The Definitive Book of Body Language - Barbara Pease [40]
Henry VIII was famous for pulling the Lips-Pursed expression. He had a small mouth and when he stiffened his upper lip for a portrait it looked even smaller. This habit led to a small mouth being a superiority signal among the English of the sixteenth century. The Lips-Pursed is an expression still used today by English people when they feel they are being intimidated by inferior people and this gesture is often accompanied by extended eye blinks.
Henry VIII popularized this gesture as a high-status signal because of his small
mouth, and modern Brits and Americans still use it
The Japanese
One area where handshakes, kissing, and bear hugs have not become established is Japan, where such bodily contact is considered impolite. Japanese people bow on first meeting, the person with the highest status bowing the least and the one with the least status bowing the most. On first meeting, business cards are exchanged, each person assesses the other's status, and appropriate bowing follows.
In Japan, make sure your shoes are spotlessly clean and in
good condition. Every time a Japanese bows, he inspects them.
The Japanese way of listening to someone involves a repertoire of smiles, nods, and polite noises, which have no direct equivalent in other languages. The idea is to encourage you to keep on talking, but this is often misinterpreted by Westerners and Europeans as agreement. The Head-Nod is an almost universal sign for yes, except for the Bulgarians, who use the gesture to signify no, and the Japanese who use it for politeness. If you say something a Japanese doesn't agree with, he'll still say yes—or Hai in Japanese—to keep you talking. A Japanese yes usually means, “Yes, I heard you” and not “Yes, I agree.” For example, if you say to a Japanese person, “You don't agree, do you?” he will nod his head and say yes even though he may not agree. In the Japanese context, it means “Yes, you are correct—I don't agree.”
The Japanese are concerned with saving face and have developed a set of rules to prevent things going wrong, so try to avoid saying no or asking questions when the answer might be no. The closest a Japanese will get to saying the word no is, “It is very difficult” or “We will give this positive study” when they really mean, “Let's forget the whole thing and go home.”
“You Dirty, Disgusting Pig!”—Nose-Blowing
Europeans and Westerners blow their noses into a handkerchief or tissue while Asians and Japanese spit or snort. Each is appalled by what they see as the other's “disgusting” behavior. This dramatic cultural difference is the direct result of the spread of tuberculosis in past centuries. In Europe, tuberculosis was the AIDS of the era—a disease from which there was little hope of survival—so governments instructed people to blow their nose to avoid further spreading the disease. This is why Westerners react so strongly to spitting—a spitting person could spread tuberculosis around, so people were as alarmed by that prospect as they would be if you could spread AIDS by spitting.
Modern nose-blowing is the result of a
past epidemic of tuberculosis.
If tuberculosis had been a problem in Eastern countries, the cultural reaction would be the same as with Westerners. As a result, the Japanese are appalled when someone produces a handkerchief, blows their nose into it, and puts it back in their pocket, purse, or up their sleeve! Japanese are unimpressed at the English custom of men wearing a handkerchief in their jacket top pocket. This is the equivalent of proudly dangling a roll of toilet paper from the pocket, ready for action. Asians believe, correctly, that it is a healthier option to spit, but it is a habit that