NON VERBAL COMMUNICATION

Table of contents

I. INTRODUCTION
II. FACIAL EXPRESSIONS
1. General Information
2. Examples – fact sheets:
3. Conclusion
III. GREETING
1. General Explanation
2. Examples – fact sheets:
3. Conclusion
IV. INTIMACY & PRIVACY
1. Introduction
2. Examples – fact sheets:
3. Conclusion
V. CONCLUSION
 I. INTRODUCTION

(by Jiri Voves)

Non-verbal communication plays an important role in our daily life. More than
90% of all the communication we use in our daily life to share information is supported
by body language. Non-verbal communication can be defined as the process of sending
and receiving messages via means other than words, like facial expressions, gestures,
behaviour, tone of voice, etc.
This is why we should pay extra special attention to this topic and try to learn
more about our gestures, expressions and behaviour. Once we are able to understand our
body language and other aspects of non-verbal communication, we will be able to
communicate more easily with other people and we will find it easier to avoid
misunderstandings.

In order to understand body language and other aspects of non-verbal

communication, we need to focus on our behaviour during the conversation. Our body
sends out signals no matter where we are, what we are doing or the time of the day. Our
body does not know how to lie; it cannot “be turned off”. Our opinion is based on both
the words we hear and the signals we receive from the other person via their body
language.
This is why we are able to like somebody, even though we have never spoken with that
person. In this case our opinion is based on the signals we receive from that person.

This paper will talk about certain aspects of non-verbal communication. We will focus
on gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, hand gestures, body postures, the way we
move, tone of voice and the way we wear our clothes.

The importance of non-verbal communication increases when we are faced

with a different culture, especially in the case when we do not speak the language very
well and we need to use our hands in order to support our vocabulary. We have to be
careful about our body language and gestures as every culture uses non-verbal
communication in a different way. Some cultures express themselves by using a lot of
body language (e.g. southern Europe), whereas it is almost hidden by other cultures (e.g.
Japan). From my personal experience, I saw that Japanese body language is hidden and
the gestures are done very subtly, nevertheless non-verbal communication plays a big
role in how people communicate with each other. Even if gestures are not very explicit,
we should not underestimate the power of non-verbal communication. These subtle
gestures can have an even stronger meaning than one may expect in comparison to their
own culture. Therefore we should focus on these gestures, being very aware of them and
try do decode even the smallest detail in the body language of a person.

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 II. FACIAL EXPRESSIONS
(by Kaori NAKAZATO)

1. General Information

A look on a person’s face can show their thoughts and feelings, communicating
their emotions through a smile, frown, raised eyebrow, yawn or sneer. The area around
the eyes and mouth transmits a large volume of information. Facial expressions
continuously change during interaction and are constantly observed by the recipient.
Therefore, the receiver’s own emotional state is a crucial factor in determining how the
facial expressions are interpreted.

Facial expressions also relate to the facial features. A person’s face is seen as an
important source of information about their personality. For example, a person with a
curved mouth is likely to be judged as friendly, cheerful, easy-going, kind, likeable and
with a sense of humor, intelligent, well adjusted and so on.

Facial expressions (or all non-verbal communication) are used to display,

conceal, and to fake emotions. We both consciously and subconsciously make facial
expressions at anytime throughout the day. We send and receive all kinds of messages to
each other using facial expressions. Sometimes we pretend to be interested in
something when really we are not or because we have already been told before. This
behavior is sometimes essential to establish a good relationship with others.

If there is a conflict between the verbal and non-verbal message, the receiver
tends to believe the non-verbal message because it is beyond the communicator’s
control and therefore more “truthful” and will better reflect the communicator’s
emotional state. This means that the receiver can rely heavily on the facial expressions
of the sender to understand the meaning behind the words.

2. Examples – fact sheets:

A.
1. Topic: Facial Expression
2. Country: Japan
3. Nationality/Gender: German / girl
4. Situation: When I asked a Japanese girl (who is going to participate in an
exchange program for one year) some typical questions about Japan, she did not
look at me during the conversation.
5. Reaction: I tried to explain to her that it is very important to look at someone
when they are talking, especially when she is going to communicate with western
people.
6. Conclusion: Japanese people do not often look you in the eyes when they talk,
particularly with strangers or elders, however, it is judged to be very rude in

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 European countries.

