Body Language

Body language is an unspoken communication. In a simple way, it involves hand gestures, facial expression, and also eye contact. Next, we’ll discuss about them in Indonesian case, because each country has their own way in giving meaning to a body language.

Same with others, Indonesian people also use their body language in communicate each others. The first one is hand gestures. Hand gestures are a form of body language that can be used to non-verbally communicate with others. If you are in a setting where hearing is difficult, hand gestures are one of the only ways to communicate with others. If you are speaking to someone who doesn’t understand your language and you don’t understand theirs, hand gestures and body language will be the only way to help convey your feeling. The most famou example of hand gestures is in thumbs case. Thumbs-up is a sign of positivity, a signal that everything is okay, while thumbs-down signals disapproval or rejection.

The second one is about facial expression. It would be easy for you to predict what exactly people feel at that time by looking to their face (such us lips, eyebrows ,ext ) . For example, when people sad, their eyebrows and their lips would be so un great to see , it’s contrast with the condition if they feel happy, their lips would be so nice, even their teeth, because they will smile widely and even show up their teeth .

Next, the last thing is about eye contact. Indonesian people usually do this when they want to express their feeling. For example, if they feel bored when they are listening to someone who is having a conversation with them, their eye contact can show it, people will know whether you’re bored or not by looking to your eyes. Some people also use eye contact to know whether it’s a true or not, because when people lie about something, their mouth can say a lie, but their eyes cannot. Therefore, some people usually use black glasses when they want to hide something from others.

In conclusion, defining a body language is not an easy way if you meet someone from other countries, because all the things that I’ve mentioned before would be a wrong article if western people read this, their way would be so different with Indonesian.

Kania Novita Wulandari