Several years ago Rev. Kim Tracy and I travelled to Manaus, Brazil, to dedicate a church building New Hope had helped to finance. We were Sunday morning guests of the mother church downtown, a mega-church of the Presbyterian variety. Kim was a musician and was getting ready for the sound check just prior to the service, which was already packed with several hundred people. He wanted more sound in his monitor, so jestered upward with his thumb to the sound man in the back. He continued to pump his thumb up and down waiting for the appropriate volume.

The missions pastor of the church shook his head and kept advising, “Don’t do that.” When Kim finally got the desired volume, he ceased his jesturing. Kim was later humiliated when we were told that the thumbs up sign in Brazilian culture is an obscene jesture, equivalent to the middle finger in America.

The communications principle in this story is to beware of your jestures. People may read more into your wink than that you are making a joke. Body language says a lot about your demeanor and what you are thinking. So, think before you yawn or fold your arms.

Got any further illustrations of body language goof-ups?

Tags: communication, humor, missions