Non-verbal communication Spoken languages differ greatly between cultures. With all the challenges this creates, it would be useful if there were a 'universal' non-verbal language we could all understand. According to Professor Albert Mehrabian of the University of California, only 7% of communication comes from the actual words we say. Another 38% comes from our intonation. A further 55% comes from our body language. However, things like gestures differ greatly between cultures. A 'thumbs up' might mean 'I like it' in some cultures, but could be an insult in others. What about expressing emotions? In 2017, researchers from Dartmouth College in the US met the Kreung people - a tribe in a remote, mountainous part of Cambodia. One Kreung man was given situations like 'This food's bad, or 'There's a tiger!' and was asked to make appropriate facial expressions showing emotions such as disgust, fear or surprise. Later, videos of the man were shown to students in the US. Encouragingly, they correctly identified the man's emotions 85% of the time. However, a new study by the Association for Psychological Science suggests things aren't so simple. We might recognize 'happiness' when we see it. But when people feel happy, they only show it on their faces 30% of the time. On the other hand, someone might show a happy-looking face when they actually feel very differently inside. So, we might be able to make a good guess at what someone from a completely different culture wants to communicate, or how they feel, without using any spoken language. However, this is unlikely to work all the time. Sadly, it seems there is no 'universal' language that we can all use to communicate with each other reliably. 1. Most of the ideas and feelings we communicate come from the words we say. 2. The article claims that a 'thumbs up' sign has the same basic meaning everywhere. 3. In the 2017 study, people could nearly always tell how someone from a completely different culture felt. 4. The article suggests that it's easy to tell the difference between a face that looks happy and a face that doesn't. 5. Most of the time, the expression on our faces matches the feeling we have.