Sunday, September 27, 2009
Communication: Two halves make a whole
Webclip source
Communication is fundamental in our daily lives. We communicate through two different ways- verbally and non-verbally. Together, these two help create meaning to what we hear and observe. Shown above is a clip taken from popular television series – Gossip Girl. I will be thoroughly evaluating how verbal and non-verbal communication, together, help bring meaning to the receiver. In the excerpt, Blair is being featured as an outcast from the group.
We all know the usefulness of language. Here, language helps establish the main characters in the clip, namely Blair, Georgina and Vanessa. They can be seen dominating the conversation, especially Blair and Georgina.
Through language, we can also tell the relationship between Blair and the rest. She is clearly not very well-liked here from the hostile use of language towards her. Examples include the majority showing no interest toward her and one of the girls even asking Blair to shut the door.
Also, we are able to establish the play of power here. Georgina is obviously the one who has the most authority as she is the main one talking and dictating what they shall do. Blair, having a fair share of lines, does not get the attention of the group, showing how she is being overpowered here.
Many of us tend to overlook the value of non-verbal communication. Take for example the use of kinesics here. We see how Blair feels like an outcast through her false smiles and her symbolic retreatment backwards. On the other hand, Georgina steps up and forward towards Blair and has her hands on her hips, showing Georgina overpowering Blair.
There is also evident use of paralinguistics here. Notice how Georgina’s tone towards Vanessa and Blair differs. Towards Vanessa, she is enthusiastic whereas towards Blair, she is sarcastic. Blair also talks in an uncomfortable manner where she tries to pretend to be chirpy. All these show how Blair is not being and feeling welcomed by the group.
Then, the producers have made use of objects and artefacts to convey meaning too. Notice how the use of the door symbolizes Blair not belonging to the group. She “intrudes” the room unwelcomed by entering through the door and at the end, is “thrown out”. The door represents the separation between Blair and the group. Also, her personal invitation is being used as a coaster by the group, showing their disregard toward Blair.
Very often, people say that eyes are windows to the soul. Here, we can see the insecurity and jealousy Blair feels when she is being rejected by the group. The glare from Georgina’s eyes and the group’s general lack of eye contact with her reaffirms her feelings.
The lack of touch toward Blair also makes her feel like a stranger when contrasted with Georgina giving a tap on Vanessa’s shoulder while praising her.
Lastly, there was been clever use of proxemics here. Clearly, they maintain a social and public distance from Blair while the others have a personal or intimate distance with one another. This just reiterates how Blair is being outcast by them.
So, we can see how verbal and non-verbal communication complement one another and thus, not one should be undervalued. In order for us receivers to decode a message most accurately, we should keep in mind to take into account both forms of communication.
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Communication is a powerful tool in conveying information and meaning as it allows parties to understand the message (be it an underlying one) from the same perspective.
ReplyDeleteCommunicattion through two different ways- verbally and non-verbally helps create meaning to what we hear and observe. On a deeper level, communication is a major competency for leaders because effective communication is part of leadership.
Good communication skills drive effective leadership. Leaders play informative roles, and the shift in paradigm from management to leadership includes differences in communication skills.
Even on the organizational level, the effect of communication on the success of the organization can be seen. One important part of organizational communications is to convey the mission, vision and values so that all employees understand the big picture of what is trying to be accomplished.
Thus, we can see here that communication is indeed essential and fundamental in our daily lives, not only in conveying messages to peers but as an important criteria to achieving effective leadership as well.
Hello Val!
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that you use gossip girl to study the types of communications in this entry. Captivates my interest right away!
I agree very much with what you have said, the use of non-verbal communication in this clip plays a large part in relying the message that blair is an outcast across. Your entry has heightened my awareness to this subtle communication plays! It has never occurred to me that gossip girl could be analyzed so literary. We usually just watch shows and understand the general idea directly from it assuming it to be common sense and a simple derivation. But what we do not realize is the effort a director must put into his work to relay his message across efficiently. The use of artifacts, the distance characters are standing from each other, basically the set-up of each scene. I guess its all a cognitive process, we understand these things quickly and clearly but have never stopped to think of why we do so.
Sorry all my tenses and spelling errors haha I just realized
ReplyDeleteAlthough Blair blurted out a string of lines toward the end of the clip in a bid to entice people to join her party in the other room, the intended effect is not achieved.
ReplyDeleteEffective communcation in a social context is highly dependent on many factors, especially that of influence.
Here, Blair had little influence over the rest because they were settled into the current party already. As recipients of Blair's invitation, they were ostensibly indifferent.
In order for communication to have power, one must pick the right words to say at the right time, and in the right way.
Upon seeing their backs towards her when the door was opened for her, Blair should have went inside to join the current party first in order to reduce the barriers towards her party. Only by being with them, would Blair increase receptivity to her social invitation.
