Nonverbal Communication Analysis, Essay Example

Communication is necessary to get information across to each other. Without communication, nothing would get done. The world thrives on communication to build, to grow, and to satisfy needs and wants. People communicate in various ways through speech, gestures, and body language. This includes both verbal and nonverbal communication. Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines communication as “the act or process of using words, sounds, signs, or behaviors to express or exchange information or to express your ideas, thoughts, feelings, etc., to someone else” or “a message that is given to someone”. Accordingly, communicating is not just about talking. It encompasses a wide array of methods to get points across and make intentions known in both verbal and nonverbal ways.

This paper examines the difference between verbal and nonverbal communication based on a video of two people interacting, a male (Max) and a female (Lorelai). Through observation, highlights of their communication characteristics such as the nature of their relationship, their emotions, their speech, etc. are examined by answering a set of questions about the video clip.

What is the relationship between the characters? How can you tell?

It appears that the two characters have some type of romantic relationship between them. It seems this way because it looks as if they are in disagreement, but they are standing very close together and there is a lot of passion in their eyes, especially the woman’s eyes. Whenever a man and woman stand that close together, it can usually mean they are romantically linked to each other in some way. It is not clear if they are married or not, but it looks as if the woman is having some type of woman’s issue with something the man has done. I get the impression that it has something to do with another woman on some level and the woman is either jealous or feeling insecure about the situation and has called him over to argue about it. Also, it looks though their relationship is not over, but they are just going through a snag because of this situation they are arguing about. They do not appear to be breaking off their relationship in the clip. I don’t get that from their eye contact or body language, but the man is certainly in some type of trouble he has gotten himself into with this woman.

What is going on in the clip? How do you know?

In the clip, it looks like the man is trying very hard to stay in the lady’s good graces and it looks as if he is trying to explain something to her and make her understand that he is sincere, even though she appears to not be taking it in very well. Judging from their body language and the tone of their voices, it seems like the woman found something out that she did not like and is asking the man why in the world would he do such a thing. The man seems to be telling her it was not all his fault or something of that nature. Additionally, it looks as though the woman is angry at him but she wants it to be different. Her eyes show that she feels that the man has crossed a line that he should not have crossed, but she wants him to make it right. The man appears to be telling her that she has the wrong idea about something and asking her what he could do to convince her. I get this from his gestures that shows that he feels she is attacking him, but he wants to look unthreatening to her.

What emotions are the characters feeling/expressing? How can you tell?

It looks like they are both frustrated that the other is not agreeing. The hand and arm gestures of the woman show that she is sort of fed up and is feeling maybe betrayed or lied to. She raises her voice at him and puts her hand to head, as if to say, how much more of this can she listen to. The woman appears to be angry but not furious enough to want to do something like throw something at him. Her facial expressions, flailing arms and hand gestures show that she feels like she has gone through this before. She also does a little bit of moving away from him and moving back close, as if to say I’m mad but I still care. The man’s hands are in a defensive gesturing position most of the time, and he seems to be concerned that she will not believe a word he is trying to tell her. It seems like he’s feeling like he does not want to lose her good graces. It appears that he is feeling a bit like she is being unfair and jumping to conclusions because it appears like he is telling her she’s wrong about something and to please believe him. She seems angry and put off and he seems apologetic and somewhat like the person who was throw under the bus, so to speak.

Which nonverbal code(s) helped you the most in answering the first three questions? Why?

The gesturing and other hand motions helped me the most, because they showed up very strongly. There was gesturing throughout the entire clip on both the part of the woman and the man. The type of gesturing makes it a bit easier to understand what the context of the conversation may be. The man looks defensive with is gesturing and the woman looks accusative with hers. The woman’s gestures include putting a hand to her forehead in confusion and frustration and flailing arms and accusing looks. She also frowns when he says some things. The man’s gestures include open palms and stretched out arms, as if to say he is innocent and she is overreacting. These gestures on both of their parts makes it clear that the man is the one who is being accused and the woman is trying to get to the bottom of something that she perceives that he has done.

Physical Appearance

The clothing on the woman is somewhat demur but has sex appeal to it. This shows that she is still attracted to the man, even though she is arguing with him. Her pulled back hair shows a bit of vulnerability and feminism and shows that she should probably be patronized a little bit. The man’s clothes shows that he must have just gotten off from work to run over there and try to Kinesics

The use of their gestures to repeat, complement, accent, etc. their verbals were mostly effective. All I got from it was that they were in disagreement about something and the woman was highly upset and fed up with whatever the man was trying to tell her. His gestures, as mentioned, seemed more defensive and calm. He seemed to be apologizing for something. Also, some of his gestures showed that he was becoming a bit tired of trying to tell her what he was trying to get across to her, but it seemed that she would not try any harder to listen and understand.

Proxemics

As mentioned, the characters are in an intimate space together, even though they are arguing. They are standing close enough to hug or take one step and kiss. This shows that they have some type of intimate or romantic relationship, or had that previously, or would like to have that if they do not already. Their close proximity to each other also shows that they know each other well and trust each other to a point.

Conclusion

The video clip showed good examples of understanding what two people are communicating, even though one does not understand the language they are speaking. Communication includes showing emotions, attitudes, and behaviors that tell others what the communication is about. This is shown through eye contact, gestures, tone of voice, pitch of voice, laughing, crying, smiling, frowning, etc. Communication is a connection of speech language and body language that transmits information from one person to the next or to a group of people. As a matter of fact, humans are not the only ones who communicate, as animals use verbal and nonverbal communication to transmit information as well. This just goes to show that communication is a powerful resource.

Communication is a widely universal concept that is necessary in life, and understanding the verbal and the nonverbal aspects of communication is important, because it allows people to have deeper understandings of how communication can be used. Other nonverbal communication includes sign language and writings. These types of communication are just as critical as verbal communication, as it is a means of transmitting information in a way that can be understood by those who are unable to hear. Also, those who are hearing impaired still use gestures, facial expressions and body language to communicate feelings and emotions. Both verbal and nonverbal communication is effective means of communicating.