The television show I watched is called Half and Half. As I observed the characters with the volume off I perceived their relationship to be professional coworkers in an office environment. They appeared to be people that did not mind making there point known. They were engaged in conversation in the office and it was apparent that they were discussing something that one of the characters did not agree with. Then I observe one of the characters demeanor indicated that he did not really care to hear anything being said by the other people. He turned his back to the guy that was talking to him. As the lady character expressed her opinion she made her point by waving her hands and stormed out or the office. This nonverbal communication indicated that she was angry or upset by their discussion.
The assumptions I made about the plot was that there was a disagreement and I perceive the disagreement to be work related. However as I watched the show with the volume on I discovered that it was a disagreement over a personal manner. The character Spencer was dating a lady by the named of Naomi and his coworker Mona dislikes her due to her cut throat nature in the industry. The other character Adam was creating controversy because he knew that Spencer was hiding that information from Mona. Which is the reason Spencer had his back to Adam when he was talking. He really did not want to hear what he was saying. My assumption would have been much better if it was a show that I normally watched because I would be more familiar with the characters. I did not know what to expect from this show. My assumptions were that they had some problems within the corporation and the reality was the whole encounter was personal.
The insights I gained from this assignment is that body language or nonverbal communication is powerful. In this incident I immediately picked up on the disagreement I missed on what the disagreement was about. It verified for me how important it is to pay attention to verbal and the nonverbal communication. The nonverbal communication is important in that it helps to express your feeling but verbal helps to put everything in perspective. If I had gone on the nonverbal communication alone I would have been misled. This experience made really realized the importance of listening and paying attention to nonverbal clues.
I have never seen this show. During this assignment, I also gained an insight on the importance of paying close attention to nonverbal communication and body language. Thanks for the insightful post.
ReplyDeleteKvonya,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your interpretation about being misled. The same would have happened to me if I had only watched with no sound. Nonverbal cues are critical to our understanding of situations. No one can communicate without using their body as a communication tool.
Thanks for a great post!
Teri
I haven't seen or heard of this show either. It was so clear that this assignment really shows us how important nonverbal language and body language is and how powerful our communication really is.
ReplyDeleteAbby
Kvonya,
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of this show before but it sounds interesting. I have many students who turn their back when talking to me but it is with a different purpose than what you mentioned about being angry or ignoring the conversation. I notice that many of my students come to me to talk about someone else and they get my attention and then turn around to look at the person they are talking about. I remind them all the time that if they're not looking at me when they're talking then their voice is going the other way and not to my ears.
Thank you for sharing information about this show :)
Caitlyn
Kvonya,
ReplyDeleteMy Mom loved that show!! Great observations! Our communication skills will only become proficient if we practice on communicating with others a whole lot Better. Thanks for your post it allowed me to have great memories of my late mother! ::Sigh::
Kvyona,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that if we don't pay attention we miss alot of what is being communicated. It is important to use both verbal and non verbal language.