ORGC 2025 Written Report

Part X Types of non-verbal messages in the video
In this Mr. Bean video, we can trace different types of non-verbal communication such as eye communication, facial communication and body communication. In the following paragraph, I will explain each of them in detail.
Let’s get started with the eye communication found from the movie clip. In the movie clip, Mr. Bean heavily relied on eye contact to communicate with others. For example, he expanded his pupils and starred at the airport police when he first saw them (Figure 1). Then, eye avoidance was practiced by Mr. Bean to show his intention of not willing to have any direct contact with the armed airport police (Figure 2).

(Figure 1) (Figure 2)
Besides, Mr. Bean prefers the use of his rich facial expression in showing his emotions and feelings. To name a few, Mr. Bean gave a funny face with stretched tongue and an arrogant smile to how proud and pride he was to be in the first class (Figure 3). Also, he showed a shocked face with fear because he blasted a bag of vomit into the passenger sleeping in front of him during the flight (Figure 4).

(Figure 3) (Figure 4)
Last but not least, Mr. Bean performed body communication fluently in the video. For example, as an affect display to express his apology towards the victim of his “midnight trick”, Mr. Bean hided behind another passenger while walking through the arrival walkway (Figure 5). What is more, Mr. Bean expressed his fear and anxiety with his shaking hands and head when four armed airport police were pointing their gun towards them for ordering him to give up his weapon (Figure 6).

(Figure 5) (Figure 6)
All of the above demonstrated the rich non-verbal communication found in the Mr. Bean movie clip, even though they may not be effective ones.

Part X Examples of ineffective communication & ways to improve communication effectiveness
This Mr. Bean video clip is a good demonstration of how ineffective communication brings out disastrous consequences. Having ineffective communication with others, Mr. Bean faced various embarrassments during the video. In the following paragraph, I will discuss two examples and illustrate methods to improve the communication effectiveness.

In the first scene, Mr. Bean was ashamed while attempting to make fun with the old man sleeping in front of him during his flight by blasting a swelled bag. His humorous act ended as a humiliation as he accidentally blasted the vomit bag used by the boy sitting next to him. According to the discussions from the groups, the first element causing it was the wrong interpretation of the eye contact from the kid by Mr. Bean.

(Figure 1) (Figure 2)
In the clip, the child was gazing at Mr. Bean while he was preparing to burst the first packaging bag (Figure 1). Mr. Bean thought his audience was fascinated to view his trick but actually the child dazed because he was ready to throw up. In addition, the eye avoidance of the boy after the first failure showed his disinterest and his act of silence illustrated his will to prevent any unpleasant communication. When Mr. Bean grabbed the used vomit bag form the kid, the boy was shocked. He warned Mr. Bean by starring at him with astonishment and surprise (Figure 2). However, Mr. Bean thought interpreted it incorrectly as expressing his applause to him. In fact, the affect display of the child is to warn Mr. Bean about the catastrophic consequences if he carries out the trick with the wrong subject adaptor. Eventually, Mr. Bean made a huge disgrace to himself by blasting a bag full of vomit into the passenger in front of him.

In order to avoid this disaster, some useful measures can be done. The very first pick is to use emblems or verbal messages to communicate in this urgent situations. For example, the kid can alert Mr. Bean by waving his hands, shaking his head or even voice his warning out before the disaster. These are more direct and effective communication techniques in delivering impressions and intended messages to your communication partner. Next, more direct eye contact is another method to avoid this catastrophe. With a more direct and longer eye contact from the boy, the assertiveness and certainty of the message will be enhanced. The receiver, Mr. Bean, will be more likely to recognize the disaster if doing the trick. The motivation to finish the second attempt of the trick, which ended as a big humiliation to Mr. Bean, can be avoided.

Another demonstration of ineffective communication was the police-chasing scene in the arrival pathway. The police chased and stopped Mr. Bean as they found out that Mr. Bean was suspicious. The scene terminated as a joke as the weapon Mr. Bean carried was his hand posing as a gun. For this time, the most important reason leaded to this ineffective communication was the incorrect facial expressions by Mr. Bean. To be precise, this was a good example of facial feedback hypothesis (FFH). In definition, FFH is the process of how your facial expression influences your emotion and feelings although you are only pretending to be in the beginning. In the beginning, Mr. Bean pretended that he had a weapon. He showed his fear and surprise when he first saw the airport police (Figure 3). As his act continued, he soon recognized himself as a genuine weapon holder. He was desired to stay away from the airport police and felt uncomfortable standing next to them. He eventually grabbed the airport police’s attention and was forced frozen. Apart from FFH, the inaccurate demonstrations of eye communication are another factor leading to this farce. The eye avoidance of Mr. Bean towards the airport police heightened his anxiety and nervousness and finally seized their attention. What is more, the inappropriate body gesture caused this joke. When he first saw the airport police, he was attempting to put something back into his blazer (Figure 4). This self-adaptors showed the wrong intention that he was holding a weapon. As the intention developed, he reversed his movement on a moving walkway (Figure 5). This affect display illustrated the emotion of being frightened by the airport police although he should not do so. The above inaccurate facial communication is one of the components of this ineffective communication.

(Figure 3) (Figure 4)

(Figure 5)
There are some ways to avoid this ineffective communication. First and forecast, Mr. Bean should clarify his guiltless state by giving out verbal messages about it. It is an effective way to tell the airport police that he was not carrying any weapon. Besides that, Mr. Bean should not avoid direct eye contact with the airport police. It helps build up greater self-confidence in facing the airport police so that the airport police would not pay attention to him. Moreover, Mr. Bean should not perform any suspicious conduct in front of the airport police. In order not to be suspected, Mr. Bean should not act like being fear and anxious when walking pass the airport police. All of the above were useful ways to prove himself innocent ad avoid the above misunderstanding and embarrassment.