It is hard to summarize verbal and nonverbal communication of a culture in one paragraph but if you are travelling to Turkey, there are few unique communication styles you must be aware of. As a beginner, you are expected to use a politer language to the people who are older than you and whom you are meeting for the first time (e.g., you should say “siz” (plural “you”) instead of “sen” (singular “you”)). Secondly, make sure that you always use honorifics to address people who are older than you or have important social status: such as “agbi” (older brother) , “abla” (older sister), “bey” (similar to “Mr.”). Thirdly, expect that sometimes the messages will be communicated with eye and hand gestures with no words: for insatnce disapproval can be communicated by looking straightly in the eye. Lastly, don’t forget that in Turkey friendships can develop so quickly. A Turkish person might count you as a friend even if you just chat with him or her for 10 minutes while waiting in a line.
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