Two of the eight principles of nonverbal communication that stood out to me were "our nonverbal communication affects the quality of our relationships" and "both parties assign meaning, and sometimes different meanings, to nonverbal communication behaviors"(Allyn & Bacon,99). I am a strong believer on nonverbal communication and how sometimes it means more than verbal communication because just a facial expression alone, says "a thousand words." It honestly does, because from my experience and in day to day life, I have encountered nonverbal communication at various times where I can tell how someone was feeling based on their facial expressions and body languages. For example on how it affects the quality of our relationships, in any given relationship, we have our ideations of that person or people involved and we are able to differentiate how that person is, and what their normalized to do, and act. For example, if I would to make a joke and a friend or colleague of mine in a group or team I am in has a certain look on their face or doesnt say anything, I could most likely tell if they liked my joke or did not based on their expression. That's not to say our assumptions made on nonverbal communication are always accurate, however, it is always good to be aware of how it can affect our relationships.
An example on how both parties assign meaning and sometimes different meanings to nonverbal communication ties into my previous example and explanation because not one of us thinks exactly the same and especially when it comes to assumptions being made, we all have our own definitions and meanings towards how each individual acts and reacts to something. For example,in intimate relationships, who also happen to be co-workers and are in a group or team meeting,there are conflicts between the two individuals because one of them thought something different to the other person's gesture, or expression and the other individual, may have argued they got the wrong impression based on the nonverbal communication going on in the relationship. That is why it is important to be aware of nonverbal communication and to not make assumptions so soon as well, because we all assign our own meanings to nonverbal communication.
HI- food junkie- I found your response to this weeks topic very interesting. I especially like the part about assumptions. You are so correct that people make assumptions and shouldn't because we all assign our own meanings to nonverbal communication. A smile from a femaleto a male could be seen as an invite to communicate and possibly create a relationship. To another person a smile is seen as unprofessional and possibly them mocking their speech or actions. I sometimes laugh under my breath when Im happy and people say 'what's funny' and I just say 'oh Im happy.' This is a great example of how people assign different meanings to nonverbal communication. Thanks for the posting!
ReplyDeleteNonverbal communication is key in any small group but especially in workplace relationships. Since we are all there not by choice usually but instead we are assigned who we work with based on scheduling made by managers, we have to be respectful of other cultures and other peoples values and beliefs. When someone cracks a joke it is important to watch body language because if that person takes offense to the joke they may not want to say anything but it may affect how they work the rest of the day. Also it may get you in trouble. You can also usually make judgements from nonverbal cues, like you mentioned, to see if the person is having a good day or a bad day or if you want to work closely with that person or not.
ReplyDeleteGood job on you post! You picked to very important principles from nonverbal communication. I like that you chose “our nonverbal communication affects the quality of our relationships” because it really does! When were in a relationship with a significant other we need to listen and pay attention to all the different details that they may show us without saying any words. That’s why it’s important to notice the little things like if our partner looks sad we need to ask questions about why they look a certain way so we can better understand their situation and help them in any way possible.
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