2.     Gestures

Impossible to catalog them all.  But need to recognize: 1) incredible possibility and variety and 2) that an acceptable in one’s own culture may be offensive in another.  

Amount of gesturing varies from culture to culture.  Some cultures are animated; other restrained.  

Restrained cultures often feel animated cultures lack manners and overall restraint.  Animated cultures often feel restrained cultures lack emotion or interest.

Even simple things like using hands to point and count differ.

Pointing : US with index finger; Germany with little finger; Japanese with entire hand (in fact most Asians consider pointing with index finger to be rude)

Counting:  Thumb = 1 in Germany, 5 in Japan, middle finger for 1 in Indonesia.
 

3.     Facial Expressions

While some say that facial expressions are identical, meaning attached to them differs.  

Majority opinion is that these do have similar meanings world-wide with respect to smiling, crying, or showing anger, sorrow, or disgust.  

However, the intensity varies from culture to culture.  Note the following:

§  Many Asian cultures suppress facial expression as much as possible.

§  Many Mediterranean (Latino / Arabic) cultures exaggerate grief or sadness while most American men hide grief or sorrow.

§  Some see “animated” expressions as a sign of a lack of control.

§  Too much smiling is viewed in as a sign of shallowness.

§  Women smile more than men.