Hi class,
By reading "Thinking Through Communication" I have learned about many different concepts. Not all, but most of the those concepts that I have read about, I found them to be very interesting and true. Out of all of those concepts that I have read about, the one I found to be most interesting is the nonverbal communication. Nonverbal communication in the book is defined as "the study of communication systems that do not involve words". The reason why I have found this concept to be most interesting is because even before I knew what nonverbal communication was, I have been witnessing it through out my entire life.
The interesting thing about nonverbal communication is the fact that we can tell what other people are thinking or feeling just by seeing their body language and facial expressions. In the book they call it Kinesic Code 1: Body Movement and Gesture, and Kinesic Code 2: Facial Expression and Eye behavior. This is so true. You can see if somebody is digusted with something or if they are extremely happy by looking and their facial expression or even their body language.
The nonverbal communication my mom used on me when I was younger that I loved so much was when I was really upset about something or sad, and she just gave me a big hug and a kiss. That comforted me and by her doing it, it let me know that she was telling me that everything was going to be alright, and it made me feel better.
So as you can see, nonverbal communicayion is a concept that I found to be most interesting.
Hello Sean,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you on your post. Non-verbal behavior was one of the most interesting concepts, which I also believe. We both have the same reason as why non-verbal behavior is the most interesting concept. I see it all the time throughout my life. Its as if you cannot understand the concept of nonverbal behavior. It is constantly happening. Facial expression and eye behaviors are among the most non-verbal behaviors that are never ending. I like the example that you used in your post about your mother comforting you with hugs and kisses to let you know that everything is fine without necessarily telling you verbally. I think that non-verbal behavior is the best concept discussed in the “Thinking Through Communications” book.
Hey!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post! I agree that nonverbal communication is one of the most important aspects to learn about as a Communication Studies major. What I find interesting is that scholars still define nonverbal communication as a subset of Communication, when I would argue it should be included in the definition of Communication. Can you imagine trying to interact with someone who either A) Has completely different, and therefore unreadable, nonverbal signals than you or B) Someone who does not use nonverbal communication at all? Even writing this post right now I can feel my face move as I pose questions, my right eyebrow goes up, not too sure why, but I suppose it’s an inadvertent physical reaction to how I ask questions. For this reason I loved that you took away nonverbal communication as one of the most interesting topics from the class, as well as the Trenholm text, since after all, I believe it should be one of the defining factors of communication as a whole!
P.S.- My mom would do the same kind of thing when I would get sad or upset, except she would make funny faces (one in particular) that would always get me to laugh and lighten whatever stress I was dealing with! =)
for starters, great post!
ReplyDeleteYou are right, nonverbal communication is very interesting. Before taking the class, I had never thought of gestures or facial expressions as communication. I always thought of it as an add on verbal expressions and did not need to be further analyzed. I was wrong, the book explains so much more about it and it is more than an addition to spoken words. So now, whenever I am having a conversation with someone, I do more than listen to the words. I look at their eyes especially. Eyes give away so much more than people realize.
Parents do have a way of using just there expressions and actions to let someone know how they are feeling, especially their child.
Watching the olympics, I have noticed so much nonverbal communication between the different teams and a lot between the coaches and the athletes. In certain events such as diving, the US team that got the silved in the syncro dives stated how she didnt know how good they had done until she saw the look on her coaches face. That was an important nonverbal communication moment between them!
GREAT POST!
Hello Sean Bacon,
ReplyDeleteI agree with the other comments when I say that this was a great post. From the number of comments you have it seems that nonverbal communication was a strong and interesting topic in this course. The fact that nearly 75% of communication is nonverbal expresses how important this concept is. I also agree that the different gestures and "vibes" people give off from their nonverbal cues are essential in figuring out truths from lies. What also strikes me about this topic is that people can develop and enhance nonverbal skills to display or trick others in believing something. This is often seen by professionals and poker players. Great Job once again.
-g23