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COMMUNICATION:NOPROBLEM?
YourdirectorhassentyoutomeetbusinesspeopleatPudongAirport.Theyarevisitorscomingfromseveralcountries,whoareinterestedinthedevelopmentofbusinessinChina.TheyarefromEurope,NorthAmerica,SouthAmericaandAsia.TheywillbemeetingatamajorhotelwithlocalbusinesspeopleandpeoplewhorepresenttheChinesegovernment.Fourpeopleenterlookingaroundinacuriousway.Youdonotwanttodisappointyourboss,andthisisanexcitingexperienceforyou,soyoustandwatchingandlistening.
ThefirstpersonwhoarrivesisMrGarciafromColumbia,closelyfollowedbyJuliaSmithfromBritain.Youintroducethemtoeachother,andaresurprisedbywhatyousee.MrGarciaapproachesMsSmith,toucheshershoulderandkissesheronthecheek.Youseeherstepbackappearingsurprised,andtakeafewstepsawayfromMrGarcia.Youthinkthattheremayhavebeenamistake.ThevisitorfromJapancomesins
milingatthesametimeasGeorgeCookfromCanada.Astheyareintroduced,MrCookreacheshishandouttotheJapanesewhobows.HisnosetouchesMrCook’smovinghand,andtheybothapologize.Therehasbeenanothermistake.
Theseareexamplesoflearnedorcultural“bodylanguage”.Notallculturesgreeteachotherthesameway,noraretheycomfortabletouchingstrangersorbeingtoocloseortoofaraway.Inthesamewaythatpeoplecommunicatewithspokenlanguage,theyalsoexpresstheirfeelingusingunspoken“language”throughkeepingphysicaldistance,actionsorposture.
Englishpeopleusuallydonotstandveryclosetoothersortouchstrangersassoonastheymeet.PeoplefromplaceslikeSpain,ItalyorSouthAmericancountriesapproachotherscloselyandaremorelikelytotouchthem.Mostpeoplearoundtheworldnowgreeteachotherbyshakinghands,butsomeculturesuseothergreetingsaswell.Japanesepeoplewillbow.
AhmedAzizisabusinessmanfromJordan.Hemovesveryclosetoyouasyouintroduceyourselftohim.Youmovebackabit.Hecomesclosertoaskyouaquestion,andthenshakesyourhand.MadameCoulonisfromFrance.Shearriveshurrying,recognizesMrGarcia’ssmilingface,thentheyshakehandsandkisseachothertwiceoneachcheek.ThatiswhatFrenchpeopleusuallydowhentheymeetpeopletheyknow.ButAhmedAzizsimplynodsatthetwowomen.MenfromtheMiddleEastorsomeMuslimcountriesoftenstandquiteclosetoothermentotalk.Manyofthemwillnotshakehandswithwomen.
Noneoftheseactionsiseithergoodorbad.Theyaresimplythewaysinwhichcultureshavedeveloped.Bodylanguageisverygeneral,andnotallmembersofallculturesbehavethesameway.Itisaninterestingstudyandcanhelpyouavoiddifficultyincommunication.