My Problem with Body Language
“Mind like water” is the concept that one react appropriately in any given situation. The concept is visual. Throw a pebble in water. A small splash rises from the water and ripples spread out from where it enters.
Unfortunately, when it comes to reacting to body language, my mind is no longer like water. The ripples usually wait a minute before rippling.
But I have a good reason for this. Body language differs between cultures. Living in China I learned not to assume someone’s body language means the same thing it might in the U.S. For example, in China, if someone nods his head it doesn’t necessarily mean he agrees with what I’m saying, as it typically does in the States. It just means he’s listening to me. So I have come to first consider what one’s body language is telling me, based on context and past experience, before I react to it. The problem for me is that people aren’t expecting the hesitation. And since body language is an important part of in-person communication, I get the feeling that this sometimes makes people feel a little awkward around me when I don’t ripple at the right time.
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January 28, 2010 at 11:18 pm
Kev, long time. Hope all is well with you. My number is 912-656-1989 if you would like to catch up. Later man.
March 1, 2010 at 6:53 pm
Hello,
I have seen you have listed some links about learning
Chinese at http://kevinsmith.wordpress.com/
Just wondering if you could also add http://www.chinese-course.com to
the list, which is a fairly new site to learn Chinese.
I built the first site initially to learn Chinese for myself but
now I’ve also added Chinese to my language sites.
It has some nice features like your own word lists, mouseover
explanations, a loop flashcard feature, a text analyzer and
we publish a new text (dialog, jokes, news) every week.
I would love to hear your feedback about my site.
Regards,
Oliver
May 9, 2011 at 3:24 pm
It really doesn’t matter whether you speak the language or not, body language and chemistry can out way everything when it comes to finding the perfect partner, there is no hill too steep to climb.