Have you ever tried to watch television in a foreign country without subtitles? Have you ever observed two people in a conversation across a room and made assumptions about their relationship based on their body language? Understanding nonverbal communication can be tricky; translating body language and facial expressions is often ambiguous. While learning to use, gauge and factor nonverbal messages are necessary aspects of competent communication, one must also consider the situational and cultural contexts of nonverbal cues to fully understand what is actually being communicated.
As an exercise in my Master's Communication course, we were asked to watch a television show without volume and make assumptions about the characters and plot. Then, we were asked to re-watch with the volume on to check our accuracy in reading nonverbal communication. I chose a popular series my friends have been talking about called, "Louie", based on the life of a New York comedian, Louie C. K.
In this episode, I watched as a man and a woman were shopping together in a pharmacy. She was looking at hair brushes and making motions used to fix her hair. The man looked confused and uninterested by the way he half-nodded and showed no sign of engaging facial expressions. Based purely on body language, it was hard to tell if the man and woman were siblings, neighbors or colleagues. While they stood close to each other, it did not seem to be a sign of intimacy. Suddenly, the woman began a series of body gestures to imitate taking off her clothes, showering and toweling off in the middle of the store. The man looked embarrassed and uncomfortable. I wondered if he thought the woman was a little crazy, or if he was uncertain whether a display of body language was meant to attract him or sexualize their encounter.
Upon second viewing with volume, I realized that the man and woman had recently met in their building, and although he was attracted to her, they did not share the same language, which leads to some confusion and uncertainty in their interactions and body language. Her attempt at using her body and gestures by mimicking a shower scene was not meant as an overt sexual gesture or silly attempt for attention; it was used to convey a message that she was looking for a hair dryer without knowing the English word. She could not tell him her need, so she did her best to show her need through body gestures. When he finally interprets the message correctly and hands her a hair dryer from another shelf, they both smile, laugh, and high-five to show mutual understanding, satisfaction, and success in their nonverbal communication strategies.
This scenario illustrates how we often make assumptions about others based on nonverbal communication as well as it's importance and necessity in different situations. "Situational context determines the rules of behavior and the roles people must play under different conditions. Competent communicators will always consider the appropriateness and effectiveness of nonverbal communication in a given context" (O'Hair & Wiemann, 2012, p. 151).
A wonderful example of the importance of understanding situational context in the preschool world would be a teacher reacting to a group of boys across the yard who are exhibiting aggressive behavior and facial gestures. Taken out of context, this could be a dangerous situation that requires immediate intervention. However, when you take an extra moment to discover that they are all in agreement about a game together and they are only acting the parts, then we are allowing them creative exploration of nonverbal communication in a safe environment. So, next time you observe others 'acting' crazy or think you can read a situation from across the room (or playground, as it may be), consider the situational context before reacting to the show. Ask for clarification and rely on multiple forms of communication to tell the whole story.
Reference:
O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M., (2012). Real communication: An introduction. Bedford/ St. Martin's
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