Copyright held by The John Cooke Fraud Report. Reprint rights are granted with attribution to The John Cooke Fraud Report with a link to this website.
During a recent trip to London, we (Associate Editor Susan Clarke and myself) ate at many different restaurants. On the last evening of our stay, we visited an English Fish and Chips establishment for what we hoped would be a typical London dinner.
When we entered and approached the front counter, a waiter appeared. As is the custom in America, I held up two fingers to signify that there would be two of us for dinner. Aside from the hand signal, I did not verbally communicate my request. The waiter looked at me and commented, “You’re from the States, aren’t you now?”
“Yes,” I responded, “but how did you know?” He then explained something to me that I will not soon forget—especially if I again find myself in Europe.
The waiter explained that in England, in order to connote the number two, the thumb and the first finger are held up. Should one wish to say three, the thumb and the first two fingers are held up. Four is shown by holding up the thumb and all fingers except the pinky—and five is the whole hand.
“So what does this mean?” I asked him, holding up only the first two fingers as I had when I originally signaled him (or thought I had) that there would be two of us dining.
“Same as this does in the States,” he responded as he held up only his middle finger. And I suddenly realized, with all due horror, that I had been “flipping the bird” to restaurant personnel all week long.
With that experience in mind, the following list covers just a few of the cultural nuances of which I am aware and which might come in handy as investigative knowledge.
YES and NO
Asians often don’t like to refuse directly with a simple, “No!” When they answer by saying, “It will take time to decide,” or “We’ll see,” they are often trying to say “No” in a softer, more inoffensive way. Hispanics and East Indians will also try to soften a negative response.
Initially, it is common to answer any question posed with a “yes.” This first “yes” means “Yes, I understand the question,” rather than being an affirmative “yes” to the actual question.
If the English-speaking interviewer says, “You don’t understand, do you?” (posing the question in the negative), the Asian respondent may reply “yes,” actually meaning “Yes, I do not understand.” It is therefore important to ask a direct question such as “Do you understand?” so that you can obtain a direct answer.
If you ask “Do you understand?” and the response is qualified (eg., “Yes, I think so.”), it may be a polite attempt to cushion a “No.” They could indeed be saying “No, I do not understand, but I am not comfortable coming right out and saying that I don’t understand.” Watch for a lowering of the eyes when a qualified yes is given. This is often a hint that the real answer should be no.
“I DON’T KNOW”
One problem often encountered by American investigators and interviewers is their inability to get a Soviet woman to commit to an answer when the question posed concerns the business of the husband. The wife may consistently answer, “I don’t know,” to the most mundane questions (eg., Where does your husband work? or What does your husband do for a living?). The American interviewer, when given such an answer, immediately assumes the evasion is an intentional lie. This is not the case at all. In truth, it is inappropriate in Soviet (and some Asian and Middle Eastern) cultures for a woman to know—or even to admit to knowing—anything at all about her mate’s business. Not so in America, where women are considered equals in the marital relationship.
LOUD SPEECH vs QUIET SPEECH
A raised voice is disruptive of social harmony. If you are having trouble being understood by—or understanding—someone of Asian culture—do not raise your voice. Loud speech is offensive. To an Asian, speaking in quiet, low tones is a sign of physical understatement and quiet elegance.
Southern Europeans and Middle Easterners are more comfortable with loud speech: so much so that Americans often interpret them as rude, pushy, angry or demanding. Not so; it is simply the style to which they are accustomed.
An astute interviewer will often try to match the tone and volume of an immigrant interviewee’s speech. When dealing with an individual from an Arab culture, talk louder. When interviewing an Asian or Hispanic female, a lower, softer tone is appropriate.
BODY LANGUAGE
Different cultures have different types and forms of body language. If you are interviewing someone whose body language is more animated and expressive than your own, do not try to duplicate the movements. Such attempts are easily seen through by someone of another culture and your actions may be interpreted as mocking or a show of disrespect.
Stretching, yawning or chewing gum indicates lack of interest or attentiveness to many cultures, especially Swedes and Koreans. Standing when someone enters the room is indicative of respect.
Never point at an Asian. It is considered highly offensive. In fact, even pointing at an object is frowned upon. If something truly needs to be pointed out, one may do so using the entire hand. Interestingly, using one’s thumb to point is somewhat acceptable in Malaysia.
