Nonverbal Differences in Cross-Cultural Communication

Working in a diverse world can present interesting, yet sometimes challenging, opportunities for today’s customer service representatives. If you earn your living by providing products and services to others, you should invest time and effort to learn about nonverbal differences in cross-cultural communication. It is sometimes easy to forget that your values, beliefs, and practices are not universal. This is especially true related to nonverbal communication cues (body language) that people around the world use to send and receive messages.

The following are two nonverbal differences in cross-cultural communication for you to consider.

Sitting postures. There are various ways that men and women cross their legs when they sit. Depending on the customer with whom you are interacting, you might send a negative message if you are not careful. For example, many men from Western cultures assume a relaxed posture when sitting and cross one leg over the other at the knee so that their footpoints either right or left. This could potentially cause offense to customers from certain cultures. The alternative way for men to cross their legs at the knee is to put one over the other so that the top leg simply hangs down or dangles. Some men are physically uncomfortable with this posture or view it as a homosexual manner of sitting, depending on their culture. As a result, they often avoid this posture. In England and other parts of Europe, the latter posture is the culturally proper way for a man to sit, especially in a business or more formal setting.

Women in many cultures are taught that ladies do not sit with their legs apart and that they should cross their legs either at the knees with one leg draped over the other (as described for men) or tightly at the ankles.

In Korea and Japan where physical balance and control of one’s life is an important value, people often do not cross the legs, but simply sit “squared” in an upright or fairly rigid posture, with both feet on the floor and their hands resting on their knees as they talk.

Touching. The study of touching in nonverbal communication (haptics), has been explored by researchers for years in an effort to better understand how people from different cultures use and react to touch. There are many touching gestures used that have multiple meanings. Consider the reaction of a stranger that you accidentally rub against a woman in a crowded room compared to a regular customer whose hand or arm you intentionally touch during a business greeting or handshake. Depending on their culture, they may react in totally different ways. For example, in the Middle East there might be a loud outcry and accusations of molestation or an offense against their virtue. In other cultures, there might be no second thought given to the episode. Of course, the outcome scenarios might depend on the manner and context in which you rubbed against them or in which you touched their hand or arm.

The importance of understanding how people from around the world interpret what you might consider as an innocent gesture cannot be understated. For example, many adults in some cultures have a habit of patting the head or caressing the hair of a small child as they comment to a parent about how cute or sweet the child is. In Western cultures, many people might think nothing of this act. However, in countries like India, Singapore, Taiwan, Sri Lanka or Thailand, this could be viewed as an offensive gesture. That is because the head is believed to be the seat of the soul. By touching it, you might be wishing ill upon the person or disrespecting the cultural belief.

To further complicate the issue of touch, people who are more introverted or who tend to be more task-oriented, rather than people-oriented, often protect their personal zone. They typically do not like others intruding on it or touching them, especially strangers. This is why the general rule of thumb in the workplace or business setting is that the only appropriate touching is a professional handshake in Western cultures, and the appropriate greeting in others (e.g. hug, bow or cheek kiss).

Explore this blog to learn more about nonverbal differences in cross-cultural communication and how to effectively use nonverbal cues in diverse customer service situations. You may also want to get a copy of Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service across Cultures.

Nonverbal Communication Quote – Peter F. Drucker

Various studies indicate that the majority of message meaning during an interaction between two people is often received through nonverbal means (e.g. facial expressions, gestures, and vocal qualities). Even as you speak to your customers, they are likely to be extracting additional messages from your physical presence, how you look and what you are doing. And when you throw cultural and other diversity factors (e.g. gender, abilities, or age) into the situational equation, there is a good opportunity for misinterpretation. This is because people often assign meaning to nonverbal cues based on their values, beliefs, and life experiences.

For all the reasons listed above, it is crucial that you and other employees become students of human behavior. You should also educate yourselves about values and beliefs from different groups so that you are aware of potential interpretations that might be made of gestures that you or your customer(s) might use.

A quote by management guru, Peter F. Drucker sums up the importance of recognizing and properly interpreting nonverbal cues.

For ideas and strategies on effectively communicating nonverbally with your customers, check out: Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures; Customer Service Skills for Success; and How to Be a Great Call Center Representative.

Here are a few more amazing Peter Drucker quotes to enjoy reading.

“Management by objective works – if you know the objectives. Ninety percent of the time you don’t.” – Peter Drucker
“Time is the scarcest resource and unless it is managed nothing else can be managed.”
“Accept the fact that we have to treat almost anybody as a volunteer.” – Peter Drucker
“Doing the right thing is more important than doing the thing right.”
“If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old.”
“What gets measured gets improved.” – Peter Drucker
“Results are gained by exploiting opportunities, not by solving problems.” – Peter Drucker
“Long-range planning does not deal with the future decisions, but with the future of present decisions.”
“Meetings are a symptom of bad organization. The fewer meetings the better.” – Peter Drucker
“Leadership is not magnetic personality–that can just as well be a glib tongue. It is not making friends and influencing people –that is flattery. Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to higher sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.”
“The better a man is the more mistakes he will make for the more things he will try.”
“One cannot buy, rent or hire more time. The supply of time is totally inelastic. No matter how high the demand, the supply will not go up. There is no price for it. Time is totally perishable and cannot be stored. Yesterday’s time is gone forever, and will never come back. Time is always in short supply. There is no substitute for time. Everything requires time. All work takes place in, and uses up time. Yet most people take for granted this unique, irreplaceable and necessary resource.”
“Time is the scarcest resource of the manager; If it is not managed, nothing else can be managed.”
“What you have to do and the way you have to do it is incredibly simple. Whether you are willing to do it, that’s another matter.” – Peter Drucker
“The three most charismatic leaders in this century inflicted more suffering on the human race than almost any trio in history: Hitler, Stalin, and Mao. What matters is not the leader’s charisma. What matters is the leader’s mission.”
“No one learns as much about a subject as one who is forced to teach it.”
“Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.”
“The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me, never say “I.” And that’s not because they have trained themselves not to say “I.” They don’t think “I.” They think “we”; they think “team.” They understand their job to be to make the team function. They accept responsibility and don’t sidestep it, but “we” gets the credit. This is what creates trust, what enables you to get the task done.” – Peter Drucker
“Business has only two functions — marketing and innovation.”

About Robert C. Lucas – Blogger, Author, and a fan of Peter Drucker

Bob Lucas has been a trainer, presenter, customer service expert, and adult educator for over four decades. He has written hundreds of articles on training, writing, self-publishing, and workplace learning skills and issues. He is also an award-winning author who has written thirty-seven books on topics such as, writing, relationships, customer service, brain-based learning, and creative training strategies, interpersonal communication, diversity, and supervisory skills. Additionally, he has contributed articles, chapters, and activities to eighteen compilation books. Bob retired from the U.S. Marine Corps in 1991 after twenty-two years of active and reserve service.

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