Non-Verbal
Communication
I watched the show “The Middle” which is a sit- come about
the Heck family which consist of a mother, father, and three children. In this
episode of the show the family seems to be gather in the family room for a
meeting. Everyone is sitting on the couch except the mother who is walking back
and forth in front of the other family members moving her hands as she talk.
She seem to be explaining something to the family. The youngest son was sitting looking at his
mother with a blank look on his face. The oldest son had his head resting on
the back of the couch, rolled his head from side to side. He also yawned. The daughter was sitting on the edge of the
couch with her elbows placed on her knees with her face placed in the palm of
her hands. The father had a look of when is this going to end expression on his
face. I think the mother was discussing a topic that none of the other family
members was interested in hearing about.
When I turned the volume up I found out the mother was
discussing with the family about how she wanted to go back to school to get a
degree so she could find a better job. She also wanted the family to help out
with the cleaning around the house and other things which she would not have
time to do once she start school.
While watching the show with the volume down I saw many facial
expression that shown the family did not like or care for what the mother was
saying. It was hard to really get and understanding of what was going on without
sound. I based my assumption on the facial expression and body movement of the
character.
Watching the show without sound made me think about my own
facial expression and body language when I am talking to others. I wonder how
many times I have been misunderstood by others because of my facial expression
and body language.
Barbara I got the same impression that as a result of the yawning from the son and the daughter placing her elbows on her knees with her face in the palm of her hand may show that they simply are not interested in what the mother has to say. I would have also thought that maybe they was just tired and the timing was bad or maybe mom was taking them away from something they really wanted to do or that they found more important than the discussion the mother was having. I would have to say that sound does make a differences. I too wonder how many times I have been misunderstood. I think we too must be conscious of our facial expressions and body language because it can be interrupted the wrong way.
ReplyDeleteI think this sounds like a great show, I never get a chance anymore to watch many TV shows and this really sounds like a topic that I can relate to. When I decided to go back to school my family did not want to cooperate at first but once we established the importance of it all we we all agreed. I think this topic can be taken not so serious by the family if they are thinking you are not serious. Sometimes your family can be saying more to you by non verbally saying anything. If they do not agree with you they can verbalize that they are in support of your decision but give non verbal gestures that they are not in agreeance.
ReplyDeleteHi Barbara,
ReplyDeleteI too struggled to find out exactly what was going on during the show I watched. Although the body language, facial expressions and movement of the characters gave me an idea about what was going on I was still unsure. I really like the insight you shared about how you may have been misunderstood by others in your own life because of people misreading your body language and facial expressions. This also made me think of the other side to this coin, in which reading a text or email the tone, body language etc. is missing and often people misconstrue these messages. Both our words and nonverbal communication are a partnership that work very well with one another. When one aspect in communication is missing misunderstandings and misconceptions are far more likely to occur.
Thanks for sharing!
Rhiannon
Hi Barbara
ReplyDeleteI too get mistaken many times for how I may appear...people always assume I'm angry because I may have a slight frown when I'm thinking so they assume I'm upset. They will tell me to smile, but I'm not upset I tell them. But yes it's easier to judge when you are unsure the human brain tries to make sense of the world around us.