Cultural Impact on Behaviour

It is said that over two-thirds of the effectiveness of negotiation is determined by nonverbal communication. Body language can therefore frequently provide valuable insight into a person's feelings and attitudes. Gestures and facial expressions can communicate diverse emotions and attitudes. They are, however, often misleading due to the marked cultural differences in the use and interpretation of nonverbal cues.

It is therefore important to understand and recognise differences in the use of non-verbal cues, so that the body language of customers, especially those from other cultural backgrounds as your own, is not the cause of costly misinterpretation.

Areas of Misunderstanding:

Body language can be divided into the following categories:

	Facial expressions
	Eye contact
	Touch
	Use of space
	Gestures
	Sounds and other actions