Language Barriers

• Cultures often have language barriers, so nonverbal cues become more important as speakers try to convey messages and receivers try to decode them. If participants interpret such cues differently, the message may be lost and perhaps major conflict ensues. An American intending to signal agreement by giving a thumbs-up sign to an Iranian has actually insulted the other by flashing what most Iranians would consider a terribly obscene gesture. If the two cannot speak a common language, explaining the misinterpretation may be impossible.
  
  

Interpretation

• Nonverbal behavior also affects the way people interpret situations. For instance, Americans typically believe in having rather large "personal space," the area around the body that most people should not enter. Therefore, when Americans see two people in very close proximity to each other, they may assume the two have some sort of intimate relationship or that one is pushy. When Americans back off from people who invade their space, those individuals might feel that the Americans are being standoffish. In fact, appropriate distances for personal space vary by culture.
  
  

Tact

• Nonverbal actions convey attitudes and also affect how others perceive you. While Americans and British view people who cut in lines very negatively, people in other cultures do not view the behavior as rude. In fact, in Armenia, it is accepted practice that one person holds the place in line for friends and family members. People may be quick to judge attitudes and personalities based upon their interpretation of rude behavior.
  
  

Education

• Whether teaching in a diverse classroom, working in a global business or visiting a foreign country, people must understand what other cultural nonverbal messages mean as well as how their own actions may be interpreted. The globalization that the ease of modern production and technology such as the Internet encourage ensures that cross-cultural connections will occur. Social, political and economic ramifications of nonverbal miscommunication could be staggering.