Say Anything to Anyone, Anywhere: 5 Keys To Successful Cross-Cultural Communication

Chapter 22

Body Language Gestures to Avoid

Keep Your Fingers to Yourself!

Success leaves clues, or as you will see in some instances cited throughout the chapter, the lack of success leave clues. Gestures are one of the first things to come to mind when people imagine a cultural faux pas. These motions can quickly sabotage anyone, including the most savvy business professionals. People from every culture, including various country leaders and several U.S. presidents, have been guilty of unintentionally offending people from different cultures through the use of inappropriate gestures. When it comes to body language gestures, the wisest advice might be to keep your fingers to yourself.

This chapter highlights some of the most common hand gestures that are likely to be offensive in many cultures throughout the world.

One of the earliest and most infamous offenses for the OK hand gesture (Figure 22.1) took place in the 1950s, when President Nixon was disembarking a plane in Brazil. Standing on the plane steps, he flashed a broad smile and gestured with a double-handed OK sign. In Brazil, Germany, Russia, and many other countries around the world, the OK sign is a very offensive gesture because it is used to depict a private bodily orifice. In defense of President Nixon’s ignorance, the OK sign actually does mean “okay” in the United States; in Japan, it means “money,” and it is commonly used to signify “zero” in France. Clearly the OK sign isn’t offensive everywhere; however, it is ...