page_title: Nonverbal communication
section_title: Gestures
hierarchical_section_title: Nonverbal communication / Across cultures / Gestures
caption_attribution_description: English: OK hand gesture with different meanings in cultures across the world
context_page_description: Nonverbal communication is the transmission of messages or signals through a nonverbal platform such as eye contact, facial expressions, gestures, posture, and the distance between two individuals. It includes the use of visual cues such as body language, distance and physical environments/appearance, of voice and of touch. It can also include the use of time and eye contact and the actions of looking while talking and listening, frequency of glances, patterns of fixation, pupil dilation, and blink rate.
  The study of nonverbal communication started in 1872 with the publication of "The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals" by Charles Darwin. Darwin began to study nonverbal communication as he noticed the interactions between animals and realized they also communicated by gestures and expressions. For the first time, nonverbal communication was studied and its relevance questioned. Today, scholars argue that nonverbal communication can convey more meaning than verbal communication. Some scholars state that most people trust forms of nonverbal communication over verbal communication.
context_section_description: Gestures vary widely across cultures in how they are used and what they mean. A common example is pointing. In the United States, pointing is the gesture of a finger or hand to indicate or "come here please" when beckoning a dog. But pointing with one finger is also considered to be rude by some cultures. Those from Asian cultures typically use their entire hand to point to something. Other examples include, sticking your tongue out. In Western countries, it can be seen as mockery, but in Polynesia it serves as a greeting and a sign of reverence. Clapping is a North American way of applauding, but in Spain is used to summon a waiter at a restaurant. Differences in nodding and shaking the head to indicate agreement and disagreement also exist. Northern Europeans nodding their heads up and down to say "yes", and shaking their head from side to side to say "no". But the Greeks have for at least three thousand years used the upward nod for disagreement and the downward nod for agreement." There are many ways of waving goodbye: Americans face the palm outward and move the hand side to side, Italians face the palm inward and move the fingers facing the other person, French and Germans face the hand horizontal and move the fingers toward the person leaving. Also, it is important to note that gestures are used in more informal settings and more often by children. People in the United States commonly use the "OK" hand gesture to give permission and allow an action. In Japan, however, the same sign means "money". It refers to "zero" or "nothing" in several cultures besides these two (Argentina, Belgium, French and the Portuguese). To Eastern European cultures that same "OK" sign is considered a vulgar swearing gesture.
caption: This gesture is accepted by Dutch people as meaning "brilliant", but varies greatly in other cultures around the world, and is ubiquitous in emoji culture.
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