Filipino Gestures
Non-verbal Communication: Filipino Style
Not all cultural gestures are unique; some gestures may be the same with other cultures. However, there are certain gestures that we can identify as very Filipino. As I observed the people around me, there are a few gestures that I noticed that I was not even aware that we do but actually do quite often. I come to realize that conversations and situations would be bland without these gestures that we have become accustomed to one way or another.
Nothing can beat the Filipino way of pointing. The Filipinos have been very used to pointing to something not too far away with their lips by puckering it outward, which would look like a kiss to foreigners. Among friends, when someone beckons another person to come over they would use their hands in and out like turning pages of a book rapidly. In the same way they could ask someone to move aside but this time their hand does not face the body, turning the hand 180 degrees from its position when calling somebody.
As a sign of respect when a person passes in front of another, it is innate that we bend down our heads and crouch as to not distract the person. We also do that when passing between two people who are talking to one another but this time with both arms stretched out gesturing that one is passing through. One of my favorites is greeting someone in the hallways while walking and one smiles, raises the eyebrows, and tilts ones head upward to mean hello or acknowledge the person. My ultimate favorite, however, is when someone did not hear what the other said and they bring their eyebrows upwards and making a small opening of the mouth that suggests the person saying, “Ha?” This only implies that gestures bring life to situations and conversations making us a somewhat animated and expressive people, which we are.
Not all cultural gestures are unique; some gestures may be the same with other cultures. However, there are certain gestures that we can identify as very Filipino. As I observed the people around me, there are a few gestures that I noticed that I was not even aware that we do but actually do quite often. I come to realize that conversations and situations would be bland without these gestures that we have become accustomed to one way or another.
Nothing can beat the Filipino way of pointing. The Filipinos have been very used to pointing to something not too far away with their lips by puckering it outward, which would look like a kiss to foreigners. Among friends, when someone beckons another person to come over they would use their hands in and out like turning pages of a book rapidly. In the same way they could ask someone to move aside but this time their hand does not face the body, turning the hand 180 degrees from its position when calling somebody.
As a sign of respect when a person passes in front of another, it is innate that we bend down our heads and crouch as to not distract the person. We also do that when passing between two people who are talking to one another but this time with both arms stretched out gesturing that one is passing through. One of my favorites is greeting someone in the hallways while walking and one smiles, raises the eyebrows, and tilts ones head upward to mean hello or acknowledge the person. My ultimate favorite, however, is when someone did not hear what the other said and they bring their eyebrows upwards and making a small opening of the mouth that suggests the person saying, “Ha?” This only implies that gestures bring life to situations and conversations making us a somewhat animated and expressive people, which we are.