Etiquette. Gestures.

Front 1

- Brazilians communicate in extremely close proximety. They may may keep in physical contact by touch ing arms, hands or shoulders during the entire conversation. They are friendly and outgoing, and physical interaction is simply an extension of the Brazilian personality; do not back away.
- The sign for "okay" in N.A. is totally unacceptable in Brazil. It is considered vulgar.
- To signal "come here", extend your palm face down and wave your fingers toward your body.
Snapping your fingers while whipping your hand up and down adds emphasis to a statement or can indicate "long ago"
- to invokke good luck, place your thumb between your index and middle fingers while making a fist. This is also known as the "fig"
- flickering the fingertips underneath the chin dicates that you do not know the answer to a question.

Back 1

Brazil (Gestures)

Front 2

- The left hand is considered unclean in the Arabl world. Always use the right hand in prefernce to the left. Never eat with the left hand, and avoind gesturing with the left hand.
- While Egyptians contantly gesture with their hands while speaking, they do not point at another person. This would be considered impolite.
- As a general rule, keep both feet on the ground
- the "Thumbs up" gesture is rude throughout the Arab world.
A gesture meaning "calm down" or "wait a minute" is accomplished in this way: with your palm facing you, touch all yur fingers, and bob your hand up and down (as if you were weighing something).

Back 2

Egypt (Gestures)

Front 3

- Russian is a language abudant in curses, and there are quite a number of obscene gestures as well. Both the American "okay" sign and any shaken-fist gesture will be interpreted as vulgar.
- Whistling is not taken as a sign of approval in a concet hall: it meand you did not like the performance.
- The "thumbs up" gesture indicates approval among Russians.
- you may encounter some supersticious behaviors if you are invited into a Russian's home.
- These include sitting for a minute before leaving home, or knowcking three times on wood to avoind bad luck.

Back 3

Russia (Gestures)

Front 4

- The standard space between you and your conversation partner should be about two feet. Most U.S. executives will be uncomfortable standing closer than that.
- In general, friends of the same sex do not hold hands, it will probably be interpreted as a sign of sexual preference.
- to point, you cna use the index finger, although it is not polite to point at a person.
- To beckon someone, wave either all the fingers or just the index finger in a scooping motion with the palm facing up.
- To show approval, there are two typical gestures. One is the "okay" sign, done by making a circle of hte thumb and index finger. The other is the "thumbs up" sign, done by making a fist and pointing the thumb upward.
- The "V" for victory sign is done by extending the forefinger and index finger upward and apart. The palm may not face in or out.
- A backslap is a sign of friendship
- To wave goodbye, move your entire hand, palm facing outward.
- Crossing the middle and index fingers on the same hand has two meanings: either to bring good luck, or (when hidden) to indicate that the statement the person is making is untrue. Both gestures are used more often by children than adults.
- There are many ways to call a waitor/waitress over: make eye contact and raise your eyebrwos, or briefly wave to get his or her attention. To call for the ckeck, make a writing gesture or mouth the words "check please"
- direct eye contact shows that you are sincere, although it should not be too intense. Some minorities look away to show respect.
- When sitting, U.S citizens often look very relaxed. They may sit with the ankle of one leg o nthe their knee or prop their feet up on chairs or desks.
- In business situations, maintain good posture and a less causal pose.
- When giving an item or another person, one may toss it or hand it over with only one hand.

Back 4

United Kingdom (Gestures)