What does the nodding of the head actually mean? That is one of the questions Danes and Europeans/Americans often ask Culturewise because it is different from anything we make use of. Indians, however, are often not aware of how their head movements can be (mis)understood by their Western colleagues. 

Therefore Culturewise is happy to have received an account of Berit Enggrob’s experiences with these head movements. Berit has both lived in Bangladesh and India. You can read more about Berit Enggrob’s account of both Danish and Indian head movements here.

Berit Enggrob’s experience with the Indian head movement:

In the beginning it constantly experienced that I did not get clear confirmations. It happened when I went shopping, drove in richshaws or went to work: I simply experienced that the Indian’s body language spoke against the “yes” they uttered. That is how it was until I suddenly discovered the significant difference in the way Indians and Danes use head movements in a dialog. And then I really started to feel ashamed about my rude communication because I many times HAD received confirmation. I just wasn’t aware of it. To top it all off I had often stubbornly refused it by trying to force a Danish confirming nod. And the more i tried to force it – the more intensely I perceived the “maybe”.

In Denmark we have three head movements which are important in a dialog:

1.  A negative SHAKE OF THE HEAD where the head moves from side to side around the axis of the neck. In a Danish context it means “no”. The more forceful a movement the clearer a “NO”.

2.  A conforming NOD with the head where the chin moves towards and away from the chest. In a Danish context this signal means both”I understand” and “YES – we have a deal”.

3.  A TILT where the head tilts one or more times from shoulder to shoulder. This signal is individual and different from person to person, but the sideways tilting of the head is not perceived as a confirmation by Danes, rather the opposite.

In India it is common to use three very similar head movements but particularly one of them (3) has a very different meaning.

1.  A negative SHAKING OF THE HEAD where the head is moved from side to side around the axis of the head, which can be interpreted as a Danish no, but with Indians you rarely see a powerful movement, since it can be seen as inappropriate to signal a “no” that clearly.

2.  Some Indians use a confirming nod with the head like Europeans. However this often only expresses a non-binding confirmation along the lines of “I understand what you are saying” unless the person in particular has a thorough knowledge of European culture.

3.  A tilt with the head towards the right shoulder on the other hand corresponds to the Danish NOD in meaning “we have a deal”. The higher an Indian is in the hierarchy the more discreet the move will be. However this very important Indian tilt can be misinterpreted as a loud and clear Danish “maybe”. En series of fast tilts with the head from side to side during a conversation with an Indian can be perceived as the confirming Danish nod meaning “I understand”. However these many small tilts look more like a Danish “I’m not sure I understand you/I agree with you”.

Some Indians only use (1) and (3) and can only rarely be pressured to confirm something with the Danish nod (2). Others have worked in or with western cultures and use the nod in its European meaning. But almost all Indians make use of (3) which is the clearest sign of confirmation. The untrained Dane can during a dialog with Indians come across as most rude when he/she intuitively conceive the head-tilt as a sign of uncertainty or disagreement and thusly push for a “clear” nod as a signal.

Be attentive - and get more confirmations

As a Dane one will be wise to be attentive of the confirming Indian tilt with the head and if possible to use it one self. This will lead to discovering that Indians confirm more that first anticipated.

So by being attentive in regards to the head movements one often discovers more confirmations – or lack thereof – during a conversation between Indians than the untrained Danish eye will.