 communication styles cross cultural cross cultural means involving two or more cultures or countries cross cultural communication is communication between people from more than one culture greeting a greeting is the way you approach a person to say you are happy to see them or to meet them a polite greeting in the U.S. is to shake hands when you meet someone gesture a gesture is a type of non-verbal communication gestures are signals given with the hand or another part of your body waving your hand and greeting means hello direct being direct means to communicate by saying exactly what you mean direct communication is clear and easy for others to understand indirect being indirect means to communicate without expressing your ideas clearly indirect communication can result in misunderstanding of ideas formal formal interaction closely follows cultural etiquette standards it is customary to have formal communication another word for formal is traditional informal informal communication is friendly and relaxed it is best used with family and friends another word for informal is casual body language in addition to speaking you communicate with your body this type of communication is called body language your body tells people about your thoughts and feelings facial expressions facial expressions are a type of body language how you move your face communicates to other people a common facial expression is a smile personal space personal space is the distance you leave between yourself and others family and friends stand closer together than co-workers personal space needs vary by culture compare compare means to look at two or more people or things to see how they are alike or different to compare people or things you look for similarities and differences contrast contrast means to show how two or more people or things are different to find contrast you look for differences instead of similarities the end