Thread: reading the signs? Body Language

Body language is facinating but one thing to keep in mind is that different cultures have different norms. For example much American/European material on body language holds that looking someone in the eye is important and can indicate honesty, straightforwardness and such. Not looking someone in the eye is evasive and could indicate dishonesty. But in may cultures, looking someone in the eye is considered disrespectful. A number of Native American cultures (there are many different ones) teach their children that looking an elder or person of authority, in the eye is disrepectful. The poor kids get put in a white school and are behaving respectfully and can get in trouble for it.

In some religions, most notably Muslim, just looking at someone of the other gender is inappropriate and could get you a beating or worse depending on where you are. I'm sure there are many other differences that can lead to amusing or down right awful situations. So when studying body language be on the look out for cultural norms and differences.

That said, there have been studies (still want to know who thinks these up) that most of what we communicate in person is non verbal. It seems with all the online hooking up people do these days, extra care needs to be taken because all that is missing - better or worse? I don't know depends on how good a written communicator they are. Without tonality or expression something that might be funny spoken can come off completely differently.

When I met the LOML, I was half way there before he ever spoke a word, the body language spoke loud and clear.