Italy Nonverbal Communication

Expert interview 

I talked with Stefano back at the castle as he is from Italy which is obvious with the way that he communicates and his general appearance. Our interview was extremely casual and he was the one who actually approached me and our initial surface-level conversation turned into a two hour long talk about faith and our different cultures. I asked him a lot about Italy and the way the people are and he was quick to respond to my questions. One thing I gathered from talking with him is that they are very proud of where they come from and the way that they are. 

I asked him if most people talk with a lot of gestures or hand movements and he responded by giving me a tutorial on common hand signs that one might use or see. He emphasized that these nonverbals all depend on what part of Italy a person might be from because the way people communicate varies based on location. The more South you get the more “true Italian“ which comes with the gestures, loud voices and especially the physiCal touch. 

At one point Stefano asked me if I had a boyfriend or if I liked any of the guys on my trip and when I responded with “no” he smiled in a way that made me feel slightly uncomfortable, like we had just started talking for the first time and he was asking maybe a little too much about my personal life. From there I asked him if all Italian men are forward and direct with their comments and also their nonverbals like whistling and winking. He seemed to be slightly offended by this like I was implying that he was hitting on me, which I did feel like he was but he said once again that it depends on what region in Italy you‘re visiting. He said that the more South you get the men tend to be a bit more direct and you’ll find creepy men everywhere you go but not all men are trying to make women feel uncomfortable. He also said that it’s common for men to say things like “you’re beautiful“ directly to a woman he’s attracted to and it’s not meant to be a derogatory comment or freak her out but it’s their way of complimenting them.

I appreciated how open he was in willing to share with me and it was helpful getting direct insight, especially from an Italian man who is just a year older than me. Even in our own conversation and the few comments he made about my looks or being single I realized that it’s totally part of his culture to compliment women and ask direct questions like that and I’m just not used to that back in the states. As the conversation progressed I felt myself relax and just be more open to discussing things with him that I wouldn’t normally talk about with a stranger but it was a really impactful and informative conversation.