In most Asian and Middle Eastern cultures, it is rude to cross the legs and/or feet. Huh? The reasoning behind this rather (to an American) strange interpretation is that when the legs are crossed, the bottom of the foot is in view (rude!) and the toe is pointed (very rude!) Indians and/or Pakistanis are especially sensitive to a posture that shows the bottom of the foot, taking it as an extreme insult. The bottom of the foot is the dirty side, so exhibiting such connotes rudeness and disrespect. Soviets are brought up thinking it is rude to half-cross their legs—to place their ankles on their knees. Such a position is considered to be too relaxed and is an indication that the person is not paying proper attention to business or is not showing respect to those around him.
When in pain, those of Asian or, to a lesser degree, Hispanic culture will not readily call attention to their discomfort. This is due to an unwillingness to call attention to themselves. This unwillingness extends also to matters of praise. If an Asian has done something heroic or brilliant, he will attempt to lessen the act in the eyes of others so that he does not receive any excess attention.
HAND GESTURES
When you wave goodbye (our style) in Europe, you are saying “no.” When you wave your index finger back and forth in front of your face in Mexico or Middle Eastern countries, you are also saying “no.” In Japan, waving the entire hand in front of the face is indicative of “no.”
In America, I will gesture “come here” by wiggling my finger, palm up. Nothing offensive at all about it—here. DO NOT beckon someone this way if they hail from Mexico, Vietnam or the Philippines. Such a motion is highly offensive in these cultures since it is used for calling animals or prostitutes. The appropriate motion to say “come here” is palm-down, moving the fingers, almost like a goodbye wave. To beckon a Middle Easterner, it’s okay to face the palm upward, but don’t wiggle the finger. Instead, simply open and close the hand.
Oh, and making the American “OK” sign, or flashing the “V” for victory, or simply doing a “thumbs up” gesture are all fine—in America, to Americans. In most other cultures, each of these innocuous American hand signs has a strong sexual meaning and may cause extensive embarrassment or even anger. The only exception is the “OK” sign in Japan—it means money.
If you need quiet when dealing with Koreans, they may smile if you hold your finger to your lips and make a “shhhhh” noise. In Korean culture, this does not mean “be quiet.” This gesture is the Korean way of prompting a young child sitting on the toilet into “doing their business.” It’s also valuable to know that this same “shhh” gesture is considered obscene by most Middle Easterners.
And while we’re talking hands, investigators should be aware that many cultures, most specifically Middle Eastern, sharply divide the proper use of the left and the right hand. The right hand is the “polite” hand, used for eating or respectfully touching another person. The left hand is used in the bathroom to (gently said) attend to bodily clean-up after using the toilet. Understandably, it is the epitome of rudeness to use the left hand to touch someone.
HEAD GESTURES
The American style of nodding up and down for yes, back and forth for no is not understood worldwide. Shaking the head is an indication of “yes” in India, Pakistan and parts of the Middle East and nodding translates to “no.” If a Filipino moves his head downward, it means “no,” although we Americans are prone to misunderstanding this movement. More confusing yet is the figure-eight motion of the head that is made in East India to say “I am listening” or “I understand.” To an American, this motion may be highly confusing and looks more like the person’s head is about to fall off his neck.
EYE CONTACT
Americans tend to interpret direct eye contact as a show of honesty and good communication. In this country we maintain direct eye contact for 1-2 seconds at a time. A longer duration may be interpreted as threatening, whereas little or no eye contact is thought of as shy, disinterested or, at worst, dishonest.
Southern Europeans, Hispanics and Middle Easterners tend to maintain a strong degree of direct eye contact, although the Hispanics may look away as a sign of respect. Also, females of all cultures are not as direct about their eye contact as males.
On the other end of the spectrum, East Asians, Southeast Asians, East Indians and Native Americans do not maintain eye contact. Japanese will look at your neck or the side of your face and Koreans will look at your shoulders. This is a show of respect and a desire to not be intrusive. It should not be interpreted as dishonesty.
It should also be noted that in some cultures (eg., Cambodian and Indian) when eye contact is made cross-gender, it is a sign of flirting and/or sexual interest. It is thus a good idea to send a male investigator to interview a man and a female investigator to interview a woman.
Nigerians, most notably those over 40 years of age, are very hesitant to make any eye contact with a Caucasian. This is due to conditioning from long ago: during the many years of “white rule” in Nigeria, a black man was not allowed to look into the eyes of a white man. To do so meant certain punishment, often of an extreme nature.
