Week 2 –blog
Watching a show with the volume turned off was very
interesting. I realized some facial
expressions and body gestures really add to getting their point across. For instance in the sitcom “The King of
Queens” Kari uses her arms when talking, and her facial expressions really let
you know what she is thinking. At one
point Kari is at work, the expression she showed on her face was one of being
unhappy and clearly frustrated with the guy she was talking to. Her body
language was hunched over a bit, her eyes were squinting at him, and then wide
with eyebrows raised and lips puckered. With the sound off I labeled her as
unhappy. With the sound on I found out
she was passed over for a job, and the guy got it, he was asking her for help.
She was more frustrated.
One thing I realized without verbal cues it was impossible
for me to know what was actually going on. My version of the plot and the
actual one did not match. As for the relationships, I was able to figure those
out without verbal cues, the one exception was the older man, I couldn’t figure
out where he fit into the family, he just would show up from time to time.
One of the questions for this assignment was would your
assumptions have been more correct if you had been watching a show you know
well? I decided to watch a Seinfeld which is one of my favorite sitcoms of all
time. I watched it on silent, and
realized I know so much more about them and was able to figure most of what was
happening, probably because I have seen every episode. But the realization that I know their
personalities helped me decipher a lot more, and be accurate.
This exercise really shows how important verbal and
nonverbal cues work together to help us communicate. We can try to decipher
what others are saying by watching their body language, and some of it we will
get right, but it is not as clear and effective, we do not hear the inflections
and tones of the voice, or the content of the conversation to put it into a
context that makes sense.
I agree with you that non-verbal cues grant one deeper understanding of what is going on in any communication. Even when spoken words are used in any communication, one still needs to look for non-verbal cues to get a real understanding of what is being discussed. This underpins the importance of non-verbal communication and the need to master it, especially if one works with young children.
ReplyDeleteHi Christine,
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I agree with you that nonverbal communication isn't always clear. That's why it's important to get information from the verbal and nonverbal cues. When you were talking about not hearing a person's tone of voice or what they are saying, it reminded me of how important it is to use words and messages carefully online or through texting. When you cannot see or hear the person, messages can easily be misinterpreted.
I also found that watching a show with no sound was interesting. Most of the time when I watch television, I am on my computer as well; This makes me hear storylines but never really pay attention to what is on the screen. To sit down and do this, made me realize how much more you can tell from nonverbal cues. When watching my show, I couldn't place relationships but I could tell how the characters were feeling. I also found it easier to watch a show, that I have seen before, with no sound on and still be able to tell what was going on!
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