Japanese people have some typical reactions during conversations.
I hadn't realized these reactions are different from other countries until I went abroad and lived there for a few months.
During a conversation, we often nod and say "hee", へー in Japanese.

When I talked with Brazilian friend, and I said "hee" as usual, then he asked me that "what does "hee" mean?"
I was surprised because I had not been asked such a question.
I was confused, but I replied, "I just want you to know that I'm listening."
After this episode, I observed how foreigners talk, and I found differences.
They usually listen to other people's conversation with no words, no nod and just looking at their eyes, but some people interrupt their conversation, it depends on the person.
I think many Japanese people can't stand talking like that.

After I realized the differences, I refrain from doing nod and saying "hee", even when talking with Japanese. soa natural?

Note to self:
- I had not been asked such a question before.
- with no nods
- I refrain from nodding

Japanese people have some typical reactions during conversations.
I hadn't realized these reactions are different from other countries until I went abroad and lived there for a few months.
During a conversation, we often nod and say "hee", へー in Japanese.

When I talked with my Brazilian friend, and I said "hee" as usual, he then asked me that "what does "hee" mean?"
I was surprised because I had not been asked such a question before.
I was confused, but I replied, "I just want you to know that I'm listening."
After this episode, I observed how foreigners talk, and I found differences.
They usually listen to other people's conversation with no words, no nods and just looking at their eyes, but some people interrupt their conversation; it depends on the person.
I think many Japanese people can't stand talking like that.

After realizing the differences, I now refrain from nodding and saying "hee", even when talking with Japanese.