According to former FBI spy catcher Joe Navarro, Americans abroad can easily be spotted by subconscious body language, even if they are posing as foreigners.
American spies have been revealed by how they sit, walk, use space and even hold objects.
While standing and waiting, Americans tend to lean on posts or walls or rest their arm on a surface more than foreigners.
Americans generally have a wider, more confident gait with longer strides and take up more personal space compared to more reserved cultures.
They maintain larger personal space when standing or sitting, while many cultures tend to stand or sit closer to each other. They’ll typically leave extra chairs between themselves and others, like a buffer zone.
Americans usually hold flowers by the stalk with the blossoms facing upright. Europeans typically cradle them horizontally in their arms.
Americans are more verbally and facially expressive during casual conversations (nodding, smiling, raising eyebrows) while some other cultures prefer a more reserved expression. Their eye contact tends to be more direct and intense as compared to more indirect eye uses in other parts of the world.
Having lived in Germany for 15 years, and New Zealand for 9 years, two nations where people are quieter, I know this to be true.
When I returned to the U.S. in 2021, my country of birth, I noticed my facial expressions were more neutral and Americans constant smiling was perceived as “insincere”.
I had to re-learn American expressiveness, including more frequent gestures with the hands and arms (but not as much as Italians). In Germany people told me I’m “standing like an American”, because my sitting and standing postures were more casual, relaxed, slouched and sometimes lazy than the more disciplined posture in Germany.
When American tourists were witnessed in town, I was asked “why are Americans so loud?”. It’s seen as rude or imposing. In the flip-side, American friends asked me why the locals are so reserved or cold. It was seen as low-energy. I don’t think Americans are rude nor Germans humorless, but that’s the way it can be perceived.
There’s great benefit in living in different countries. You learn different ways of being. These are reflected in the language, body language and cultural beliefs of each region. It expands your consciousness so that you’re no longer molded into stereotypical identities. From that wider perspective, you choose who to be.