B
1. Topic: Facial Expression
2. Country: The Czech Republic
3. Nationality/Gender: Japanese / female
4. Situation: I felt that Czech people look very serious when they are talking.
5. Reaction: I sometimes felt confused as to whether the story was serious or funny
and if I was allowed to smile or not.
6. Conclusion: Japanese people are not used to this serious look on the face of the
person with whom they are talking to, unless s/he seems to be very serious or in a
bad mood. In the EU, there are comparatively fewer people that smile while they are
talking, although they always look you in the eye, which sometimes confuses the
Japanese (see example A).

C
1. Topic: Facial Expression
2. Country: France
3. Nationality / Gender: Japanese / female
4. Situation: I feel that French people speak loudly and never smile even though
they are just having a chat with their friends.
5. Reaction: I felt as if they were having an argument or fighting with each other. I
felt scared.
6. Conclusion: It is almost the same with the example B. It also shows that the tone
or the loudness of the voice differs between Japan and France.

D
1. Topic: Facial Expression
2. Country: Italy
3. Nationality/Gender: Japanese / female
4. Situation: In the south of Italy, I experienced that all the strangers were smiling
at me and I saw them smiling to each other a lot. Even the police officer winked
at me.
5. Reaction: I smiled back and I felt comfortable.
6. Conclusion: Japanese people do not usually smile at strangers or foreigners, as
they would rather look away. However Italian people tend to have more eye
contact with each other. This is a positive example of a cultural difference that
was experienced.

E
3. Topic: Facial Expression
4. Country: Belgium - French
5. Nationality/Gender: Japanese/Male
6. Situation: I saw people wink at me when we said goodbye or when our eyes
happened to meet.

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 7. Reaction: I smiled back.
8. Conclusion: In Belgium this is one of the ways to show that there is a
connection with each other. In Japan this very rarely happens and if it does, then
it usually has a deep significance.

F
1. Topic: Facial Expression
2. Country: Japan
3. Nationality/Gender: In the meeting about “Non-verbal communication” there
were Czech, German, Belgian and Japanese, both male and female.
4. Situation: An example of a facial expression, which has a special meaning:
“UWAMEZUKAI” this is the Japanese girls’ special way of looking at men who
they like. Also it is used to appear “cute”. (It is sometimes used by boys when
they want to be thought of as “cool”)
5. Reaction: When the Japanese girls used this facial expression, the EU
participants laughed.
6. Conclusion: The Japanese participants did not realize how common it was to
make this face. There are many differences between the cultures; however, it is
not always easy to find if there is only one point of view. We realised that it is
necessary to have the other point of view to find out our own special customs or
differences between the cultures.

3. Conclusion

・ Facial expressions convey many feelings and thoughts.

・ When you are in different culture, it is necessary to “observe” the different forms of
non verbal communication and learn about what the meanings.
・ We need both our own point of view and the other point of view to identify the
cultural differences and to discover and understand our own culture.

Danger behind the Assumption:

・Stereotyping: If we judge the facial expressions just from our own experiences or
images, it is likely to cause misunderstandings.
・Self-fulfilling prophecy: We need to observe, ask and try to find out the meanings of
the facial expressions, especially when we are in a different culture. Even though
there are many facial expressions in common all over the world, we cannot make
assumptions as to their meanings.

III. GREETING

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(by Tomomi MURAOKA & Ayana EGAMI)

1. General Explanation
Greeting is very important for everyone because it is often the first
communication when people meet each other. Each country has a different way of
greeting and sometimes they express a different meaning, in fact, the greeting does not
just mean to say “Hello” or “Good-bye” to someone. This is why the greeting can be a
form of non verbal-communication.

When we do not know the other culture very well, we cannot see the real
meaning which is hidden behind a greeting, even if we can easily imitate the form of
greeting, so it is easy to cause misunderstandings between cultures.

The following examples show us the misunderstandings which can occur when
greetings are put in a different cultural context, used for different reasons, and the forms
of reactions.

2. Examples – fact sheets:

A
1. Topic: Greeting
2. Country: Belgium-French
3. Nationality/Gender: Japanese/Female
4. Situation: I saw that in the French part of Belgium people kiss each other on the
cheek once and in the Flemish part of Belgium people tend to kiss three times. In
the French part, men kiss each other on the cheek even when they do not know the
person very well. In the Flemish part, men never kiss one another when they greet
and strangers are only given one kiss.
5. Reaction: I always looked at my host family first and acted in the same way.
6. Conclusion: Belgian people use “body communication” more often than the
Japanese. I think that kissing each other means, “I know you are my friends” or “I
trust you”. Even in the same country like in Belgium, they have different ways of
greeting each other.

