[00:04.11]can just as easily be misunderstood
[00:06.68]and the wrong message can be sent.
[00:08.78]Take,for example,
[00:09.91]the experience of a first-time British visitor
[00:12.60]to Greece.At the end of a meal,
[00:14.89]the visitor had drunk four cups of coffee
[00:17.46]before he realized
[00:18.68]that he had confused his host.
[00:21.53]The visitor had thought his host was asking
[00:23.90]if he had drunk enough coffee
[00:26.00]and he kept nodding his head up
[00:27.45]and down to mean."Yes-I've had enough coffee".
[00:31.55]However,in Greece,this gesture means "no",
[00:35.30]so the host had thought that the visitor
[00:37.21]wanted to drink more.
[00:38.76]Unknowingly,the visitor had used his body
[00:41.51]language to communicate the wrong message.
[00:44.57]Not knowing what a particular gesture
[00:46.37]means indifferent countries or cultures
[00:48.58]can be confusing.
[00:50.68]People do not realize how much significance
[00:53.07]a gesture can have until it is misunderstood.
[00:57.03]To non-Germans,and American tourist
[00:59.59]at a German hotel giving an "OK" sign by
[01:02.66]making a circle with his index finger
[01:04.57]and thumb is "saying" everything is fine.
[01:07.50]However,for Germans that particular gesture
[01:10.38]can cause offence
[01:11.93]and is certainly not appropriate.
[01:14.14]Over the years,scientists
[01:15.74]have studied hundreds of gestures
[01:17.78]that have different meanings
[01:19.36]in different cultures.
[01:19.36]
