I found last week's assignment of engaging into a conversation with someone without speaking, interesting, but frustrating. I found that I would get so frustrated with my partner not being able to understand me, that I would catch myself breaking my silence at times and really wanting to give up. I eventually, somewhat got the hang of it and began to only use my hands and body language to communicate. It was interesting how it took a longer time than usual to get just a simple idea across. I felt like I was playing charades, and I was just terrible at it! My partner was also getting very frustrated and wanted to quit. We stuck it out though and tried as best we could. Once the time was up though, it was very funny to talk to my partner and learn that we both misinterpreted what the other was saying. Overall, it was an interesting situation. Most of the time, I think I was in control of the conversation even if I couldn't speak. I say so because I wouldn't allow the conversation to continue unless he would understand what I was saying, or got close to it. My partner would ask to change the topic to something "easier" he would say, in hopes that he would be able to understand that. I chose not to include more than one person in this experiment because I thought it would only add on to the difficulty and make it nearly impossible to carry a conversation with multiple people chiming in on what I was trying to say. In this case, I think that although I was in control, my lack of language, made ME powerless. I say this because I couldn't make my point, there was only so much I could say without actually saying it! Meanwhile, my partner was happily chatting it up, no problem! :/
I think that the culture that can actually speak has the advantage hands down. I think so because with speaking we can say whats on our mind, our thoughts, ideas, etc. with no problem and in a short amount of time. However, in using only your body and hands to say something, you will eventually be able to, but it will take much longer. That is of course, if they don't give up first.
For the second part of the assignment, I actually found it much easier. I don't usually use my hands while speaking, so it wasn't too difficult. I did, however, cheat a little and sit on my hands at the beginning of the conversation to insure I wouldn't use them. My brother, who was my partner in this assignment said he didn't find it difficult to understand me, but he did find it funny that I was sitting on my hands.
To me, what I think this says is that, unless you cannot speak because of an unfortunate handicap, its not something you find too necessary in order to get your point across. I don't think it makes a whole lot of difference, unless its your only option. However, I do think signs are important. I feel like they add meaning and emphasize a point trying to be made. I think that they also add more feeling to what is being said, in that you can actually act out what you are saying.
Being able to read a person's body language is a plus. I think it is an advantage because it can help interpret what is being said in either a more positive or negative way. I know that when I am speaking to my husband and saying something to him, he reacts according to my body language and whether I am coming at him in a aggressive or calm manner. One of the times where you wouldn't want to read or interpret body language is when you are meeting someone for the first time. I say so because, you want to be nice and personable and reading a person's body language can be misleading and misread, it can make you pass judgement on a person without really getting to know them first. You may think the person is rude or undesirable, when in fact they are not.
Good job on your post! In the second part of the assignment we were asked to not use any body movements,basically, when engaging in our conversations. What I found interesting was that you felt this was much easier for you. Much of our communication needs these movements to really express what were saying, that's why I found this part to be more difficult in terms of actual communication. But its nice to know that some people can make it happen!
ReplyDeleteGood opening description of Part A.
ReplyDelete"I say so because I wouldn't allow the conversation to continue unless he would understand what I was saying, or got close to it."
Does this really reflect "power" or "control" in a conversation? Or did your partner just let you have control, in which case, was the control really yours in the first place? Think about trying to have this conversation with a boss or co-worker or a stranger on the bus. Would they let you have that control?
"In this case, I think that although I was in control, my lack of language, made ME powerless"
I think this more accurately expresses the reality of you situation.
Good explanation of the cultural interaction issue. Can you think of a real life situation that parallels this interaction?
Okay on your description, but I would have liked a little more exploration into your brother's impressions as that is often the most interesting part of this experiment. It tells you a lot of how important body language is to communication.
Yes, non-spoken language contributes meaning and clarification, but it also allows people to verify what you are saying, kind of like a lie-detector. If your body language doesn't match the words you are saying, this tells the person that you aren't telling the truth and perhaps can't be trusted. Why would this be beneficial in an adaptive sense?
Can you think of a group of people who have difficulty reading body language?
I would argue that body language is MOST important when meeting a new person. You have no personal history to tell you if that person is trustworthy or not. Wouldn't you want to read body language to know if you can trust the person? Would you want to rely solely upon their spoken word?
So when might body language might give you false information? Do all cultures use the same system of body language?