Communication in a social context is largely achieved through non-verbal interaction. For instance, the act of watching a show or eating together is equivalent to a common social experience - there is no need to say, 'oh, we're good friends cos we're watching this dvd in my room together!'
Conversely, effective communication in non-social contexts usually depends on hierarchy structures.
For instance, in an academic (non-social)context, the professors do not need to interact with us in order build a valid communicative relationship. The Prof just needs to set up his laptop at the front of the lecture room, and we know that we gotta listen in because he's the boss.
It is thus important for us to be aware of the context in which communication takes place in so that we can craft appropriate strategies to say the things we wanna say in the best possible way.
Hi Val,
ReplyDeleteThat's a really detailed evaluation of the use of body language particularly in bringing a point across.
Indeed, there were no words which specifically made Blair seem unwelcome at first but it was evident to the audience that she was very much disliked. I like the way you described the door as an instrumental key to group's marginalisation of Blair.
Also, that Georgina used body language to show that she had an edge above Blair is very true. I usually would not have noticed that explicitly. But now that you have pointed it out, I might be inclined to observe people's body language etc to see how they communicate with people non-verbally.
Also I believe non-verbal communication can bring across stronger messages then verbal ones if used appropriately. Coupled with verbal communication, non-verbal means of communications can at times further strengthen the "speaker's" points.
Well done on the analysis! A food for thought indeed!
hey val good observations from the clip! yes yes. As the saying goes, "Actions speak louder than words" and Georgina did a great job at chasing Blair out with all the verbal and non-verbal cues to the point you could here Blair's voice shaking as she tried covering up her own embarrassment by being cheerful! fantastic! haha.
ReplyDeleteHi Val!
ReplyDeletealthough almost everyone I know watches/ has watched at least one episode of Gossip Girl, I never ever knew what kinesics, paralinguistics and proxemics were till now. However, I agree that body language is definitely an important tool in communication. Perhaps a silent observer would be able to establish all the above assumptions but I feel that this study of body language, though interesting, can also be deceptive. I suppose this is where the study of human behaviour and psychology comes into play.
This is a very interesting topic as there are so many real life examples available. I look forward to a follow up on this subject matter.
After communicating so much about communication through language, which is a way of knowing, what about contemplating the flip side of the coin- miscommunication?
ReplyDeleteThrough the intrinsically similar tools of verbal language, kinesics, paralinguistics etc., miscommunication can also be strongly and effectively fuelled.
We all put on facades to hide our true feelings; in the noble goal of being tactful, we twist and distort our words to mean something different from what we really intend to mean- clearly, there is miscommunication here, albeit intentionally.
Our kinesic behaviour can often convey startling messages, especially for those who tend to have little self-control and self-mastery.Gestures and facial expressions often display a range of emotions and reactions which are not really our intention, but end up being misinterpreted.
For example, my english teacher has this knack for contorted facial expressions as he listens to our presentations. It scares us to bits because it appears to be a very negative indication of our performance, however in actual fact,he's often agreeing and contemplating the new viewpoint that we are presenting. This fear once hindered my performance because I was affected by the teacher, and I sure do regret reading his expressions wrongly.
We tend to believe that we are always able to read others and understand them, even they seem to be concealing something from us. Unfortunately, we fail to realise that we have actually misunderstood them, in the process causing much discontent and accusation to fly around the place.
We ought not to underestimate the negative power of miscommuniation!After being empowered with the knowledge of communication, let's aspire to avoid the uneventful miscommunications that break instead of build.
Hi Val,
ReplyDeleteLearning the theories of communication sure does make one more observant of their surroundings and behaviour of people! Great job on the illustration of pictorial form and actions to denote meaning of the various characters. I especially like the allusion to the door as 'intrusive' behaviour Blair displayed to the group that obviously was not interested in her perception of a 'better party'.
Non verbal communication observed from body language, tone/voice and artifacts in the case of the above video clip, complements the show and aids in narrating the story of Gossip Girl. Without such visual aid, Gossip Girl or any other serial for that matter, would probably not be marketable or convincing at all. People want to watch dramatized versions of reality and such visual aid helps in making it possible!
Facial expressions, tone of the voice etc also helps in regulating the monotony of speech. The audience or receiver would better interpret the message through such mediums of visual/hearing aid, which is also how we derived at Georgina being annoyed with Blair, and Blair's stuck up attitude.
However, like verbal communication, non verbal communication could also be misinterpreted, hence they have to be sometimes carried out together to better transmit messages/ideas.
Hope this is of help! :>
Hi Val!
ReplyDeleteI never watched a single episode of Gossip Girl but I sure picked up a lot of non-verbal cues from the girls.
