The Quirky Canadian Customs and Habits That Outsiders Find Baffling (5 of 5)

Nodding doesn’t always mean what you assume it means

In most societies, nodding your head means you’re in agreement with someone. But that isn’t necessarily the case when you’re interacting with a Canuck. A nod often signals, “I follow you,” and nothing more. For instance, a supervisor might let a subordinate know that he/she needs staff to come in during the weekend. That subordinate nods—not because they’re on board with the idea, but because they acknowledge that the supervisor is going to have to do a whole lot of sweet talking if they want to persuade anybody to give up their Saturday to come into the office.