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Ambiguous Nonverbal Communication

Anthony BurchellArticle by Wendy Wong

What is Ambiguous Nonverbal

Communication?Ambiguous (meaning double meaning) Nonverbal Communication can

get you into trouble depending on what part of the world you are in. Many hand gestures common to us may be an insult to others.

Where do we find this form of

communication?Traveling to other lands you may run into conflict due to your

inattentiveness to hand gestures.

Many comedy television shows used ambiguous communication as a way to make audiences laugh.

Some examples of Ambiguous Hand

Gestures

The Thumbs UpIn most of Latin America and West Africa, as well as Greece, Russia, Sardinia and the south of Italy, the

thumbs-up basically means the same as the middle finger: “Sit on it and swivel”.

The “OK”in Brazil, Germany and a few Mediterranean

countries: the circular shape of the gesture gives it the meaning of “anus”.

The V or Peace SignIf your palm is facing outward this sign is considered an insult to Great Britain and other english speaking

countries.

The Hornsthe symbol basically means “cuckold” (or rather, Your wife is

cheating on you), and its origins are Mediterranean. The horn is still popular in Spain, Portugal, Greece, Colombia, Brazil,

Albania, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, and seems to be used most often to disagree with football referees

Video Example of Ambiguous Non Verbal

QuestionHave you ever found yourself in a disagreement

based on a misinterpreted hand signal?