CATEGORIES OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION

Kinesics
“The horn fingers”
 In USA the horn fingers is adopted by rockers and it is a sign of approval, rock on!
 But in many Mediterranean and Latin countries, such as Argentina, Brazil, Colombia,
Cuba, Spain, Italy and Portugal, to make this sign at someone is to tell them that their
spouse is cheating on them.
“Looking at your watch”
 In some countries in Asia, this means ‘I’m in a hurry’ or ‘I’ve got to be somewhere’.
 In the Middle East, however, a conversation should run its natural course, as it would be
very rude to look at your watch mid-conversation. In Arabic culture, once communication
has started, it must “take its time”
Oculesics
 When a lecturer sees most of his students are not looking at him, he might conclude that
they are not paying attention.
 In Eastern cultures women should especially not have eye contact with men as it shows
power or sexual interest.
 In Japan, prolonged eye contact considered rude, disrespectful and threatening.
 Native Americans tend to avoid eye contact with superiors as a sign of respect for their
authority.
Proxemics
 The South American country is filled with "close-talkers" -- people who stand 2.5 feet
(0.76 meters) away from strangers when chatting.
 In Romania, There, residents like to stand a spacious 4.5 feet (1.4 meters) away from
strangers.
 If you are in an event listening to a professor giving a lecture, you are probably about 12-
25 feet away.
Haptics
 In Thailand, Sri Lanka, and some other cultures, the head is considered sacred and should
not be touched by others.
 Americans sometimes make the mistake of patting children of other cultures on the top of
the head as a sign of affection or endearment.
 In some cultures, this is seen as a serious breach of etiquette.
 In Italy, Italian men are known for is squeezing females’ back to indicate to the lady that
she is attractive. But, In US When a young lady’s back part was squeezed, she was not
happy about the situation and they consider it as a sexual harassment.
Vocalics
 When someone talks really fast, it can indicate that they are really nervous or excited.
 In United States, people don’t speak with low volumes; this shows that you are
unprepared, shy or unsure of yourself. While in East Asia, they do speak with low
volumes as this shows self-restraint and promote harmonious relation.
 In United States, they do speak with louder volumes. The United States enjoys showing
how they are apart from the in-group and represented as a unique and separate person. In
contrast, in East Asia they don’t speak with high volumes or it will present you as lacking
self-control and as overbearing.

Objectives

 In India, Brides wear a nose ring that extend with a chain and some rural parts of India
wear larger nose rings as a sign of marital status or affluence. The women in my family
have been wearing nose rings all their lives.

Chronemics

 In South Korea, people put of value in punctuality and view being late as sign of
disrespect.
 In Malaysia, saying you will be five minutes late is an accepted norm that does not
require an apology.
 In Mexico, it is not uncommon for people to turn up half an hour late for a scheduled
meeting.
 In America, it is acceptable to arrive late to a party, but not to a work meeting. A
relationship-based example would be that it is acceptable for a doctor to keep a patient
waiting but not the other way around.

Olfactics
 In United States, they find body odors, bad breath, perspiration, or too much cologne to
be offensive. In contrast, Middle Easterners believe being able to smell a friend’s breath
is pleasing
 In the United States, personal odors are masked by fragrances and frequent bathing.
While, in many other cultures such as European and Arabic, body odors are thought of as
natural.

In South-East coast of India, their calendar based on the smell of the

flower that bloom at different times of a year.
Gustorics
For many Westerners, eating cheese is usual for them and they even pair
it with a bread.
 In China, they have the feeling of disgust the moment they eat cheese. Even very mild
cheeses like cheddar are considered basically inedible. But sometimes melting them on
bread can help, yet they still rank it very low on the taste pole.

Colorics

For many Asian countries, commonly used in their cultures, a black cat
is a symbol of bad luck, especially when it crosses your path. It is also
the traditional colour to wear at funerals, as it symbolizes death.
However, African people have a different meaning for this particular
colour. It is nowhere near the popular themes it symbolizes in the rest of
the world. In Africa, the colour black is a sign of masculinity, maturity
and age.
 The United States and Ireland use green as a symbol of luck and prosperity. While in
China, if a man wears a green hat, it can mean that his wife cheated on him. 
 The most popular meaning behind the colour red is love, passion and fire. In fact, North
America, South America and Europe use those meanings very often. Valentine’s Day is
celebrated with red hearts that symbolize love.
 In China and India, the colour red as the symbolize fertility and good fortune. That’s why
if you’re in China for New Year’s Eve celebration, you might get a red envelope. They
are distributed to wish you good luck in the upcoming new year.