We decided to research the meaning of the Hi-five gesture in other countries and cultures, to check that we weren't offending anybody and so that we knew the scope of where we could extend this campaign to. We discovered that the raising of the hand facing your palm to someone, as you would for a hi-five, is a large insult in Greece, Turkey, Middle East, Mexico and Africa. It is referred to as the Moutza and is said to be Byzantine, when criminals were shamed by rubbing handfuls of cinder over their faces.
Another interesting things I found from the 'cultural variations in body language' website is a test run by a Dr Ken Cooper. He ran a survey in a range of countries to test how many touches he would receive per hour. Some of which were listed. Puerto Rico - 180, Paris - 110, Florida - 2, London - 0
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3000521/Handy-infographic-explains-hand-gestures-world.html
http://westsidetoastmasters.com/resources/book_of_body_language/chap5.html
No comments:
Post a Comment