Perhaps the first key step in becoming a competent communicator with your nonverbal communication is to become aware of your own nonverbal behavior. For example, when you wait in line at the lunch counter, are you aware that the spatial distance between you and the person in front of you is cultural? Did you consciously stand about arm’s length away, or did you do it unconsciously? When you make direct eye contact with your professors, do you think much about it? Probably not. In the next few days, chronicle your nonverbal behavior. Remember that what seems perfectly natural to you (e.g., standing arm’s length away from the person in front of you in line) is actually learning cultural behavior.