The Definitive Book of Body Languageresponse could be to give an Englishman, American or Aus-
tralian two mugs of beer.
To Touch or Not to Touch?
Whether or not someone will be offended by being touched
during conversation depends on their culture. For example, the
French and Italians love to continually touch as they talk,
while the British prefer not to touch at any time unless it's on
a sports field in front of a large audience. Intimate embracing
by British, Australian and New Zealand sportsmen is copied
from South American and Continental sportsmen who
embrace and kiss each other after a goal is scored and continue
this intimate behaviour in the dressing rooms. The moment
the Aussies, Brits and Kiwis leave the field, it reverts to the
'hands off - or else' policy.
British men will only touch each other on a sports
field when someone scores a point or a goal and then
it's a full embrace, kiss and the odd grope. But try it
on in the pub and see what happens.Dr Ken Cooper also studied touch frequencies in a number of
countries and recorded the following results for touches per
hour - Puerto Rico 180, Paris 110, Florida 2, London 0.
From our research and personal experience, here's a ready
reckoner of places where it's acceptable to touch or not:
Don't touch Do Touch
Germany India
Japan Turkey
England France
USA & Canada Italy
Australia Greece
New Zealand Spain