Lesson 2 — Activity 1: Gestures

Gestures are:

• movements of the body that express messages
• used frequently to communicate messages
  

Many gestures come very naturally to us. We often don’t even think consciously about using them to help express our messages. For example, think about a baby. It may communicate by waving "bye-bye" or reaching its arms up to be lifted up and held.

Some gestures have specific meanings in certain situations. Referees in many sports use various hand signals to indicate penalties, goals, time-outs, and other messages to the players, the coaches, and the fans.

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We all use gestures to communicate non-verbally. Our communication will not be successful if the receiver of our message does not understand our non-verbal cues.

Non-verbal communication is how something is said. It is often more important than what is said.

Within other cultures, gestures can take on a new meaning. Therefore, it is important for us to respect, learn, and understand more about the meanings of certain gestures.

• Canadians shake hands when greeting one another. Japanese people bow in greeting.

• In most European countries, waving a hand means "No." In Canada, waving a hand is a signal of "Hello" or "Goodbye" or trying to get someone's attention.

• The gesture Thumbs Up in Canada is meant as a signal that everything is okay, but in Nigeria it is considered rude and unacceptable.

These are just a few of the differences we see in other cultures.