Whether you’re traveling abroad or just meeting new people, it’s always helpful to know what a person’s hand gestures mean. In this article, we’ll explore the meanings of different hand gestures around the world, including ones for hello and good-bye, gratitude, zero, please and thank you, numbers, and more. You’ll learn how to communicate with others in their native language by mimicking their body language with your own hands!

At Engmates we introduce hand gestures in our spoken English classes and interview preparation classes to enable our students to understand people of different cultures and countries better.

Hand Gestures for Hello and Good-bye

• Waving hello and goodbye: You can wave to someone you know or a stranger to say hello, goodbye, or that you’re leaving. The gesture can also be used to indicate the amount of time remaining in something, like how many minutes are left in class.
• Shaking hands: This is most commonly used by males. It usually means friendship or agreement on some level.
• Bowing: Bowing shows respect for another person and their position as well as indicating submission (e.g., if you bow before your teacher). If someone bows back at you after bowing yourself, it means they accept your submission.
• Nodding: Nodding is often used when greeting someone or showing agreement with them (e.g., saying “yes” out loud). It’s also used in place of saying “hello” or “goodbye,”, especially among people who don’t know each other very well yet because it’s less formal than shaking hands but still shows respect for authority figures like teachers/bosses/etcetera

Hand Gestures for Gratitude

• Hand on heart: In many parts of the world, this gesture is used to show gratitude. The person who did you a favor will often respond in kind, showing their appreciation and thanking you in turn.
• Pointing: An open palm with three fingers extended is the most common way people point at things, but pointing with just one finger can mean something different depending on where it’s done. For example, pointing at someone’s nose or face means “you” in some cultures; in others, it means “me”.
• Clapping: This gesture shows approval or appreciation for something another person has said or done. It can also be used to call for silence so that everyone can hear what’s being said by someone else—a form of applause without actually clapping!
• Bowing: Although bowing isn’t necessarily a hand gesture itself (it involves bending your upper body forward), it’s commonly used as an expression of gratitude when saying hello or goodbye to someone important like your boss or teacher at school.

Read More- How to Confidently Make an Appointment in English

Hand Gestures for Zero

The gesture for zero is a circle with the thumb and index finger. In many countries, this gesture has become the standard symbol for “zero” or “nothing.” It’s used in China, Japan, and other Asian countries as well as in France, Spain, and England.

Hand Gestures for Please and Thank you

If you are in a country that uses the palm-down gesture for please and thank you, it’s important to know how to use it properly. You want to make sure your palms are facing down toward your chest, not out toward someone else. It can be hard to tell if someone has their palms facing up or down when they’re far away from you, so try making eye contact while they do it and see what direction their hands are pointing in.

If someone asks you if they can have something (for example: “Can I have some water?”), hold up your thumb and index finger as if they were holding an invisible straw between them. This gesture means “as much as this” and is used all over the world—just like a thumbs up!

Hand Gestures for Numbers

• To count numbers, use your fingers. The number one is a fist; two is a single finger; three is a thumb and forefinger together (or any other combination of numbers); four is a hand with an index finger pointing up; five is a thumb and index finger touching (or any other combination of numbers).

Many languages have their own ways of expressing words or phrases using gestures. For example, in some countries, it’s common to use certain hand gestures when you’re speaking English or Hebrew. Some examples include:

• Thumbs up – Good luck!

Hand Gestures for “come here” and “go away”

• Pointing to someone or something
• Pointing to yourself
• Pointing at the ground
• Pointing at the sky
• Pointing at a clock to show the time
• Pointing at a calendar to show the date

Read More- 12 Powerful Words to Use When Interviewing

You Can Learn the Meaning of Hand Gestures to Communicate with People from Other Countries.

When you travel to other countries, you may find that hand gestures are used in place of words. Hand gestures can be used to communicate with people who do not speak your language. Learning the meaning of hand gestures can help you communicate with people from different cultures.

Conclusion

I hope that you’ve learned a few new hand gestures and are now ready to try them out with people in your own country. I think it’s important to remember that we can all use more opportunities to make friends with people from other countries, so don’t be afraid to reach out!

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Why Learning Eating Etiquettes are Important?

You never know when you’ll end up in a business meeting or that of a client and where you have to sit for a meal together. Eating etiquettes come handy at surprising times and that is way better to keep the skills by heart than to get awkward amidst all. There are a lot of little does and don’ts that you might need to keep in mind if you’re attending a formal or even an informal meal.

Let us start from leaning the napkin handling etiquettes and gradually move to the other situations that you might find yourself in, while at dining.

