Professional Communication

During my summer programme in Korea, I stayed at Korea University’s hostel. At night, most students would gather at the basement to chitchat or play board games. One night, I was at the basement with two other Singaporean friends playing a traditional Korean card game called “Go”. An American guy joined us in the game too. Throughout the game, he sprawled his legs widely when he was sitting down. We were all very irritated with him. When he had won a game, he turned to my friend, Amy, who was sitting the nearest to him and gave her a hug because he was extremely happy that he had finally won a game. Amy was shocked at his sudden move. As she felt uneasy and angry, she made an excuse and went back to her room immediately.

The meaning of body posture can vary from culture to culture. In America where the culture values friendly and casual attitude, people always tend to sprawl when they are sitting down. However this is considered rude and inconsiderate to Singaporeans. It is unsightly and it restricts the movement of the one sitting beside. In the above situation, we all had very little leg space under the table because the American guy had relatively long legs as he is tall. As a result, we all sat quite uncomfortably.

Touch can cause misunderstanding in different cultural context. Gender roles also play a part. Different cultures may have variable acceptable touch. Singapore is not a touch-oriented country. To express happiness, we normally show it through facial expression, tone of voice or a hi-five with someone. In the above situation, the American chose to express his happiness by hugging Amy. Although hugging is common in America among family members, friends and even as a form of greeting, it is considered impolite and intrusive to Singaporeans for the American guy to hug Amy. This is because of gender differences and the fact that they are only acquaintances. In Singapore, hugging is uncommon except between couples. Even so, couples do not usually hug openly in public.