In different countries, people share different ways to communicate with each other, even by the means of nonverbal languages, which include facial expression and gestures. However, among two countries I have stayed, China and the USA, the most important difference of nonverbal communication is the eye contact.
No matter when I see films or TV shows from western countries like the US, it is common that people make sufficient eye contact to show the respect and focus while they are talking with each other, even between different genders. Therefore, if one of the two people, who are chatting together, shows careless eye movement or no eye contact, communication barriers will be created in most circumstances. Actually, that is the first feeling of the American people. For example, once I walked on a street near UD and met several citizens through my trip. Some of them said hello to me because of my looking at them, and others didn’t for I never gave a glance on them, so it is considering claiming that eye behavior is interactive.
On the contrary, I was educated a different situation by the Chinese culture, which says direct eye contact could make others feel uncomfortable, even disgusted if the degree is too much. Especially when a guy talks to a lady, it is a guy’s full eye behaviors that will force the lady loose her sense of safety and wonder whether he is thinking something else.
Travelling t between different cultures needs us more attention on the studying of their communication customs. But once we get used to it, our life in a foreign country will be easy and interesting.
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