B
1. Topic: Greeting
2. Country: Belgium-French
3. Nationality/Gender: Japanese/Male
4. Situation: I saw people winking at me when we said goodbye or if our eyes
happened to meet.
5. Reaction: I smiled back.
6. Conclusion: Winking is one form of non-verbal communication. It is the way of
showing that there is a relationship between you and the other person when you
meet each other! You can just smile back or wave to the person if you know
him/her. However, if it is a stranger on the street it is better to ignore him/her

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 because otherwise you are considered to have an interest in them and want to
become involved with him/her.

C
1. Topic: Greeting
2. Country: Austria
3. Nationality/Gender: Japanese/Female
4. Situation: In Austria people tend to greet one another by shaking hands the first
time they meet. The second or third time they meet, they kiss each other on the
cheek. People were so warm hearted and they were used to having contact with
foreigner people. They welcome foreigners and it was very comfortable even
when I was in the town all by myself.
5. Reaction: I copied the way that the Austrians greet, although I felt confused as to
when I should change from shaking hands to kissing.
6. Conclusion: The Austrian way of greeting is a little bit complicated for foreigners.
We have to observe how people greet each other.

D
1. Topic: Greeting
2. Country: Belgium
3. Nationality/Gender: Japanese/female
4. Situation: On the first night of the Home Stay, my host father came to say “Good-
night”, using a hand sign which the Japanese use for “Itadakimasu” or
“Gohcisousama”
5. Reaction: I explained that this is the way Thai people greet. The Japanese do not
have this kind of greeting.
6. Conclusion: There is a misunderstanding between Japanese and Belgium about the
form of greeting. It is a good opportunity to solve possible misunderstandings.

E
1. Topic: Greeting
2. Country: Slovakia
3. Nationality/Gender: Japanese/Female
4. Situation: I was so surprised when I heard that my host sister still kisses her ex-
boyfriend when they greet, not on his cheek but on his lips, even though she has a
new boyfriend.
5. Reaction: Surprised.
6. Conclusion: For the Japanese, a kiss on the lips signifies that there exists some sort
of relationship, however, for the people in Slovakia it is a common custom
although it depends on the relationship. Japanese are not used to the European’s
way of greeting, so sometimes it can cause confusion.

F
1. Topic: Greeting
2. Country: Portugal
3. Nationality/Gender: Japanese/Male
4. Situation: When I met with my host aunt the first time, I tried to shake her hand

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 instead of kissing her as a greeting. After, my host brother told me not to do so.
5. Reaction: I didn’t understand why I couldn’t do so and I asked him for an
explanation.
6. Conclusion: In Portugal, one never shakes hands when he greets a woman because
shaking hands with a woman means that you do not want to kiss her. It is a very
impolite way to greet a woman.

G
1. Topic: Greeting
2. Country: Italy
3. Nationality/Gender: Japanese/Female
4. Situation: The first day of staying at the Host Family, my host mother kissed me
on my lips and not on my cheeks.
5. Reaction: I was shocked and couldn’t move at all but I smiled because I did not
want to make her feel bad. I could feel that she was very happy.
6. Conclusion: The differences in customs can be very confusing or uncomfortable.

3. Conclusion
These examples and experiences show that there are several ways of greeting in
each country; even in one country there are different ways of greeting. It is best to
observe what people do and follow their actions or ask someone about the local habits
concerning the way people greet each other the first time they meet.

In southern EU countries, kissing and hugging are the most popular way of
greeting, and in the other countries, hugs or shaking hands are very common, while in
Japan people never have physical contact when they greet.

European people show their closeness and intimacy by using their bodies but
Japanese are not used to doing so. Instead of using physical contact, Japanese often use
a smile or bow when they greet. A bow can mean, “I respect you” or “thank you”.

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 IV. INTIMACY & PRIVACY
(by Sandrine COSENTINO & Tomoo SAWAYAMA)

1. Introduction

There are 3 aspects on intimacy.