There was sarcasm, humility, disappointment, disgust, annoyance and of course a big slice of bitchiness.
Non-verbal communication is a very overlooked form of communication. I think this is so probably because we communicate non-verbally very naturally. For example, it is very difficult not to frown when you are angry, just like how it is very difficult to not show a happy face when you've won something.
Anyway, great choice of video, it had so many examples cramped into 1 minute.
P.s No secret to my videos, just replace a bit of social life with youtube surfing. :D
excellent analysis! i typed one whole chunk but apparently blogger is a bitch and disallows me from copying and pasting what i typed.
ReplyDeletethe use of oculesics is obvious here, with the lack of eye contact between group and Blair. and the bitch who closed the door had gave a NV communication very obvious to Blair by almost telling a story with her eyes.
the producer of GG also emphasized the awkward situation with a subtle musical background if you can spot it.
overall GJ:)
A detailed analysis of communication concepts in the videa! I agree that verbal and non-verbal communication have a symbiotic relationship and sends out a clearer message together than just one of them alone.
ReplyDeleteI think another way the producers communicated the contrast between Blair and the rest of the people in the room is the way she is dressed. She is dressed more sophisticatedly and high class with her structured purple dress and signature head band while the rest of the people in the room are dressed more simple and casual in jeans and tank tops. This shows a stark difference in their cultures as clothes is a way of communicating who you are and Blair does not seem to fit in very well into their culture.
The food mentioned in the video is also a way of communicating the differences in the culture that the Blair is used to compared to the rest of the people in the room. Saketinis and sushi is served in Blair's room while the rest of the people in the room just ate pizza.
I also think that we can tell from their non-verbal communication that Blair and Georgina have some animosity between them. Through paralinguistics, we can tell that Blair does not like Georgina as she keeps interrupting her when she speaks. There are also indicators through kinesics like Blair rolling her eyes at Georgina as she gushes about Vanessa's movie. Like you said, Georgina also shows signs of not liking Blair through her sarcastic tone and trying to exclude her. Georgina is clearly trying to dominate the room by speaking for the room as a whole and saying "we" instead of "I".
WOAH! I didn't know Gossip girl can be analyzed till such extent. Great job on that! :D I totally agree with SUNDAYTV as non verbal and verbal communication send out a much more refine message than verbal communication alone.
ReplyDeleteWithout non verbal cues, you will probably look retarded while you are speaking. For example, your dog just got hit by an oncoming car and your friend walk up to you without any expression and said ,"Your dog just got hit by a car and his dead." You might think that his pulling a prank on you or something. But if your friend added tone to his voice(paralinguistic) and his eyes(oculesics) is pretty focus on you. You will definitely panic on the spot!
Reply to Dawn:
ReplyDeleteHi Dawn!
Yes I agree with you that communication is a very important aspect of our daily lives! Like you mentioned, it is essential for parties to understand each other and know where each is coming from to avoid misunderstandings!
Also, you brought up a very good point about good communication skills being an important aspect of leadership. It is important for a leader to have good communication skills so that he or she is able to convey messages, ideas and opinions effectively.
All in all, I think we both believe that communication is vital for organizations and personal relationship to thrive!(:
Reply to Adeline Kwek:
ReplyDeleteHey Adeline!
That was one of the reasons why I chose to demonstrate communication principles with this video because it is popular among the youths and young adults, which constitutes a very large part of my readers!
I am glad that you are able to see the incorporation of the director's work to create meaning through verbal and non-verbal cues. You are never going to watch videos and shows the same again Adeline, for a while at least! That is because you will probably end up pondering over the verbal and non-verbal cues used! Enjoy!(:
Reply to Wilfred Chua:
ReplyDeleteHi Wilfred! Very impressive insights you have there and thank you for taking the time and effort to have such deep thoughts about the short clip!
I definitely agree with you that effective communicatoin depends on many different factors and those examples you gave about how Blair could have acted in a different way for more effective communication with the rest of the group was awesome!
Also, I think you brought up a very important point about taking note of the context of communication. Like you mentioned, it should be about saying the right thing at the right time and the right place! You even pointed out and elaborated about effective communication in social and non-social contect. You did a really great commentary Wilfred! Hope you still managed to take some things away from this entry despite your high level of intellect!:P
Reply to Jasmine:
ReplyDeleteHey Jasmine!
Yes, indeed it is. In fact, detailed analysis of body languauge can be applied to practically every kind of situation.. You will be surprised! It is just that we normally just overlook this aspect.
I am glad that you are able to realize that words are not the only thing that can create meaning. Non-verbal cues such as body language can create meaning too!
Definitely, verbal and non-verbal cues work hand in hand to bring out a person's point! Glad you are more aware of non-verbal cues such as body language used in our daily lives after reading this entry!(:
Reply to J-max:
ReplyDeleteHey J-max!