Napkin Etiquettes

• If you’re attending a formal meal, do not use the napkin before the hostess of the meal was removed and used it.
• If you’re attending an informal meal, you might take the napkin and unfold it on your lap, immediately after settling.
• If you’re leaving your seat for any purpose, temporarily, you might rise and let the napkin lie on the chair. While leaving the table finally, fold the napkin and put it at the left of your setting.
• Do not use the napkin as a tissue. It is only meant for dabbing the sides of your mouth.
• If you need to wipe or blow your nose or anything else, leave the table and excuse for bathroom.

Cutlery and utensil etiquettes; eating

• Always wait for the host to start eating.
• At small tables with two to four people, wait until everybody is served before eating.
• In the case of the formal business meal, you might start eating only after everybody is served or after the hostess has requested to begin.
• While using a fork, hold it in your left hand, keeping the tines downward.
• Grip the knife in your right hand, with your index finger extended along the top of the blade of the knife.
• To lift the food to your mouth, use the fork as a spear.
• When you’re not eating, you might rest your hand on your lap or the table with your wrists. Elbow shouldn’t tough the table.
• If your mouth is full, try not to talk at any cost. You might speak if the food is less in your mouth. It looks polite.
• If you’re having a soup that is too hot, do not blow. Instead, wait until it gets cool.
• Don’t slurp liquid from a spoon. Sip it from the sides, soundlessly.
• Do not order alcohol. Nobody likes a person asking for too much alcohol.
• Do not smoke at the table.

Passing the items etiquettes

• You must always pass to the right if the item is generically passed and not aimed at a specific person.
• If the item you’re passing is too heavy to hold for long, you might put it to rest on the table and then pass.
• If the dish is light enough, it is polite to hold it until the other guest takes the content.
• If the above step is awkward or not possible, you might just pass to the next person, who’ll serve himself or herself.
• Do not touch the content with your fingers, at any cost. Use spoons or tongs provided.
• Always pass the salt and pepper together.

Ending the meals

• Once the meal is finished, you might rest your knife and fork on the plate, specifically to gesture you’re done. Or you can put them in a way to show a pause in your meal.
• To show a pause- keep the knife and the fork in a v-shaped position, with the tips touching each other in the middle of the plate.
• To gesture that you’re done with- put the fork and the knife on the plate, parallelly, in a slightly slanting way. It should look like a clock striking 5:50. Or the handles should be in a four o’clock position with the tips out of the rim.
• If it is a formal meal, wait for the staff to clear the dishes.
• If the meal is informal, the hostess will clear the dishes with the help of one or two guests.
• Make it a point not to complain about the food, even if you didn’t like it or whatsoever. It appears rude and negative.

Here is the buddle kit for everyone who is looking forward to nurturing their eating etiquettes or adding a few new ones to their list.

Learn for English speaking, Public speaking, Personality development classes to exploring yourself with everyone.

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Some of the personality tips for Holi Events are as follows:

• People have understood the harmful effects of chemically packed colors. Thus it is highly recommended to play Holi with Organic colors. People are going natural and heading for colors with a natural tinge so that their skin is also spared from rashes or the after effects of Holi. Eco-friendly colors for Holi are easily available in the market.
• The biggest message which is spreading loud and clear around is to Save Water. People are encouraged to play with dry colors which are much safer for the body as well as the surroundings. It is becoming a personality trait to dress up in white with all the hues of dry colors on the outfit and body. It looks cool too.
• Holi sounds so much incomplete without sweets and savories. It is a high point to have great food in Holi events. Gujiya is available in diverse flavors, shapes, and sizes to lure the players and give them a reason to play hard but a safe Holi. Thandai is another favorite drink during Holi.
• To take care of your personality, be careful and apply oil on your hair and body. This is a simple tip to help you against the harmful effects of the colors.
• Holi becomes enjoyable when you are dressed in comfortable attire. Loose clothing is ideal. Ethnic looks are chic and trendy. Ladies should tie their hair as it is much safer for the hair.
• Minimal make-up or no make-up is the best beauty regime to follow.

Engmates announces its Holi Party and invites the students and faculty to mingle and enjoy the spirit of the festival in true color.

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Since the inception of the telephone, it is being used as one of the most effective medium of communication. With the changes in technology, the devices became sophisticated but the essence remained intact. While some people are very courteous when they talk on the phone; some are very rude. If you think that telephone talking does not require any mannerism, then you are sadly mistaken. Human interaction should be based upon politeness and this should not be restricted to face-to-face interaction alone. In fact, the talk on the telephone should also be followed with proper etiquettes because good manners are a direct reflection of one’s behavior and character. Hence telephone etiquette is the right term which can be used for this.

Telephonic etiquette is not merely a bunch of phrases but the virtual image of your behaviors.

As per this system, there are several phrases which should be used while talking on the phone and several don’ts, which also should be observed simultaneously. How should one sound formal or vice versa- is an important factor which should be well understood while telephonic conversation? In the professional calls, people are formal with each other and follow the mannerism too.

