Hush

...............dummy text...........................  Monday, February 16, 2009 Workshop 2, Hush: Communicating without words. What messages are you sending without ever opening your mouth? Everything from the clothes you wear, to the expression on your face, to the way you are sitting at your desk right now are sending messages. In this workshop we will be examining the types of messages we send out nonverbally. First, we will do an experiment exploring the importance of nonverbal cues in our everyday communication with a brief exercise. We will examine proxemics and look at seating arrangements and territoriality. Specifically the way a seating arrangement can change the way an interaction occurs. Then we will look at body movement and position. Gestures such as the “shh” symbol above are speech independent, meaning that they have dictionary definition (in this case “be quiet”). Other symbols can be speech related and simply aid in the verbal message. We will be looking at the three principles of nonverbal communication: Repeating verbal messages, highlighting verbal messages and substituting verbal messages. I will also be reviewing a study I performed last year on facial expressions and first impression management. This study will examine how important your first impression can be in creating your image, and frequently this impression is formed without ever exchanging words. Participants in the study were asked to judge people based solely on the photographs provided. Participants provided me with interesting ideas about everything from a person’s approachability to their criminal record. Nonverbal communication also plays a large role in political communication. We will be examining the famous nonverbal study conducted during the Nixon/JFK Presidential Debate. Next we will look at proxemics in the classroom, from seat ing arrangements to the way that teachers and professors can let a student know they are interested or disinterested. Finally, we will examine courting behavior and how nonverbal communication plays a large role in courting and forming of relationships. Specifically looking at Morris’ 12 stages along the road to sexual intimacy, and the reasons for initiating relationships in the first place. Understanding nonverbal communication is very important because as it is written in probe 2, “when a person’s verbal and nonverbal cues contradict each other, people tend to believe what’s being communicated nonverbally” (180). This means that we need to understand our nonverbal messages so we can make sure to present a clear and consistent message verbally and nonverbally. It is important to note that while not every action is meant to send a nonverbal message, it still could. A student yawning in class is not necessarily bored, they could have had a late night. It might be unfair to judge someone based on this behavior; however, with increased knowledge of our nonverbal messages we can minimize these effects. This reading and workshop are a broad overview of nonverbal communication. As its name implies, “Nonverbal Communication: Basic Perspectives,” this reading and workshop will present a wide array of information. I believe that this article wa s well written and  an excellent introduction to nonverbal communication.  

Below is a clip from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In this episode the cast members are left without the ability to speak and are forced to communicate only through nonverbal messages. In the discussion page, please note any nonverbal messages you see being portrayed in the video and explain why Buffy's (Sarah Michelle Gellar) message is misinterpreted.

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