 |
| Asian owned shop |
A recent trip to the Asian owned shop near my place, once again proved to be an eye opener. Once again my non-verbal communication skills got a good old heave-ho, thrusting them to levels newer and more advancedlevels. As usual it is my social responsibilty to share these skills with you so that should you be in a similar predicament, you are able to devise ingenious communication strategies that will take over from where words have been rendered ineffective. Here goes...
Should you ever cut yourself or graze yourself and need to stop the bleeding, it goes without saying that a plaster is what you need. Should there not be a plaster in your first aid kit, you might want to pop into the nearest pharmacy or retail outlet to purchase one. Should that retail outlet be run by someone who does not speak your toungue, you both will have to resort to a common tongue that you both understand. Most probably, that will be English, but if the other party has only a flimsy grasp of English and does not comprehend what a plaster bandage is, prepare for some unorthodox sign language shopping.
- To indictate that you want something for a cut, put the tips of your thumb and forefinger together then drag them along your arm, face or other body part. While doing that, put on an intense grimace on your face. That will simulate a painful body cut.
- The next step is to stick out your thumb and run your thumb over the imaginary cut. That will indicate patching the cut with a plaster. While doing that, you should utter the simple words : "Stop blood!"
At that point a "Hey presto" moment will occur as the clever shop owner deciphers your request and pulls out a pack of plaster bandages. Remember that his lack of fluency in English is not a reflection of any kind of intellectual shortcoming, in as much as your not speaking his language does not make you stupid. Happy sign language shopping!
No comments:
Post a Comment