Nonverbal Messages

 

Understanding individuals from other cultures nonverbal language and the cues they give off is important because they vary across different cultures. When interacting with these people misunderstanding could potentially happen and people may feel awkward in the situation or disrespected. Some cultures may not prioritize nonverbal communication, while others may do. Being able to understand what the standard is for that culture will help prevent miscommunication. Another huge reason for understanding nonverbal language is developing a relationship with the person and gaining their trust. When you act like someone from that country they are a lot more approachable and likely to communicate better with the person. For example, culturecrossing.net stated, “Eye contact is very important; it is a sign of honesty and integrity.” These are valued high by Finns so if you turn your eyes away it may seem disrespectful. 

Some potential obstacles to accurately understanding nonverbal communication are the different meanings across cultures. For example, the country that I am studying is Finland. In America, we cross our arms as a place to feel safe and where our arms are comfortable. While in Finland, this can be considered disrespectful and they will interpret this in a bad way. Another obstacle that people may face is understanding when you can do things. Like in America, we can do a lot of things when alone that you would never actually do in public because it’s not professional or it is disrespectful. 

The body is a major source of nonverbal messages and they can be very specific in certain cultures. For Finland, they are very similar to the United States and have very many of the same gestures. Many of these gestures are used as greetings such as the wave or handshake. These are both mandatory gestures to know in both our and theirs culture because it is a sign of disrespect if you do not do it back. Another gesture that is very normal in Finland is hands on your hips, which will not only show confidence, but can assert dominance. This is rather different in America where people with their hands on their hips can be seen as sassy. A very common one is the middle finger which basically has the same meaning universally and it can be taken in the wrong way. 

In Finland, personal space is valued just like it is in America and it should always be maintained. They are very self-oriented so they focus on really only themselves. They keep a distance between each other, which is common in America as well. Something that is different in Finland is the amount of people that use public transportation, but when they use this public transportation they keep to themselves. 

The cultural norms are very similar from the United States and Finland. They both highly value punctuality with being late is highly disrespectful to the people that are expecting you. This is common in both business settings and personal settings. Both countries value individualistic values and really having your own self. All of the things that they both have in common deal with having respect for the other people.