Two other interesting “eye” facts: the Taiwanese interpret blinking as rudeness; and Hong Kong natives do not approve of winking.
And then there is the question of when it is appropriate to look away. Anglo-Americans tend to maintain eye contact when being spoken to—but to occasionally avert the eyes when they themselves are speaking. This is directly opposite the eye contact behavior of much of the African-American culture.
SMILING
Americans and Hispanics smile a lot. It communicates friendliness and a positive attitude. It’s perfectly acceptable to smile at a stranger in the Americas. In many parts of Europe, however, smiling at a stranger can be interpreted as an invitation for sex. A French neighbor of mine told me that her grandmother once slapped her hard across the face for smiling as they passed a man on the street. My neighbor was only five years old at the time, but she never forgot the humiliation. “Only a prostitute or an American will smile at a strange man on the street,” admonished the grandmother.
Asians smile when they are embarrassed, angry or uncomfortable. If you are interviewing an Asian and he begins to laugh, it may mean that he does not understand the questions. His laugh may be his unique cultural response to covering up his embarrassment.
Soviet immigrants do not take a smile lightly. Smiles signify frivolity and lightness; as such they are improper in any situation where the immigrant is being questioned by an authority figure.
HANDSHAKES
In America, a strong, firm handshake is interpreted as honest and forthright. A weak, wispy grip can be interpreted in many ways, not many of them positive. Hispanics come close in American handshaking style, but repeat the gesture more frequently. Middle Easterners also repeat the gesture often, but their grasp is gentler. The French handshake is very light and is performed between those meeting on the same level (a Frenchman will not offer his hand to a superior). The Germans are very heavy, firm handshakers, often squeezing your hand until your fingers feel as if they will break. The British are downright soft: Prince Charles might readily be confused with a fish.
Asian culture calls for a very gentle handshake (although the Koreans, who shake hands more American-style are one exception). Prolonged or strong handshakes can make an Asian uncomfortable.
WORD INTERPRETATION
English is a strange language. Americans tend to use a large number of slang words (cool, dude, dweeb, B.O., etc.) and phrases (skinny as a rail, bucket of worms, hot potato, Johnny on the spot, etc.). There are literally hundreds, none of which properly translate out of context. American investigators should understand that most—but not all—translators here in the US have somewhat of a handle on such variances. Much potential for misunderstanding or misinterpreting can be overcome if the interviewer will carefully phrase each question to avoid the use of such slang.
Understanding a particular ethnicity can be of great benefit when phrasing certain questions. For instance, there are certain mountain areas of Cambodia where the people are highly superstitious. If an investigator asks, “Have you ever been known by another name?” the individual may answer “No.” However, if the same investigator then asks, “Have you ever used another name so that you could fool the sickness spirit?” the answer may well be affirmative.
INTERVIEW STYLE
In America, we tend to employ almost an “American style” of interviewing. It is not uncommon for the undertone of the interview to be somewhat confrontational. There is a low (slightly beneath the subconscious) level of implication, “I can send you to jail if you don’t tell me everything you know.” When dealing with an American, such methodology is usually conducive to getting at the truth of the matter being discussed.
Consider, however, how effective this same method may be on—for instance—a recent Russian immigrant. An individual who was forced to live, first, under the extreme oppression of Communism and, later, under the harsh conditions wrought by emerging democracy, is not going to be shaking in his galoshes over the threat of an American jail.
Or the case of the young immigrant from Saudi Arabia being questioned about a recent theft. In his own country, he would be punished severely for such a crime: a lengthy prison sentence in a filthy compound or the summary chopping off of his right hand. If he is threatened, subconsciously or not, with a fate the likes of “Club Fed,” what effect does that really have?
Or finally, consider a young female Chinese bank teller, being questioned about missing funds. In China, the penalty for such thievery is often death. The execution is carried out within minutes of the judge’s verdict. There are no appeals—just a bullet to the back of the head in the yard behind the courthouse, followed by a bill (for the bullet) sent to the family of the dead criminal. (Such crimes are exceedingly rare in China, obviously for good reason.) Can our implied threats of white-collar punishment have the desired effect of making this young lady shiver in her shoes?
An integral part of being a good investigator is recognizing the impact of cultural differences. When dealing with individuals of other cultures, our collective investigative community must shed the American mind set and recognize that we are not the only people in this world; such a recognition is a matter not only of cooperation and respect, but of survival.
© Copyright 1997 Alikim Media