Your body language speaks very loudly in Chinese

We’ve all heard before that only 7% of our communication is verbal content, 55% is body language, and 38% vocal tone and infliction. For a high context language like Chinese, that 55% increases greatly. High context means that the context changes the meaning of verbal content. For example, if you said too, two, or to, depending on the context, we’ll know if you mean the number. The Chinese language uses the location and time to figure out what you truly mean. Therefore, if you only say thank you without movement, xìexìe, you are communicating an offhand gratitude. If you say, xìexìe with a nod, that is showing a cordial exchange. If you say xìexìe while moving your clasped hands together, you are communicating deep and sincere gratitude. This is how gestures speak louder than spoken words.


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About Author

yvonne.liu.wolf

Yvonne Wolf was born in Taiwan and educated in the U.S. and Europe. She has extensive experience living and working internationally (Denmark and Japan). She is fluent in English, Mandarin, and Danish, and has studied Japanese, Spanish, and Greek. Between work and personal travel, she has visited more than 20 countries and well-traveled within the U.S. and Canada. She has worked with organizations and business executives focusing on communication strategies working with Chinese and East Asian partners. Among her many skills is mediating across cultural misunderstandings.