Part 1:
My friend Angela and I did this experiment and for me personally the 15 minutes was very difficult because I feel the need to comment on everything but I couldn't since I wasn't aloud to talk. I think you could compare this experiment to someone being mute because they can express themselves with facial expressions and hands but they can't talk!
This is what Angela had to say: "I felt as if I was talking to myself. It was very hard to continue on a conversation without having any input. I felt like a chatty Kathy and I felt that it was very hard to talk to someone especially when they are your best friend and they can't give you any advice or input."
I think the culture that is able to express themselves and use gestures is able to communicate complex ideas better. Individuals that would have issues communicating would be people who are mute or people who do not speak the language. I think people who do speak the language or who can speak in general tend to treat these people like lesser I guess you can say.
Part 2:
I hated this part. I wasn't able to last the whole 15 but I was able to last 10 minutes. It was so hard to be monotoned that was definitely the hardest part. I was putting myself to sleep trying not to fluctuate my voice or anything. I won't lie though even though it was really hard at first I giggled a couple of times because it was just too much for me to try and be plain. Non speech techniques in our language is very important because you can use gestures and other motions to explain what you mean. There definitely are some people who can't read body language. The adaptive benefit to this would be that you can tell when someone is uncomfortable or when the conversation is over without making it awkward. One situation where it might be advantageous is in customer service when they can't tell if you are upset with them or not.
Angela: "It was super hard to concentrate on what you were saying and what you were talking about. I couldn't really pay attention to what you were saying and to top it off since you couldn't use your hands or anything to express your self I really wasn't paying attention."
All in all though this was a very interesting experience and I never noticed how much I fluctuate my voice or use my hands or gestures to express myself. I think that if we were to have been able to use written language it would've have been slightly easier but not by much because even written language can be misinterpreted. The advantage that written language provides is that is provides and passes down history. The impact that it has had is that it's easier to translate stuff when it is written down and its good for trade agreements.
Chyann, I found this experiment to be difficult as well, but I did appreciate the tools I use to communicate much more after attempting to suppress them for a short period of time. your comment "even written language can be misinterpreted." is an important observation. Due to the massive shift in how we communicate (social media and messaging being the primary examples) the opinions and information we choose to share can be wildly misinterpreted. The lack of intonation and expression can turn a harmless comment into a harmful attack.
ReplyDeleteI agree that those with more communication skills at their disposal are at an advantage, but the presence of these tools doesn't guaranty intelligence or superiority anymore than the absence of them indicates ignorance or stupidity.
Thanks for the post!
Marc
I really enjoyed reading about your experience! It is so hard to do experiment part 2 because it is not fun carrying on a conversation with a non-animate person and like your partner said, it is distracting and not interesting. As a Deaf person myself, I rely heavily on body language and gestures as a form of communication with hearing people that do not use ASL. Funny thing is when they get frustrated, I am sure they are NOT aware of how much of the frustration is being shown in their body language so it's sometimes insulting to me when I am trying to convey something and their body language does not match up to their verbal language ( I lipread very good). There can always be misunderstandings through spoken AND written language- it all depends on how the person takes in the information and how the person "translate" the meanings.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the direct quote from Angela on Part 1. What were your observations on how she responded to the experiment? How did she change how she spoke to you? Who initiated conversations or changed topics? Did she ask questions that required a long response or just yes/no questions?
ReplyDelete" I think the culture that is able to express themselves and use gestures is able to communicate complex ideas better."
I'm not clear that answers the question. Which culture would be able to better communicate ideas with each other, the culture using symbolic language or the culture using only body language? Remember what complex ideas actually are. Would you be able to explain Einstein's theory of relativity without symbolic language?
I appreciate the description of your own experiences for Part 2. Good quote from Angela. Did you notice anything in her own body language which might give greater insight into how she was responding to this experiment?
"Non speech techniques in our language is very important because you can use gestures and other motions to explain what you mean."
This is true, but it goes far beyond that. I would have liked to have seen you explore this more deeply. Beyond clearer communication, body language is also used by humans as a lie detector. If someone tells you something but their body language tells you something different, which do you believe, the words or the body language? We tend to not believe a person when their body belies their words, and think about how this helps people when interacting with others. This would help you figure out who to trust, who to work with, and who to avoid, very important pieces of information when living among others.
"There definitely are some people who can't read body language."
Can you be more specific? For example, individuals who are in the autism spectrum are unable to read body language, which creates many of the social complications they face. Additionally, those who are blind will have more difficulty reading body language, though they can still hear vocal intonation.
In your customer service example, this describes a situation where you shouldn't SHOW body language. The question asks when you shouldn't READ body language. Can you think of any situation where it would be to your advantage to ignore body language? Are there circumstances where body language might lie to you? Do all cultures use the same system of body language?
Okay on your section on written language, but this needed to be expanded and explained further. There were several questions in there and all could have been explored more completely. Take the opportunity to stretch your mind on these topics.
Hi Chyann!
ReplyDeleteWe experienced a lot of the same things in this experiment. I especially relate to your laughter outbreaks in part 2. :) I found your friend's distinctions between part 1 and part 2 interesting. In part 1, she was able to pay attention, but she felt more shut down by not receiving any input. By the time part 2 came around, she found it much more difficult to pay attention and focus on the message you were trying to convey. So much of communication is non-verbal, and I think your friend's observations really drive that point home! I enjoyed this assignment - it seemed to be one where both we and our partners learned unique truths about the way we communicate that we don't really pay attention to all the time since it's so natural for us (much like breathing!). I hope you enjoyed it, too!
i thought the first part was difficult because i too feel the need to comment on things while having a conversation. Interesting to do these experiments to show how much we take for granted and how we do things that we don't realize. Your friend Angelas comment is funny on how she thought that she was talking to
ReplyDeletemyself because the people i did the experiment with thought the same.
Derick Quintana
Derick, make sure you sign-in with your class Google username so I know who to credit with points for you comment.
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