Across Borders and Cultures (zt)

The following is the copy of the speech that Wendy who is one of new members in our club did recently. I am so fortune to have such a privilege to read her speech and be able to share it with you as well.

At Toastmasters, we learn and practice all kinds of leadership and communication skills from each other by supporting each other in a very friendly environment. I am so glad that I made the decision to join the club about 2 years ago. Weekly meeting time at the club is one of my favorite "Me" times.

Please respect Wendy's copyright by using her writing in a proper way. The copyright is hers and I have asked her if I can share her speech in my blog. The enjoyment of reading is mine, may it is yours too. Here it goes:

Across Borders and Cultures

 

Toastmasters is all about leadership and communication. You’ll find that good leaders are usually good communicators. We all know that communicating effectively means more than knowing what to say and when to say it. Research tells us that only 7% of communication is what we say, 38% is how we say it, and 55% is non-verbal – comprised of body language, facial expressions and gestures.

 

All of us became proficient at body language as a means of communication long before we could speak a word. We had to. As we got older and our verbal skills improved, we relied less and less on our non-verbal skills.

 

We can see examples of non-verbal communication all around us – traffic police, athletes and referees, conductors, and teachers and parents. Just to mention a few.

 

Just as we don’t all speak English, we don’t all speak the same body language.

 

As the global village continues to shrink and cultures collide, it is essential for all of us to become more sensitive, more aware, and more observant to the myriad motions, gestures and body language that surround us each day. And, as many of us cross over cultural and physical borders, it would be fitting for us to learn more about the effective, yet powerful “silent language” of gestures.

 

We may not have time to learn a new language, but try to make time to learn the ‘signals’ of a country. This will help you to be a powerful communicator no matter where you are.

 

The same gesture used here could mean something entirely different somewhere else. Come with me on a whirlwind tour around the world to see how this works. For instance, this is a common gesture seen across North America. In most Western cultures, this means “good job” or “well-done”. But what does it mean in Italy Bonjourno and Germany? Guten tag. It means “one”. In Japan, Konichiwa it means “five”. And in Greece Yassas, Nigeria  Bawoni, and Iran Salaam, it is considered a rather rude gesture. Therefore, it could create a lot of confusion until one is well versed with the cultural influences and differences across the globe.

Let’s visit the ASIA PACIFIC region of the world. Here, emotional control and self-discipline are highly valued. In terms of communication, this translates to showing little emotion and only speaking when spoken to, or if you have something important to say. In contrast, here in the Western world, we are encouraged to speak out often and to be very expressive when we do. In communicating with Asians, we may think that they are not involved in the topic of conversation because they do not show any expression of interest in their face. Or you may see them sitting there with their eyes closed and their head nodding slightly. Is the topic so uninteresting that they are falling asleep? That’s most unlikely. More probably, they are listening attentively and have closed their eyes in contemplation.

Another thing to remember in this part of the world is that eye contact is not encouraged. It is considered rude and disrespectful, or even intimidating. That means that in Asia lack of eye contact is perfectly normal and polite behaviour, but from the Western viewpoint it could be interpreted as a sign of weakness or shyness.

Now, let’s hop over to continental EUROPE. Probably a little bit more familiar territory for some of you.

In France eye contact is considered too personal for use with strangers, and it could be construed as a request for a relationship if you look directly into a stranger’s eyes on the street or in a café.

If I am in France and I do this, I am saying that I promise to do whatever it is we are talking about.

Here’s a fun one. This means that someone is being loud and annoying.

What if you were to see this gesture in France? No, it doesn’t mean OK. It signifies “zero” or “worthless”.

Now in Germany, this same gesture is considered obscene.

I want to share a short story with you that illustrates the kind of trouble we can get into with the gestures we use. This is a story about a Latin woman who didn't speak much English. She worked at a corporation in the U.S. and had accused a male co-worker of sexual harassment. To assess the situation, they held a corporate hearing involving all the managers, the woman, the accused man, and an interpreter.

There was a very serious tone in the room as the woman was asked to explain the charge. After a few minutes of listening, the interpreter began to laugh. Everyone thought this was very inappropriate and asked him to explain why he was laughing.

The interpreter proceeded to relay what the woman had told him. The accused man had an office down the hall. Knowing that she didn’t speak much English, he signaled for her to come so he could show her what he wanted her to do. He had done this often and on several different occasions. That was when the interpreter had realized that it was a big cultural misunderstanding and began to laugh. The interpreter explained that this gesture has a completely different meaning to someone from certain parts of Latin America. It means that you are extremely romantically interested and is considered a solicitation. Once all parties understood the cultural contexts, the situation was resolved.

For future reference, the culturally correct way to gesture "come here" in Latin America, Spain, Africa and most of Asia, is like this.

Well, our whirlwind tour has come to an end. We managed to take in some of the more unusual sights in the silent world of hand gestures.

 

Do you think that there are universal gestures that mean the same thing everywhere you go? I used to think that nodding your head up and down always meant ‘Yes’ and that shaking your head from side to side always meant ‘No’, no matter where you were in the world. This isn’t true. I have learnt, through personal experience, that people from Sri Lanka, Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece all use these actions to mean the opposite to what we take them to mean. Many other countries also do not recognize these gestures to mean ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ as we do here. And when people from these countries come to live here, their communication patterns often do not change, even after many years.

Only one gesture has a universal meaning everywhere around the world, no matter where you are. It is known as the “Ultimate Gesture”. It is the smile. Use it freely and use it often as you cross borders and cultures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JustaVisitor]

Now it is my turn to think why Melly is smiling at me.:)

I don't know why I'm always interested in all kinds of things in life, and want to learn about them.

The good thing about it is that it keeps me learning; the bad thing is I don't really know what I really like to do.

I am glad that you like Wendy's writing and I like to share some of good things from life with my friends. It is a good feeling.

[melly]

Culture difference is always very interesting. I wish I could experience all different cultures some day.:-))) Living in a foreign country, knowing their basic culture might be the first step to swim and adapt into the new environment.However, we have an ultimate common language--- smile. Now I am smiling to you, girl!!!

Thanks for sharing.