Interpreting Communication
The television episode that I chose to watch with the sound turned off that I don’t normally watch was “The Middle.” The show airs on ABC on Wednesday nights. The characters’ relationships appear to be based on family situations. The characters appear to be frustrated with each other at times during the show based on their facial expressions, gestures, body language and eye contact. Their nonverbal cues appeared to communicate their thoughts.
After I turned the sound on I observed the characters in the episode being frustrated with their life situations and their environment. They argued with each and made demeaning comments toward each other after issues in their life. I was surprised that I received this message through their nonverbal cues while watching with the sound turned off.
I learned from this experience that knowing how to communicate with people is very important. The capacity to communicate is the ability and desire to connect with others by exchanging ideas and feelings, both verbally and nonverbally (O’Hair & Wiemann, 2012). An “aha” moment that I believe would be helpful to my colleagues is realizing that effective listening involves thoughtful and intelligent active interactions with patients.
Reference
O’Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication: An introduction. New York: Bedford/St.
Martin’s.
Robbie,
ReplyDeleteI had a similar experience with the show I watched. Most of what was going on between the characters was evident in their facial expressions and body language. There were some key points though that I totally missed when I watched the show with the sound off. It was an interesting experiment.
A lot of body language definitely did help when the sound was off. I found it frustrating that I could tell they were arguing but not what they were arguing about. It was definitely an eye opening experience.
ReplyDeleteRobbie,
ReplyDeleteI agree, effective listening is integral in communication. Listening involves respect. Respect for one another increases when the other knows that he or she is being listened to.
Hi Robbie,
ReplyDeleteI also experienced finding out characters’ feelings without sound from my observation. This taught me that sending and perceiving nonverbal messages appropriately is very important.
Aya