Gestures are movements of the hands, arms, or other parts of the body and like other types of nonverbal communication, their meaning is most often unique to each culture.
One category is known as emblems, which are gestures that have a direct verbal meaning. These are very specific to different cultures and, if not careful, one can give a very bad unintentional message. For example, in North America, someone might signal that they are contemplating something by stroking their beard, but in Iran that is considered an obscenity.
Another category of gesture is called illustrators. These gestures do not function on their own, but serve instead to underscore the importance of what a person is saying. As with emblems, these vary from culture to culture. (Hamilton, 307-308)
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Have you ever wondered what message politicians are conveying when they look at you. Many have spent time perfecting non-verbal communications. To sme examples go to the link below:
Irish Times. (2006, September). Politicians an the way they might look at you. Irish times. Retrieved June 9, 2007 from University of Okalahoma Newspaper seach.
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