Preview

Field Work, Non-Verbal Communication

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
706 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Field Work, Non-Verbal Communication
A few days ago I took a trip to my local mall and took a seat at the food court. My objective was to observe individuals engaging in non-verbal communication and document what I witnessed. After only a few minutes I became aware of a couple sitting within public distance, about 15-20ft away from me. They were having an argument about how the male was being cold and unaffectionate. While observing them I realized they were using various gestures while arguing. I will inform you of what type they were and what they were conveying.
During the argument, both individuals demonstrated affect displays. These are facial expressions motivated by emotion such as a smile or frown. The female had a frown on her face to demonstrate that she was sad and discontent while informing the male that she was feeling lack of affection him. The male had what I can best describe as a half smile; imagine half of the mouth engaging in a smile while the opposite half stays normal. He also kept looking around and rolling his eyes. These indicate that he believes that the female’s thoughts are unimportant or that they may be incorrect and he believes that he indeed is affectionate.
Illustrators were used by the female. Illustrators are gestures that complement our words such as pointing when giving directions. While talking about the male’s lack of affection, she constantly pointed at him with her index finger to further enhance the fact that she was talking about him. When describing how she felt, she would put her hand over her chest for the purpose of indicating that she is talking about how she feels.
When the male finally decided he was going to speak, he used regulators. Regulators are gestures that may prolong or terminate the conversation such as looking at your watch, walking away or nodding and leaning forward. He raised his hand with the purpose of making the female stop talking so he could say something. The female felt that the gesture was disrespectful and noted it verbally,

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Hdfs 2300 Mid Exam

    • 3647 Words
    • 15 Pages

    -Nonverbal symbols: gestures and behaviors that accompany interaction that have symbolic value attributed to them…

    • 3647 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Nonverbal communication plays an essential role in any conversation. Individuals who are aware of nonverbal actions during conversations can more effectively interpret what is being communicated.…

    • 1326 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    SHC31

    • 537 Words
    • 3 Pages

    3.1 People from different back grounds may interpret gestures and words differently, some words and gestures will have totally different meanings. Some people may use a lot of hand gestures and speak with a raised voice to get their point across, others may find this offensive and may feel threatened. eye contact can be polite and respectful but in some cultures this may be seen as rude and defiant.…

    • 537 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    It seems like she is trying to explain and he doesn’t want to hear it or deal with it. Her body and facial expressions convey a sense of, what is going on, I’m trying to tell you something?; while his hand gesture of STOP, and giving his back seems more aggressive. I don’t know it seems rather familiar, just a joke.…

    • 1410 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hand gestures can be extremely contradictory depending on the mood of the speaker, or how they portray themselves. Enuaraq-Strauss’s consistent use of animated hand gestures throughout the entire video demonstrates her passion towards the topic of the benefits of seal hunting and emphasized the points she was making in the video; however, her tendency to over-gesture can make her seem erratic, less believable, and less powerful. Multiple times she has her palms facing out which has many different meanings like she exhibits confidence or trustworthiness, but on the other hand, her open palms may indicate a lack of something that she needs or is requesting, such as acceptance from others of seal hunting in Iqaluit. Additionally, many times throughout the video Enuaraq-Strauss lays both of her hands against her chest, which conveys her desire to be believed or accepted and assures that what she says comes from the heart. At one point during the video she points to the air while stating a fact about a lack of food in the north, the finger pointing adds emphasis to her fact.…

    • 1016 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    “Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools speak because they have to say something” ~Plato. There are many ways communication can be “spoken”. Communication is categorized into three main variations between living organisms: verbal, non-verbal, and written.…

    • 363 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Importance of Body Language Body language, communicating through gestures, is often the key to a meaningful conversation. These gestures that we apply in our conversations often help us to get our point across, or to show someone something that we just can’t describe in words. Sometimes we communicate this way without even realizing it. Many gestures we perform on a daily basis affect the outcome of a conversation such as a person becoming needlessly insulted, divorce, and how people perceive someone.…

    • 619 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Conclusion Race Doesn’t Influence Gestures, Culture Does Not Biological – Only Social Marcel Mauss –Techniques of the Body Principles of Classification of Techniques Four Divisions of Techniques Sexual Division Male Techniques vs Female Techniques i.e. Throwing, Fist Clenching, Punching, etc. Methods are Taught Differently According to Gender Roles Age Division Techniques and Actions Differ in Children i.e. Squatting, Posture Changes, etc.…