First, intimacy can be a state of having close personal relationship with

someone. According to professor Kanemoto from Ibaraki University, Japanese rather
prefer a larger distance between each other while talking and will therefore avoid
physical contact, especially in the beginning. In some European countries, mostly in
western countries, they use physical contacts while they are talking and the personal
space between people is smaller. By observing the way people greet you can also
recognise if the personal space between them is small or large. E.g.: kissing is closer
than shaking hands or bowing.

The second aspect is related to the condition of being able to be alone and not
be seen or heard by other people. For example, the intimacy in your bedroom when you
are changing clothes. Keep in mind that it depends on the country, the individual
personality and the situation.

Finally, the third aspect is connected to the privacy and the fact of keeping your
own feelings and thoughts a secret. Some people want to keep their secrets private.
They keep the distance so they do not need to tell anything. The remark that we have
mentioned before must also be applied to this subject.

2. Examples – fact sheets:

A
1. Topic: intimacy
2. Country: Japan
3. Nationality/Gender: Czech Republic/Male
4. Situation: in Japan, people might feel offended when you enter into their personal
space (including shaking hands).
5. Reaction: At first, I thought people were afraid of me. However I realised that you
have to be sensitive, patient and try to be a mirror by observing people. If the other
person is more open to you, you can come closer.
6. Conclusion: Personal space in Japan is a much bigger issue than in Europe.

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 1. Topic: Intimacy
2. Country: Sweden
3. Nationality/Gender: Japanese/Female
4. Situation: When I was walking with my host cousin, he asked me to link arms with
him.
5. Reaction: I was surprised because in Japan this kind of thing is only for couples.
6. Conclusion: In Europe in general, it is acceptable to link arms together even though
we are not a couple. Personal space in Europe is much smaller than in Japan.

C
1. Topic: intimacy
2. Country: Belgium
3. Gender: Japanese/Female
4. Situation: In my host family, they do not lock the bathroom door.
5. Reaction: The guest may not be accustomed to using the bathroom without locking
the door and they may feel uncomfortable.
6. Conclusion: Sometimes, people need to feel safe (by locking the door for example)
in a private room.

3. Conclusion

It is very important to respect intimacy and privacy as this can be very different in each
country and for each person, so it can be difficult to understand the reaction of the other
person.
We must be careful because one action can have different meanings and can be
experienced differently. We also have to keep in mind the context of the action.
It is important to avoid misunderstandings:
- To observe and to try to do like the others
- To be sensitive to the actions of the people and try to understand without any
judgment
- To be open to understand and to respect
- To be patient with the people that have a different culture
- To ask, if we are uncertain or if we don't understand something

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 V. CONCLUSION
(by Claudia SCHORR)

Regarding intercultural communication, you can find a diversity of gestures,

facial expressions etc. When people with different cultural backgrounds are
communicating, you can even find different gestures expressing the same idea or the
same gestures meaning something totally different (look at link to “gestures”).

While comparing Japanese and European communication, non-verbal

communication seems to be more important to the Japanese. This can be explained by
the fact that European people express themselves directly in comparison with the
Japanese.

Therefore, problems can occur when European and Japanese people

communicate non-verbally.
How can misunderstandings be avoided?
When communicating it is not only important to pay close attention to what
somebody is saying, but also to observe what someone’s body “is saying”. That means
to pay attention to the gestures and to the facial expression someone is using.
Especially when a European person is asking a “yes- or no- question”. For a European
person it is impossible to have a real “no” from a Japanese person (in case of meaning
no). This is part of direct and indirect communication (->link), but the non-verbal
communication also plays an important role, especially in the described situation above.
What does a Japanese face look like in that situation (-> facial expressions)?
On the other hand, it might seem quite tough for Japanese people how
European people are communicating so directly.

In order to achieve effective communication, you also need to pay attention to

someone’s body language etc. It is not enough to just “understand” what someone is
expressing verbally, using words. (Look at link “direct and indirect communication”).

To be able to interpret non-verbal communication correctly you need of course

experience. So, every time you are communicating (intercultural) you gain more
experience, which also means that you will develop a good sense for the right behaviour.
In order to avoid offending someone or misunderstandings, this can be very important!

What you can do is to remind yourself to be aware of the importance of non-

verbal communication. So, watch out! ☺ However stay alert, to learn about other ways
of communication and do not hesitate to ask, when you are not sure about it! Learning
the skills of non-verbal communication between different cultures is after all part of
intercultural learning.

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