and there are differences from culture to
culture.

The

most important thing to keep in mind

about non-verbal behaviors is that they do not
translate across cultures easily and can lead to
serious misunderstanding.

1.

What are these people

saying in your opinion?

2.

Cultural Differences
Posture:
- standing with the hands on the hips in Argentina suggest anger or a
challenge; in our culture this posture is common.
- bowing not done in US, often criticized; but shows rank in Japan.
- sitting with legs crossed common in our cultures, but offensive in Ghana,
Turkey;

Gesture:
-the use of a finger or hand to indicate come here
please in some cultures is very offensive for Asians,
even pointing something with a finger, typically they
use their entire hand to point smth.
-the Ok sing-meaning perfect in American culture, in
Tunisia means Ill kill you, in Japan- money and in
Belgium, France, Portugal, Italy, Greece-zero or nothing.
- the gesture from the picture in the right in France
means I dont believe you and in Somalia means I see
you or Look

Cultural Differences
Facial expressions:
-Smiling is an expression of happiness in most cultures, but some Chinese may
smile when they are discussing something sad or uncomfortable.
-Winking has very different connotations in different cultures: in some Latin
American this is a romantic invitation; in Nigeria may wink at their children if
they want them to leave the room; or many Chinese consider winking to be rude.

Eye contact and Gaze

- Refusing to make eye contact is a sign of disrespect, for example in
America or even in Romania;
-In Latin America good eye contact is important in both social and
business situations.
-Arabic Cultures make prolonged eye-contact. They believe that it shows
interest and helps them understand truthfulness of the other person.
-In Japan, Africa and Caribbean: avoid eye contact to show respect;

Touch
- USA,Midle East: handshake hugs, kisses are common;
- Cultures like England,Germany,China,Japan,with high
emotional restraint concept
have little public touch.
- In Muslim cultures,touch between opposite gendered is generally
inappropiate.

Paralanguage
-in Japan giggling indicates discomfort;in India- belch
indicates satisfaction;
-Vocal qualifiers(volume, rhythm, tempo and tone) represent
strenght in Arabic culture and authority to the Germans,a
high tone indicates impoliteness to the Thais or loss of
control in Japan.
-Vocal segregates(un-huh, shh, uh, ooh, hmm) indicate
formality, acceptance, assent, uncertainty in all cultures.

Head movements
The signal for Yes and the signal for No are exactly the opposite in
a few cultures, for example Bulgarian.
They nod back for no and forth for yes.

Conclusion
Non-verbal

communication is as
important as the verbal one because
it offers plenty of clues of what
someone is trying to say.