There is no formal course or training module for telephone etiquettes. As kids, we were taught to be considerate to other humans. Though the modules are absent, yet the main thing to understand is that we need to focus on having a smooth conversation; whether it is with a family member, relative, or a friend. Merely starting and ending the conversation with greetings is not enough. It should be smooth throughout. Few handy tips are mentioned which will help people to achieve a smooth talk on the phone.

• You can never be too busy to be courteous. Yes, it is true that we live in a stressful world with peer pressure. But these are no reasons enough which gives us the ticket to be rude to the people on the other end. Even if it is unwanted sales calls or customer care calls; talking with etiquettes is the least which can be done and it will not cost anything, not even much time.
• The tone should be correct. Though physically one cannot see the person at the other end; yet it is not only the words which reach the ears of the listeners. The fact is that the tone reaches the person and the entire persona of the person is reflected through the tone. If the person speaks with a positive attitude, the listener will also get positive vibes and the tone will be received correctly.
• Short and crisp calls are preferred in the professional world. This may not apply for the personal calls but in the professional and official calls, people always prefer to have short and crisp calls.
• There is absolutely no need to flaunt the fluency in the language. It is not required to use heavy words of the vocabulary. It is better to be simple and make the person receptive of the message which has to be put across.
• Try to make the conversation interesting and share the thoughts properly in the personal conversations.

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Engmates is arranging a ROLE PLAY competition for go smart students.

would be playing roles on various social, political and financial issues. There would be 8 to 10 groups which would be competing with one another.

Date, Time and venue

Date: 22^nd June

Time: 10 Am

Venue: Engmates, opp. Tilak Nagar Metro Station Gate no. 3. Above MacD 3^rd floor.

Chief guest: Ms. Aparajita (Founder)

What Would students get?

Winning team would be awarded with the certificate.

What is judging criteria?

1. Theam
2. Execution
3. Appearance
4. Confidence
5. Audience engagement

What are the benefits for students?

Competiton will help students get

1. Better communications skills
2. Better team spirit
3. Better execution skills
4. Better audience engagement skills
5. Better Confidence level

Refreshment: Students would enjoy music, dance, and refreshment after the competition.

To join this event you may contact us : Phone: 8010263263 
Email us: info@engmates.com

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A good personality has the charm and power to impress others. A good personality has the power to win the hearts of the people in the interview panel of a Board Room. In the recent years, in the professional world, the weight-age which a good resume has is considered almost equal to having a good personality. Qualification matters and so does the entire way of conduction oneself matter. Tips in which personality can affect the career of an individual:

Self-assessment if the path towards the development of one’s personality. The career selection should also be made based on the self-analysis test. Find out whether you are introvert, extrovert, and smart, shy, confident or under confident? When one is able to recognize the traits which are embedded in one’s character the choice to make the right career will become simpler. An actor can be successful only if he or she is expressive in front of the camera. Hence self-analysis is very important.

Once the selection of the career has been made based on the traits of the character, the path may seem somewhat familiar. And if that means learning few elements to enhance the character and the development of the personality, then go for it. If English seems to be the hurdle, then cross the hurdle by learning and honing the skills of speaking the language. Nothing is impossible. Willingness to success should be there.

The Carl Jung Theory and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) are the benchmark measurement theories used by the personality development consultants and institutions as these theories help in creating the personality development in the desired direction based on the character traits of the individual. The parameters are

# Introversion

# Extroversion

# Sensing

# Intuition

# Thinking

# Perceiving

The expert in the Personality Development will be able to guide the person regarding the traits and help them to recognize their own skills and develop their strengths. At the same time, the weakness will also be focussed upon and the individual will be able to see a considerable change in oneself. You can read more about improving conversation skill here, and know how to hone your interpersonal skill during a conversation.

The career can be enhanced with the help of the Personality Development courses or classes as the experts are equipped with knowledge and ways to deal with issues which can be the cause of a poor personality. And again, looks have nothing to with personality. Inner strength and recognizing one’s own power can help in the correct development of the personality.

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Personality is reflected in the way you behave with others. An individual with a pleasant personality is always respected and appreciated by all.

Effective communication plays an important role in sharpening one’s personality and command over the language of communication always reflects your confidence. English is a language that is being used for a long time by all of us as a business language. English helps individuals to express themselves in the most effective way. Your thoughts, feelings, and knowledge should be passed on in a most desirable manner and effective communication with English helps you the same.

A person should be able to speak English in a really well manner to make an impression. Always remember, no one will take you seriously if you do not master the art of English Language and make your communication, smarter, better and faster.

English plays a vital role in our life. English is utmost important in the modern world. But English should be continued with Hindi or other regional languages that you prefer.

