Speaking without Talking

how body language & gesturing differs in Japan

This month I’m writing about something that simply fascinates me: gesturing and body language. Especially when you consider that this differs depending on where you are in the world. Today, I will explain some of the ways that gesturing and body language differs between the UK and Japan. So get ready to start doing them yourselves at home. But beforehand, I think it may help for me to explain a little about the most accepted study on nonverbal communication.

Photo by Jason Rosewell on Unsplash

70-90 percent of all communication is nonverbal

There have been many studies on the complex topic of nonverbal communication, you only have to pop the words into a search bar and click ‘enter’. However, most experts agree that 70 to 93 percent of all communication is nonverbal.

One of the most well-known studies was led by Dr. Mehrabian in the 1960s. In his first experiment, subjects were given three recordings of the word “maybe” — one to convey disfavour, one to convey favour and one to convey neutrality. Participants were then shown photos of female faces expressing the same three emotions and were told to determine the emotions of both the recordings and the photos. The subjects more accurately guessed the emotion conveyed in the photos by a margin of 3:2.

In a second study, Dr. Mehrabian’s subjects listened to recordings of nine words. Three were designed to convey affinity (“honey,” “thanks” and “dear”), three were meant to convey neutrality (“oh,” “really” and “maybe”) and three conveyed dislike (“don’t,” “terrible” and “brute”). The recordings were of speakers reading each word three times, each with a different tone: positive, neutral and negative. 

The result? A subject’s response to each word was more dependent on the inflection of the voice than the connotation of the word itself. These studies led Dr. Mehrabian to devise a formula to describe how the mind determines meaning. He concluded that the interpretation of a message is 7 percent verbal, 38 percent vocal and 55 percent visual. The conclusion was that 93 percent of communication is “nonverbal” in nature.

Interesting stuff, no? So, how does one particular element of nonverbal communication: gesturing and body language, differ between the UK and Japan? See the below for the ones that I find particularly interesting and please feel free to try them at home too.

Bowing 

Image courtesy of fun-japan.jp

The most common Japanese body language is bowing. Not only is it a sign of respect, but it is also the primary way to greet someone you meet face-to-face, whether they are friends or strangers.

Failing to bow in Japan may imply that you have bad manners while doing so will give the impression that you are humble and polite, especially when bowing to a stranger.

Crossing arms in meetings

Photo courtesy of APnews.com

Body language in business is complex in any language or culture and the topic really warrants its own stand alone article. But there is one obvious difference between the UK and Japan. In the UK, it is deemed as fairly disrespectful to cross your arms in a meeting whereas, in Japan, crossing one’s arms and showing a facial expression of contemplation is actually a sign of respect and politeness. It shows that you are so engrossed in what the other people are saying in the meeting that you are completely absorbed in contemplation. The same gesture but different meanings.

Pointing to yourself

Photo courtesy of Live Japan

In Japan, people point to their faces when talking about themselves. In other countries, it is normal to place your hand on your chest, but in Japan, it is common to use your index finger to point at your face, near your nose.

The "come here" Japanese hand gesture

The "come here" hand gesture in Japan is unique. Raising your hand with the palm toward the person you are calling, move your fingers quickly up and down in unison. 

However, In the UK the gesture is the other way around. It is done with the palm facing toward you and often with only the index finger moving to beckon someone to you. Speaking with my Japanese friends, this gesture does exist in Japan but it would be considered very rude, which is why the witch Zeniba does it during the popular Studio Ghibli film Spirited Away.

Waving your hand in front of your face

Courtesy of Like Japan

The Japanese hand gesture of waving it back and forth in front of your face, with the thumb facing you and pinky away from you, means “no.” When you're accused of something, it implies "Not me." or "No way!".

When you make this gesture after someone asks if you can do something, it means "No, I can't." It can also be used to say "No, thank you." when someone tries to give you something you don't need.

Making an "X" with your fingers

This one is useful for any of those foodies out there. When you have finished your meal and are looking to be given the check/bill, the easiest approach in Japan is to simply make eye contact with your server and make a small "X" with your fingers. Somewhat different from that scribbling gesture that we do here in the UK.

Counting on your fingers

When counting on your fingers, Japanese people start with the fingers and thumb extended upward and then bend them down one by one with each sequential number. The order starts with the thumb and is then followed by the index finger and so on. In the UK, on the other hand (excuse the pun!) we start by counting with our index finger first and we keep our fingers extended as we count.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my introductory look into Japanese body language and its gestures. It is an area I find particularly interesting and maybe, one day, I’ll be able to travel to Japan more easily and use them… fingers crossed.