Europe

Europe
Nonverbal communication includes facial expression, gestures and eye contact. This is important in Europe because the gestures we make in the United States is different and have different meanings. Although gestures here may be used complimentary, it may be considered an insult to their country or vise versa. Europe is a large continent which means there is a large variety of gestures they use to speak with. There are many basic gestures to learn from though because many Europeans are fond of gesturing (especially Italians). All European gestures date back centuries ago when a lot of immigrants were settling; they brought their foreign gestures with them. Over the years, these gestures have become part of the culture and help shape the Europeans's culture still today.


 * Pro:** In Europe, gestures are used to express respect and closeness among friends and even strangers. An example of this is a kiss on each cheek (also known as a bisous). It is a friendly greeting to welcome and accept people.
 * Con:** With a few exceptions, words in one language rarely just happen to translate into something offensive in another, unlike gestures. They are another matter entirely. For example, The two-fingered "V" for victory symbol is with palms facing out. If you make it with you palm facing toward you, you'll offend any European—it's their version of "giving someone the finger." Even the slightest difference in the gesture can be a big difference, so if you are planning on going to Europe anytime soon, I recommend you keep your hands to yourself.

Of course, those are both stereotypes, but ones that often hold true. The farther south you go, the more people touch. Manly, macho Mediterranean men will often link elbows and walk arm-in-arm with each another...[|http://www.reidsguides.com/t_cm/t_cm_gestures.html] media type="youtube" key="M0n4Vw6twKo" height="246" width="354" align="right"media type="youtube" key="kQIX6_FRZhY" height="281" width="354"
 * Article:**

Links:

[] [|http://www.][|thefreelibrary.com/A+Cultural+History+of+Gesture.-a014446819] []

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