An Anaysis of Application of Body Language in foreign countries

【Abstract】Language is one of the gifts of human being. It makes us share our experiences， helps us learn from others. This article mainly introduces the definition of body language， the application of body language in distance and the gestures. The more you understand body language and its affect on others， the better you will be in communicating with co-workers， bosses， clients， and others you encounter during the day.

【Key words】body language； communication； gesture； cultural difference

【作者簡(jiǎn)介】王雪薇，哈爾濱師范大學(xué)。

1. Introduction

Body language is a kind of communication form. Most of people used body of to instead of the voice language in the communication. Generally speaking， body language includes of the facial expression but in a narrow sense， body language only includes body and limbs of expression meaning. Whether you know or not， your body transfer the signal to the people around you in the every moment. People around will get all kinds of information from your posture， gestures， and even your arms and your leg’s position， That is to say， the people will get the first impression of you from the body language. In fact， in your communication with others the Body language occupies 55% and the language only takes7%. Your body language play a important role in communication. It means that， how to say is more important than what you say.

Body language is divided into two kinds， open body language and closed type body language. Like the name of this， open body language to make you look like a character， cheerful， and amiable person， but closed type body language makes you seem to be difficult and unpopular people. So when you wish people attracted to you， use the open body language， and when you wish people away from you use the closed type body language.

2. Body Distance

Psychologists discover any person needs personal space， yet skins are not the boundary of personal space， bubbles encircle their personal spaces and other people can’t break in at will.

Everyone needs specific personal space， but it seems that the relationship of parents and children between China and foreign countries have great differences. Natural affection is most divine in Chinese people’s eyes， and children are more important than any thing else， so Chinese parents are always busy for children all life. They are worried about children’s eating， clothing， sleeping and try any way to pave rode for children’s future； they hope their children stay with them and obey with all the arrangement of them. Completely contrary to Chinese parents， western mothers would rather children earn their own life independently， they don’t interfere with children’s private affairs including marriage.

With the further deepening of culture exchange and corporation of the world， the opportunities of corporation with foreign people are keeping increasing. We will learn to be on the other’s shoes to think about things. The important things to keep in mind is that most English-speaking people do not like people to be too close when doing communication， however， being too far apart， of course， may be impolite， being too close makes people uneasy， we should learn and distinguish how to use body distance according to different situation in intercultural communication.

3. Gestures

Do we expect other cultures to adopt our customs or are we willing to adopt theirs？ This might translate to how business or even foreign relations are to be conducted. Do we compromise or force others peoples to deal only on our terms？ We may not have time to hear a language， but taking time to learn the “signals” is a powerful communicator.

The world is a giddy montage of vivid gestures- traffic police， street vendors， expressway drivers， teachers， children on playground， athletes with their exuberant hugging， clenched fists and “high fives.” People all over the world use their hands， heads， and bodies to communicate expressively.

Without gestures， our world would be static and colorless. The social anthropologists Edward T. Hall claim 60 percent of all our communication is nonverbal. In that case， how can we possibly communicate with one another without gestures？

4. Conclusion

In social occasions， or when dealing with people， we need to learn how to correctly use gestures and posture to convey your feelings and hopes to each others， at the same time， you should understand other’s gestures and posture message. A man hands twisted tightly， it shows that he is nervous； rubbing his hands that shows he is eager his hands spread out， that means there is no reservation； cover his mouth with hand， shows surprise. And then， due to different cultural backgrounds， the same gesture would have a totally different meaning， for example， the American put the palm inside means peace or victory， but in the United kingdom it might convey the opposite message.