    • 2731 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Body language comes in many forms but it is a key way of finding out an individual(s) feelings. They may have their arms crossed due to being angry or they feel tense, they may shrug their shoulders or raise their arms due to indifference, or they may even have slouched shoulders in which this may mean that they don't feel confident.…

    • 1072 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Second, she starts by describing his hand as massive. She is startled by the fact that his hand is larger than her head. That alone could have a couple different symbols. It describes how powerful he is or it even could describe his power over her. That could easily be assumed because of the year that the story was written in, which was the 1920s. Women play a much different role in modern society than they did in that society. Then she describes his finger nails telling us how they are polished. This could be a sign to show us how wealthy he is. This goes hand in hand with the sports he played. Rowing and tennis were generally played by the rich and wealthy. He then stretches his hand out and postures it to where it looks apelike. She is so disturbed by the sudden change that she interjects. She also describes the hand…

    • 495 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Non-Verbal Communication

    • 1686 Words
    • 7 Pages

    A touch, making eye contact with someone, or the tone of voice you take when saying something. All of these things make up a big part of how you communicate and interact with other people. These ways of communicating all fall under the category of non-verbal communication. Non-verbal communication is, “those aspects of communication, such as gestures and facial expressions, that do not involve verbal communication but which may include nonverbal aspects of speech itself, (accent, tone of voice, speed of speaking, etc)” (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nonverbal communication) as defined by Dictionary.com. Non-verbal communication makes up most of the ways that we communicate with someone. Non-verbal cues are vital in a conversation. “One study at UCLA indicated that up to 93 percent of communication effectiveness is determined by nonverbal cues. Another study indicated that the impact of a performance was determined 7 percent by the words used, 38 percent by voice quality, and 55 percent by the nonverbal communication.” (http://humanresources.about.com/od/interpersonalcommunicatio1/a/nonverbal_com.htm) A person’s tone of voice plays a big part when giving non-verbal cues. If something is said with a strong tone a voice, the audience may perceive enthusiasm or confidence. Also, that same exact thing could be said in a hesitant tone of voice and the audience could perceive that the speaker is intimidated or nervous. If you were to say something in a positive or soothing tone, then that could promote motivation or a sense of safety in the person you are speaking to.…

    • 1686 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    a gesture, esp. a dramatic one, used instead of speaking or to emphasize one's words…

    • 301 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    My Cultural Journey

    • 1336 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In one of our class sessions, we had an activity where we were given scenarios and we would have to determine how we felt about the case being either ethnocentric or accepting to the case. It was this activity that made me and I would say many other of my classmates appear to be much more ethnocentric than they thought they were. Another interesting topic that I found myself intrigued in was how within the various cultures communicate. However, not just verbal communication; but also non-verbal communication as well. Ever since I began to learn about nonverbal communication among the various cultures we have, I have found myself noticing both myself and other individuals’ non-verbal communication such as: gestures, eye contact, hand motions and many…

    • 1336 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Non verbal communication entails communicating by sending and receiving wordless messages. These messages usually reinforce verbal communication, can stand alone, and convey messages on its own” (Nayab, 2011). The reinforcement for non-verbal communication is obtained by body movements, hand gestures, facial expressions, tone of a voice and a touch. Amongst all of the reinforcement facial expressions is the most prevalent, since a smile or a frown can ultimately convey a message more than words can. A smile invites a person in, for example when you smile at someone that person feels at ease and wants to communicate more. On the other hand if the person is frowning this is a message to stay clear from that person, since it appears that something has made them mad. A firm handshake shows confidence and a neat appearance shows that the person respects themselves as well as others. This is usually apparent when a person is interviewing for a job, having a business meeting with potential clients, or just having dinner with the family. A simple pleasant tone can express joy or pleasure, such as laughing at a joke or talking with a small child. On the other hand a strong aggressive tone can display anger or displeasure, such as yelling at an employee for lack of job performance, or at a teenager for staying out past curfew. Another non-verbal communication that shows a person whether to approach or stay back is the way a person’s body movements are. In certain situations if a person is nervous he/she will move constantly and…

    • 840 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In this non-verbal communication scenario, both individuals are showing emotion. The communication appears to be a disagreement. The woman appears to be trying to hold the conversation together, but the man looks annoyed and ready to leave the conversation. Both individuals are showing gestures through body movement. In this situation the man looks as if he is saying “I do not want to hear it”. Both facial expressions are cues describing the non-verbal communication. The argument or issues tends to not result in a resolution. The conflict seems to still be apparent in the conversation. This appears to be a relationship that needs work. By the woman holding his arm, I would assume the individuals have a close relationship. The man could be hurt by a certain situation that he is just now learning more about.…

    • 1803 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays