THE IMPORTANCE OF BODY

LANGUAGE

Nertila Shpani
I-A

1
How Does Body Speak?
- Like any spoken language,
body language has words,
sentences and punctuation.

- Each gesture is like a single

2
 BODILY SPEAKING…
 According to the social anthropologist, Edward
T. Hall, in a normal conversation between two
persons, less than 35% of the social meanings
is actually transmitted by words.
 So, at least 65% of it is conveyed through the
body (non-verbal channel).

3
Let’s Examine How Body Communicates,
from head to toes

4
 HEAD
- Nodding the head
- “Yes” in most societies
- “No” in some parts of Greece, Yugoslavia,
Bulgaria, and Turkey
- ‘No’ in KOSOVO.
- ‘YES’ in Albania
- Rocking head slowly, back and forth
- “yes, I’m listening” in most Asian cultures

5
FACE

6
 FACE
* Facial expressions reflect emotion, feelings
and attitudes.

7
 EYESSSSSSSSSSSSSs
* Eye contacts
- Encouraged in America, Canada, Europe
- Rude in most Asian countries and in Africa
* Raising eyebrows
- “Yes” in Thailand and some Asian countries
- “Hello” in the Philippines
* What do you think of Albania?
* Winking eye
* Sharing secret in America and Europe
- flirtatious gesture in other countries

8
 EYES
* Closed eyes
- bored or sleepy in America
- “I’m listening and concentrating.” in Japan,
Thailand, China

9
 EARS
* Ear grasp
- “I’m sorry.” in parts of India
* Cupping the ear
- “I can’t hear you.” in all societies
* Pulling ear
- “You are in my heart” for Navajo Indians

10
 NOSE
* Holding the nose
- “Something smells bad.” universal
* Nose tap
- “It’s confidential.” England
- “Watch out!” or "Be careful.” Italy

11
 NOSE
* Pointing to nose
- “It’s me.” Japan
* Blowing nose
- In most Asian countries, blowing the nose at
social gathering is ‘disgusting.’

12
 LIPS AND MOUTH
* Whistle, yawn, smile, bite, point, sneeze, spit, kiss..
* Kiss. In parts of Asia, kissing is considered an intimate sexual
act and not permissible in public, even as a social greeting.
* Kissing sound. To attract attention in the Philippines, to
beckon a waiter in Mexico.

* Finger tip kiss. In France, it conveys several messages, “That’s

13
 HANDS
* Of all the body parts, the hands are probably
used most for communicating non-verbally.
* Hand waves are used for greetings,
beckoning, or farewells.

14
 HANDS
* The Italian “good-bye” wave can be interpreted by
Americans as the gesture of “come here.”
* The American “good-bye” wave can be interpreted
in many parts of Europe and Latin America as the
signal for “no.”

15
 HANDS
* Beckoning.
* The American way of getting attention (raising a
hand with the index finger raised above head)
could be considered rude in Japan, and also
means “two” in Germany.
* The American “come here” gesture could be seen
as an insult in most Asian countries.
* In China, to beckon a waiter to refill your tea,
simply turn your empty cup upside down.

16
 HANDS
* Handshaking is a form of
greeting in most Western
cultures.

* What about our country?

* Albanians are used to kiss 4-

17
 HANDS
* Hand-holding among
the same sex is a
custom of special
friendship and respect
in several Middle
Eastern and Asian
countries.

18
 HANDS
* Hang loose. (thumb and little finger extended)
* could convey different meanings:
* in Hawaii, it’s a way of saying, “Stay cool,” or
“Relax.”
* in Japan, it means six.
* In Mexico (do vertically), it means, “Would you like
a drink?”

19
 FINGERS
* The “O.K.” signal. (the thumb and forefinger
form a circle) means
* “fine,” or “O.K.” in most cultures,
* “zero” or “worthless” in some parts of Europe
* “money” in Japan
* an insult in Greece, Brazil, Italy, Turkey, Russia and
some other countries

20
 FINGERS
* “Thumb-up” means:
* “O.K.” “good job” or “fine” in most cultures,
* “Up yours!” in Australia
* “Five” in Japan; “One” in Germany
* Avoid a thumb-up in these countries:
Australia, New Zealand, Greece, Turkey, Iran,
Russia, and most African countries.

21
 FINGERS
* Pointing.
* Pointing with the index finger
is common in North America
and Europe.
* But it is considered impolite in
Japan and China where they
favor using the whole open
hand.
* Malaysians prefer pointing
with the thumb.

22
 FOR ALL OF US as Teachers…
• Becoming sensitive to the clues of
body language can help us
communicate more effectively with
students.

23
• We can understand what students
are saying even when they are not
talking.

24
• We can sense when students are
silent and digesting information, or
when they are silent and confused.

25
• We can share feelings too strong or
too difficult to be expressed in words,

26
• Or decode secret messages passing
silently from person to person,

27
• And we may spot contradictions
between what students say and what
they really mean.

28
• Finally, we can learn to be more
sensitive to our own bodies – to see
how they express our feelings and to
see ourselves as others see us.

29
• We do not have
bodies; we are
our bodies.

30
 THANKS! AND …..

 YOUR
 thoughts
 experiences
 questions

31