UNIVERSAL UNIVERSAL GESTURESGESTURES

As the world gets smaller, we might think that all countries would have adopted the same gestures to mean the same thing. But some gestures do have different meanings between cultures.

Shoulder shrugging is found in all cultures, though the meaning is not always the same.

When someone winks at you, they are showing you affection or complicity.

In the West, sticking out your tongue at another person is a deliberate insult.

Patting or rubbing the stomach in a circular movement means ‘I am hungry’

• The way we position our arms and legs is a clear signal of how relaxed or tense we are.

• One of the first things we can spot from a distance is how open or closed a person is being with their body language by how they have placed their limbs.

Legs crossed at the ankles is subtle barrier between one person and another.

Grasping hold of the other arm across the chest is a disguised arm barrier

Confident people stand tall and erect, and provoke a more positive reaction from others.

Slumping, bending and lowering the head may show a lower status or depression.

A calm, relaxed and confident sitting posture. A tense, nervous, low self-esteem

posture.

Self-touch is a sign of stress and tension