Number 10 is used in Italy to say “Hello.” For Indonesians, Malaysians, and some speakers of Arabic, it signals “Come here.”
Number 11 means “Oh, I forgot.” or an expression of surprise.
The gesture in Number 12 means “Slow down, relax or wait a second.”
Ring gesture
Britain: something is good France: zero or worthless Tunisia: I’ll kiss you America: something is good Latin America: insult
Text A Nonverbal Communication
Main means of communication : oral communication and written
communication.
Nonverbal Communication
Nonverbal codes refer to communicative messages which are not in word form.
Substitution
3. A group of people is boisterous, you might place your index finger to your lips to send the message: “please calm down so that I can speak.”
Some signals are common
Fiddling with pencil / glasses Hold over mouth Wriggling in the chair, looking at
your watch
Text B: Making a Gesture
Do you know what the following gestures means?
Nonverbal Communication
Objects: To understand what nonverbal communication is and what function it serves To learn cultural rules governing posture, gesture, eye contact, facial expressions, body touch and smell.
Speech is silver; silence is gold.
Why is nonverbal communication important?
What’s wrong with this poster?
It was this poster that made the film banned in Thailand. Why?
Nonverbal communication is the communication using our bodies, gestures and tones of voice—everything except the actual words we use.
Nonverbal communication is the communication without words.
Thumbs-up sign
Britain: something is good Sardinia: insult Greece: insult
Beckoning
Lower-lid of your eye
Indicate alertness
V-sign
What can we learn from this sign? How about a “V” with the back towards
volume speed
silence pause
Gesture; posture; stance Appearance
Time Orientation
Consider the past and you will know the present.
--Chinese saying
Time Orientation
Number 2 is normally used when talking privately about a third person, meaning that person is crazy, often in a joking way.
Number 3 indicates “I have no idea.” / “I don’t know.”
contradiction
4. Just before an important examination, you tell someone you are relaxed and at ease, yet your voice quavers and your hands shake.
5. The pause in a conversation may indicate a turn-taking.
“Something is a bit suspicious / odd here.”
“Come here.”
Number 9 is widely used in the US to mean “Great, perfect, acceptable, O. K.” But is Belgium and France, it means “zero”; in Turkey, Brazil, Greece, and Malta, it has an obscene meaning; and in Tunisia, it is used as a threat.
The gesture in Picture 4 means that “I can’t / didn’t hear you.”
Number 5 means “That’s enough. It’s all over for me.”
In Picture 6 the “thumbs down” sign indicates “rejection” or “refusal”, “defeat” or “no good” or “bad news” to Americans.

Study Areas
Time language Space language Body language Paralanguage
Characteristics
The characteristics of nonverbal communication
omnipresent shared
More than 55% messages are communicated nonverbally!
Average European
Body language / NVC signals
Body and facial gestures Eye contact Body contact or “ proximity” Clothing and physical appearance The quality of speech
the audience?
Teaching Contents
Nonverbal Communication (NVC) The Underestimated Status of NVC Four Study Areas of NVC
On NVC
Definition and study area Characteristics of NVC Functions of NVC
Act out the following ideas:
Me? Stop. No. Come here. I’m full. It’s smelly here. I don’t know. Go away.
I can’t hear it. I am surprised. We share a secret. Everything is fine. I’m warning you. I feel embarrassed. I cannot believe this nonsense. Oops, I forgot it.
learned
Functions
Do you sometimes wave your hand when saying good-bye to somebody?
How do you greet a guest when he/she is introduced to you at a formal occasion?
Read the following situations and try to figure out some basic functions of nonverbal communication.
1. When we say "The new museum is south of that building", we usually point in a certain direction.
Number 1 is used together with the verbal message “Let’s keep our fingers crossed” in the United States, England, and Sweden to mean that the person is hoping for good luck. But in Greece and Turkey it means the breaking of a friendship, and in parts of Italy it means “O.K.”.