Nonverbal Differences

 

When looking at a culture, it is not just about tradition or language. It is also about nonverbal messages. The small acts done to show how people feel and what they are wanting. How someone reacts to another person’s mannerisms and choices. When traveling abroad, it is imperative to know what nonverbal messages mean in the area. Even when traveling within the states it is essential to know. For example, if someone holds their arm out for you to go first in some states, they are being kind and offering for you to be first. In other states, someone holding their arm out can be a symbol of annoyance and them wanting you to be away from them! If you are not able to know the difference between these two gestures, then you might continue to do whatever activity led to one person to be annoyed (and likely more!). Not knowing this can lead to stereotypes against your culture in the areas that you’re visiting in. Whether across a single region or to whole countries, each area has their own way of interpreting the same nonverbal cues.

 

 

During my time here in England, I think that of all the ways to communicate nonverbally, attire and gestures have been the easiest way to communicate nonverbally. Throughout most of the parts of England that we visited, it was common to see people in sleek outfits of darker clothing and little decoration or designs. However, if you needed to ask for something, the friendliest people were always wearing bright colors and accessories. Sometimes, those sorts of people would even come right up to you if you looked lost enough! I thought that this was super interesting because the common knowledge that I got from friends before leaving was that no one wears clothing to stand out and no one will come up to you as a tourist if they are a local! It has been very interesting to me, seeing how down to a person’s very clothing is an indication of their friendliness level. I feel like in the states, it is not nearly the same. While you might be more bound to ask directions from someone in a simple top and jeans than someone in a gothic outfit, their personality and not their friendliness is based off of their outfit.

Aside from attire, gestures has also been a huge indicator to a person’s feelings about you. If someone doesn’t want to talk, they will move their hands to their pockets. If they are open to talking, they will keep their hands at their sides or use them to gesture (which has been a telltale sign for when people actually want to give you clear directions and not!!). Meanwhile, if they are treating you professionally, they will fold their hands behind them. Being able to spot those changes in hand placement has been very telling about what a person thinks of me!

 

 

While hand gestures shows what a person thinks of you, their body language shows what they think about themselves! For example, people who walk in the middle of the sidewalk are either obvious tourists or are people who think very highly of themselves and will certainly not be moving aside for you! People who have high respect for themselves also keep their heads up constantly, they are not spending time looking at their phone or the other people around them. Personally, my head has been on a constant swivel and I think a few folks have wondered if I’m a crazy person! I am always trying to take every movement around me into account, and while it has been good in some scenarios, it hasn’t always been necessary. In the times it hasn’t been necessary, I have caught a few people giving me a frown… As an American, I feel like I always need to be extremely aware of my surroundings as things are always moving so fast. Maybe because everything is slower paced here, that is why I earned those looks!