What's in a Head Nod?

Have you ever realized how much is communicated by a head nod? Especially when you can't use verbal communication? Over the last week, I've been even more aware of how much I depend on body language and head movements for communication. In Bulgaria, you can't depend on the head nod of up/down for Yes and side/side for No because it's reversed in BG. They use the up/down for No and side/side for Yes. Does any other culture do this?

There are many communication studies about how much is communicated via non-verbal cues -- something like 80% is communicated via non-verbal actions (I'm too lazy to link to a specific study). So even though I know the Bulgarian words for Yes and No (da = yes, ne = no), I still find myself paying more attention to the body language than the words. It's even worse if I'm not close enough to hear the words.

We were walking across the parking lot of the metro station on Monday near the BG capital of Sophia and tried to wave down a taxi. As the driver saw the hand wave (seems the taxi hand motion is understood across cultures), he moved his head left to right. I slowed down and started looking for another taxi. When I turned back, Ava was walking faster to the cab as I saw him still shaking his head but also waving us to the taxi.

The head nod can get even more confusing when some Bulgarians switch it up because they know you aren't a local, so you really need to pay attention to the words!!