For the television show I chose
30 Rock. With the sound off you can tell
about the character’s relationships based on their ways of communication. You can tell about what their personality is
like individually. You can also tell which
people are friends, when there is romantic interest and when there is
hesitation to trust someone new.
Based on nonverbal behavior I observed
feelings of embarrassment, confidence, excitement, confusion, boredom and
stress. These were expressed through hand
gestures, posture, eye contact and facial expressions. In this particular episode there were hugs
and someone even threw a water bottle.
Most interestingly there was one character who communicated through post
it notes and never spoke. He would hold
the paper up in front of the persons face and would nod after hearing their
response in affirmation.
After watching the show with
the sound turned on most of my assumptions were correct. The communications I observed were very clear
indicators of the characters’ and the plot.
I think because the show is a comedy it was easier to understand what
was going on with the sound off. If I
had been watching a crime show for example I think my assumptions would have
been more wrong for the greater amount of verbal communication that occurs in those
types of shows.
I think my assumptions would
have been more correct if I had been watching a show I knew well. The assumptions would be based on all the
previous knowledge of the characters and their personality development
over the series. I would even be able to
predict ways of communication like particular gestures and catch phrases.
This experience was interesting in that it gave me a
different perspective through experiencing it first-hand. I learned that communication can be more
effective nonverbally and it makes me think about my experience working with
two children who only speak Vietnamese.
I wonder if I am being clear enough for them to be able to understand or
if I need to increase my nonverbal communication skills.
Hi Rosana,
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point that a comedy may very well be easier to understand without the voulme on, because the actors' expressions are usually extra animated. I agree that it would be easier to make assumptions with characters that we know well. I also found it difficult to make correct assumptions with the show that I watched. I now believe that it is crucial for us to evaluate our nonverbal communication cues.
Hi Rosana,
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point about the importance of being more expressive non verbally for children who may not speak English. I found it difficult to watch a show without sound, it was confusing and a bit frustrating at times. I guess that is how someone feels that does not speak the language that is spoken. I have not thought of it that way until reading your post. Thank you for the insight.
Colleen
Hi Rosana, when you said "my assumptions would have been more wrong for the greater amount of verbal communication that occurs in those types of shows", you made a great point here. Which one will take greater effect, verbal communication or nonverbal communication? I think that depends on the different contexts communication occurs, as you said, verbal communication will help people make more sense of what happens in a crime show while in a comedy show nonverbal communication will add more fun to it. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteXiaowan
Rosana,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading you post and liked that you made a personal connection to enhance professionally. Teacher children whose home language differs from your own can be challenging but I can tell that you are making the right steps to be considerate to them. Protecting a child's home language is so important especially when assimilating them to another culture and language. Now that you had this experience, how will you alter your nonverbal communication to foster language development among your Vietnamese?