Hello, my name is My Backyard. (I bow).

Mr. Toastmaster, fellow Toastmasters and honored guests, this evening my topic is body language in Japan. The rules of the game differ in Japan vs. the United States. In fact, gestures that you may think of as universal are not, as I’ll demonstrate later.

In Japan, the bow — not the handshake — is the key gesture in introductions. You can tell a lot from watching Japanese people bow. You can tell who’s higher status and who’s lower status from how low the bow goes. If I’m lower status than you, I bow more deeply. If I’m higher status, my bow is shallower.

A woman bows differently than a man. She bows with her hands lightly on her thighs in front of her. Like this. A man bows with his hands at his side. Like this.

Do you think you could do this? I’d like all of the ladies in the audience to stand up, so they can try bowing. Please watch me and follow what I do. Stand up straight, place your hands lightly on your thighs in front of you, keep your back straight, bow forward slowly, then come back up. Can you do that one more time, so I can watch you?  Very nice. You can sit down now.

Gentlemen, wouldyou like to try a masculine bow? Please stand up. You position your arms differently than the ladies. Like this. Let’s try it. Very good. You can sit down now.

Next, let’s consider a scenario where you’re introduced to Japanese people in the U.S. They’re not likely to engage in a traditional Japanese bow. They’re trying to respect our American customs. In this case, you’re likely to encounter what I call a hybrid greeting. A very shallow bow — more of a nod, really — accompanied by a handshake. It looks like this.

I must warn you. This is NOT the time to trot out your bone-crushing handshake to show your strength. This is very foreign to the Japanese. Instead, give a soft, maybe even limp handshake. That won’t frighten your new acquaintances. In fact, it’ll make them feel good. They’ll think, "I’m doing an American-style greeting and it’s going great!" 

If you remember these tips, you can use body language to your advantage  with new Japanese acquaintances.