India is a land of numerous regional languages in different states. But, English always serves as a link-language in this country.

English is widely being used in official communications.

The termination of use of English will adversely affect the way we work at the office. Most corporate people know English, but most of them do not know any other language other than their mother tongue or regional language. So, they communicate with each other in English for their daily work. So, if these people are asked to say goodbye to the English, there will be a chaos.

People with excellent English have a different stamp of their personality because it really helps in getting a better impression in all sections of life.

Effective command of English will strengthen the bond among people. It also helps in improving the interpersonal relationships with other people. Selecting the words carefully is an essential thing for effective communication skills. We really ought to know what you are speaking. We never know what will hurt the facing person. Never use abusive words in English with anyone.

Speaking convincingly so that another person understands what is your intention of communication.

The style of speaking English also makes a tremendous impact on your personality. Speaking slowly and with a humble attitude helps as it helps you find the appropriate words and also reflects your thoughtfulness.

English is utmost important for impressive and great personality, so be confident while interacting and never look around while interacting with the other person.

English is no doubt the finest language for communication, which is the ultimate key to your pleasant personality. To improve your English today!

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Personality Development

We often come across the term personality development and there are many relevant courses offered across the globe. But one needs to first understand what exactly leads to a person’s personality development. It is a set of attributes development of which leads to an improvement in the overall personality of a person. It is not just about putting on good clothes and fluently speaking in English language but something more than that. By personality development we mean a development in all areas of life.

Tips for Personality Development

You can expect a drastic development in your personality in a day, it takes time and conscious effort. One needs to work on a number of characteristics in order to become influential and noticeable. Have a look at some of the important tips that can help you in the overall development of your personality.

1. Be Confident:

You cannot have a good personality without confidence and that is why it comes in the top of the list of tips. One might feel under-confident due to various reasons including failure, guilt, physical appearance, financial status etc but it’s always good to rise above all of these and focus on all the positive traits that you possess. This will boost your self-confidence and you will across as more reliable and dependable person.

Your confidence also comes from how you feel so no matter what you cannot pretend to be confident beyond a certain extent. It’s important that you have faith in yourself and learn to believe in your qualities.

2. Improve Your Communication Skills:

After confidence you have to work on your communication skills. It is important for you to be able to put across your ideas well. No matter what language you choose, the other person should be able to understand your expressions. No wonder, English has become one of the most preferred languages over the period of time considering that it is a global language. So, it would be good if you work on that as well. Also, it is advisable that you communicate thoughtfully, do not just blurt things out. Make some sense while you communicate. 

3. Dress Up Well:

Yes! You should know how to dress. By dressing up well we do not mean to say that you have to be brand conscious, but you should definitely know how to dress as per the occasion. Choose your outfit as per the situation, place and purpose especially when it comes to corporate occasions. You don’t really have to be fair, tall or have good features to have a good personality; all you need to do is to carry yourself well.

4. Do What You’re Passionate About and Be Passionate About What You Do:

It is always said that one must pursue one’s passion so that you can put in more dedication and hard work into it. Be passionate about your work and give your best in everything that you do. This will not only help you achieve goodwill but will also impart in you certain values which will stay with you forever and improve your personality. Prove yourself in every possible way.

5. Watch Your Body Language:

Your body language can speak a lot about you and your level of confidence. Understand the role of positive gestures in your communication as they play a very important role in a conversation. Don’t make too many hand movements and too not be too rigid with your body, it’s important to have a balance.

6. Improve Your Social Skills:

To be in the society one has to be social and friendly and that is why man is called a social animal. Be confident and upfront while interacting with others at the same time being polite and nice. To develop your social skills you can participate in group activities like seminars, discussions, fests etc. This way you can be more open and outgoing.

7. Develop Leadership Qualities:

You should have the ability to lead and take initiatives. Do not confuse it with giving orders or commands to those who work under you. Rather you have to know how to handle them in a way that the task goes smoothly and perfectly. Never shy away from hard work.

8. Be Optimistic:

Optimism is integral to a good personality, and nobody likes to interact with someone who sees negativity in everything. Learn to be hopeful even in the most adverse situations and see possibilities everywhere. It is in case of failure that one has to be more positive and believe in yourself. Expect good things from the future.

9. Be a Patient Listener:

Listening is an important part of any communication so learn to be a good listener. Do not try to jump to the answer first but listen to the person. Avoid any distractions and barriers while communicating with someone and be focused so that you can answer relevantly. Ask questions to let the other person know that you were listening to him/her.

10. Be a Good Learner:

Learning is an important part for all age groups and for people from all walks of life. The more you learn, the better you become. Learn from your mistakes and avoid them in future.

Suggested read: The meaning of hand gestures around the world.

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