The phrase "Action speaks louder than words" is very true indeed. This is evident from the web clip above! Hope you enjoyed it!(:
Reply to Danielle Lim:
ReplyDeleteHi Danielle!
I am happy that you learnt something new from reading this entry of mine!
You brought up a very interesting point about how body language can be misleading. I agree with you on that. That is why, verbal communication is an important aspect when it comes to creating meaning too. However, if verbal comunication is not available, let us look further into non-verbal cues, specifically body language alone.
If we were to create meaning of a situation or person just by body language, we have to keep in mind factors such as the context and the relationship between the people involved. For example, somebody burping after a meal has different meanings in different context, such as the place at which it occurs. In some Asian societies, it is considered as being polite to the chef whereas in most Western societies for example, it is considered rude.
People with different relationships can make the meaning of a situation different too. For example, if a boy and a girl had a purely platonic relationship and he accidentally brushes his hand against the girl's, the girl would probably think nothing of it. However, if the girl was interested in the boy but the boy was not, the girl could possibly misinterpret the boy's body language and thought that the boy had feelings for her.
So, you can see how many different factors come into play to create meaning to a situation! Hope you have a clearer picture of this topic!(:
Reply to Hilda Foo:
ReplyDeleteHey Hilda!
Thank you for taking your time to reply with such an insightful comment!
Due to word limit, I am not able to cover every single aspect of communication but I am more than happy to discuss about miscommunication with you here!
Well, sometimes the truth hurts and I guess in the process of becoming tactful, we sometimes seemingly hide what we really feel. In this case, I do not think of it as a form of miscommunication but rather, I see it as a way of communication where people simply deliver the ugly truth in a way that is more sensitive to the person. Being tactful does not necessarily mean that the truth is not told, it is just told in a different way but the gist of what we want to get across still goes through in most cases.
From your experience with you English teacher, we can see how miscommunication is very real in our lives. While it is impossible to ask the other party to change his non-verbal cues entirely so that people do not misinterpret their actions, we can prevent miscommunication on our part. For example, we can further reaffirm our perception with verbal communication. If we infer that our friend is feeling sad from his or her sad face for example, we can ask if they are feeling sad. For all you know, he or she is just feeling tired! However, if he or she chooses to lie about how he or she feels, then there is nothing more that we can do on our part. At least we tried our best to make meaning of the situation!(:
All the best in communication with the people around you!(:
Reply to Ams!
ReplyDeleteHey Ams!
Learning about communication theories sure made me more observant of my surroundings! I took note of things very often taken for granted, such as non-verbal cues!
I agree with you that non-verbal communication is a very important aspect of marketing! Imagine a film without a person moving around or facial expressions but only a stationary, expressionless person speaking.. I cannot imagine how boring that would be!
Definitely, verbal and non-verbal communication is most effective when it works in tandem. While it is possible to decipher meaning from just verbal or non-verbal communication alone, the usage of both together enhances meaning!(:
Reply to ablinddeer:
ReplyDeleteHey ablinddeer!
I am glad that you are able to pick out so many things from such a small web clip! Plus, you were also pretty accurate on your observations!
I agree with you that non-verbal communication is somewhat natural for most people. Having said that, it is often difficult to control these natural reactions to stimuli. Therefore, sometimes it might be difficult to hide our feelings even though we might want to!
Happy youtube surfing!:P
Hey touchmybeaver!
ReplyDeleteI am sorry that your first comment did not come through but thank you for your effort!
To be honest, I did not notice the musical background until you pointed it out! Upon watching it again, I realized the subtle usage of music to emphasize the awkward situation towards the end of the clip this time round! Great call on that!
That is what this blog is for also I believe.. For us to learn from one another! Great one touchmybeaver!(:
Hello there sundaytv!
ReplyDeleteYup, I cannot emphasize enough how much verbal and non-verbal communication work together to create efficient communication!
You have certainly pointed out some other great ways the producers have used to communicate the difference between Blair and the rest in the room, making her an outcast in this situation. Dressing, food and whatnots all fall under culture and culture sure plays a big part on who we mix with and whether we can click with certain groups of people or what.
Overall, I noticed you are rather observant and you picked out many small details that some readers might not be able to do so! Good one sundaytv!(:
Reply to kandidkester:
ReplyDeleteHey kandidkester! I did not know Gossip Girl could be analyzed so deeply too until I took up this COM101 module.. After taking up this COM101 module, however, made me see videos in a different light now! Perhaps the majority of us are too drawn into the storyline to analyze communication in Gossip Girl in greater detail.
Hahahaha you have definitely given us a funny but realistic analogy! Yes, it is very true that verbal and non-verbal communication work together hand in hand! Nice example!(: