Part1: This week’s assignment was to engage in a 15 minute
conversation without speaking, writing, and using sign language. This
assignment was difficult for me at first; my partner and I are usually talking nonstop.
So it was a challenge to not talk for 15 minutes. I found my partner and I
getting frustrated but saw that my partner made a change in trying to
communicate with me. My partner was
trying to be more specific and tried describing things to me without speaking.
If my partner and I were from two different cultures I feel like the culture
with the speaking skills would hold a higher advantage over the culture without
the speaking culture. I feel the culture that does speak would react towards
negatively they would feel that the other culture is not to their level and
would feel that they are the better race. In everyday life you encounter people
that speak different languages I’ve seen people try to communicate with each other
through hand gestures and pointing and nodding I feel like that would be the
best way to communicate with someone without speaking.
Part2: During this assignment I was not able to sit still while
talking I always flail my arms around and have excitement in my voice when I
talk. This was very difficult for me because I am so accustomed to using my
hands when I describe things or tell stories so it was definitely a challenge
to hold my arms down. Also it as difficult to keep the tone of my voice level
people are so used to emphasizing the importance of what they are saying that
they forget how difficult it is to restrain from doing so. My partner was not
used to speaking this way he was also trying very hard to keep his voice level.
It was also hard to talk to my partner without using my hands as a visual for
better understanding. Most people use hand signals to show how things work when
you can’t describe it through your voice. I think that cultures could
communicate but it they would have a better understanding by the sound of the speaker’s
voice or their hand gestures. The time where it is not essential to use body
language is when you are solely focused on someone’s conversation or when you’re
talking over the phone.
Brianna,
ReplyDeleteI too had trouble keeping the tone of my voice level, as to not convey emotions in regards to Part 2 of the experiment.
Which experiment did you find to be the most difficult, Part 1 or 2?
Chris
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ReplyDeleteGreat discussion in Part A. I agree with your conclusion that the speaking culture would tend to feel superior to the non-speaking culture. Why do we tend to associate the ability to use spoken language with intelligence? Is this an accurate assumption?
ReplyDeleteWhy did your partner try to keep his voice level in Part B? Did he express any emotions during this part of the experiment?
I would have liked to see you expand upon the question of the value of body language in communication (section 3).
Section four first asked for people who had difficulty reading body language. This was drawing attention to people in the autism spectrum who have great difficulty reading body language. The final question wasn't about using body language but reading body language. Are there any situations where it might be to your advantage to avoid reading body language as it might be misleading to you?