Part 1
I would not say that I found this
experiment easy, but it was not that difficult. When I speak I am
very animated, so although I had to remove the words, the gestures
remained and I was still able to communicate my point for the most
part. My partner was able to understand me, and he thought it was
quite fun. It was like playing charades (which we enjoy). I will
admit that he may have had an upper hand because he is my boyfriend
and has had to learn how to learn how to translate my non-verbal
communication.
If we were two different cultures
meeting for the first time, I believe that I would have the upper
hand. Words are not effective when attempting to communicate with
someone from a different culture or who speaks a different language.
Body language however, and facial expressions, are pretty much the
same across the board. Effectively communicating with the absence of
words is advantageous. The speaking culture may be frustrated,
because they find symbolic language easier, as my partner did at the
beginning of our exercise. But after they begin to think bigger-
think outside of their box- they will see that alternate ways of
communicating are just as effective. It is a bit like those with more
severe cases of autism. Speaking can be quite difficult. So those who
work with them have to think of alternate ways of communicating.
Part 2
I was not able to last the full 15
minutes using only speech. I tried, but controlling my facial
movements seemed impossible. I sat on my hand and stared in one spot
so that I could keep myself from making hand gestures or body
movements, but that did not keep the tone of my voice steady. My
partner had a hard time understanding me, as I can be quite
sarcastic, but without the inflection in my voice he could not tell
if I was being sarcastic or not. This experiment clearly demonstrated
the importance of “signs” in our language. When I initially
thought of non-speech language techniques, only hand gestures and
shoulder shrugs came to mind. This clarified the vast amount of
non-speech language used in conversing, and the important role they
play in effective communication.
I know from personal experience that
there are people who have a difficulty reading body language. This is
a setback. Reading body language is important for many reasons, one
of which is honesty. For myself in particular, my non-speech language
keeps me honest, because it always tells the truth. Being able to
read the body-language of others can make you a human lie detector.
Lastly, to me, reading body language is always beneficial.
Good catch that familiarity may make the first section easier. Would it be that easy if you were trying to communicate with a stranger?
ReplyDeleteThe question for the last section asked which culture would be best at communicating complex ideas. Can you explain evolutionary theory without speaking? Is communication without language really "just as effective" in this sense? Think about how non-speaking people are received in our society. Is it really safe to assume that those who speak would have the patience and tolerance to take the time needed to communicate with non-speakers? Or would they tend to be brushed off and ignored. You are speaking in ideals. Think reality.
Good description in part 2. Yes, there people who have difficulty reading body language, but who are they? You needed to identify them.
Word of warning: If you use the word "always" in a science paper, you are probably wrong. :-) Exceptions are very common. For instance, what if you are in a situation where you may misinterpret the body language, such as traveling to a different culture where a different body language is used?
I agree with your last few statements about how reading body language is important. When you brought up that it keeps you honest, I definitely agreed with you. In my blog post I delved into that a little bit more, I talked about how there are people who are used in court rooms to read body language and try to decipher it the individual up for question is telling the truth, nervous, etc, etc. It is very beneficial even in social settings, knowing when to continue when speaking about touchy subjects.
ReplyDeleteThis was a really good post. I like how you went into good detail about your entire experiment. I agree with you point on how body language is very important, this as well was my hardest part in this project. I liked how you talked about how your body language gives away if your are honest or not. This is very true and I really didnt think about that until just now when you brought it up. Overall great job!!
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