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Title: BODY SPEAKS: THE IMPORTANCE OF BODY LANGUAGE


1
BODY SPEAKS THE IMPORTANCE OF BODY LANGUAGE
  • 2005 NACADA National Conference
  • Kris Rugsaken
  • Ball State university
  • Muncie, Indiana

2
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.

3
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).

4
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).

5
Lets Examine How Body Communicates, from head to
toes
6
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, Im listening in most Asian cultures

7
FACE
8
FACE
  • Facial expressions reflect emotion, feelings and
    attitudes, but..
  • The Asians are sometimes known as
  • emotionless
  • mixed-up emotion

9
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

10
EYES (Contd)
  • Closed eyes
  • bored or sleepy in America
  • Im listening and concentrating. in Japan,
    Thailand, China

11
EARS
  • Ear grasp
  • Im sorry. in parts of India
  • Cupping the ear
  • I cant hear you. in all societies
  • Pulling ear
  • You are in my heart for Navajo Indians

12
NOSE
  • Holding the nose
  • Something smells bad. universal
  • Nose tap
  • Its confidential. England
  • Watch out! or "Be careful. Italy

13
NOSE
  • Pointing to nose
  • Its me. Japan
  • Blowing nose
  • In most Asian countries, blowing the nose at
    social gathering is disgusting.

14
CHEEKS
  • Cheek screw
  • gesture of praise - Italy
  • Thats crazy. Germany
  • Cheek stroke
  • pretty, attractive, success most Europe

15
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, Thats good! Thats great! Thats
    beautiful!.

16
LIPS AND MOUTH (Contd)
  • 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 persons waste
    and, therefore, is healthy.

17
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.

18
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.

19
ARMS (Contd)
  • 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.

20
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.

21
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.

22
HANDS (Contd)
  • 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.

23
HANDS (Contd)
  • 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.

24
HANDS
  • Hand-holding among the same sex is a custom of
    special friendship and respect in several Middle
    Eastern and Asian countries.

25
HANDS (Contd)
  • 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.

26
HANDS (Contd)
  • Hang loose. (thumb and little finger extended)
  • could convey different meanings
  • in Hawaii, its a way of saying, Stay cool, or
    Relax.
  • in Japan, it means six.
  • In Mexico (do vertically), it means, Would you
    like a drink?

27
HANDS (Contd)
  • Clapping hands.
  • Russians and Chinese may use applause to greet
    someone.
  • In many central and eastern Europe, audience
    frequently clap in rhythm.

28
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

29
FINGERS (Contd)
  • 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.

30
FINGERS (Contd)
  • 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.

31
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.

32
LEGS AND FEET (Contd)
  • 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.

33
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 others 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.

34
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
    others mold.
  • Source Tyler, V. Lynn. Intercultural
    Interacting. (1987)

35
FOR ALL OF US
  • Becoming sensitive to the clues of body language
    can help us communicate more effectively with
    students.

36
  • We can understand what students are saying even
    when they are not talking.

37
  • We can sense when students are silent and
    digesting information, or when they are silent
    and confused.

38
  • We can share feelings too strong or too difficult
    to be expressed in words,

39
  • Or decode secret messages passing silently from
    person to person,

40
  • And we may spot contradictions between what
    students say and what they really mean.

41
  • 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.

42
  • We do not have bodies we are our bodies.

43
THANKS! AND ..
  • YOUR
  • thoughts
  • experiences
  • questions
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