The television show that I chose to analyze is "Friends". I do not watch normally, but I have surfed channels and seen the show in passing. As I watched the show with the sound turned off I observed a lady and a man sitting at a table across from each other. Based on the ways the lady and man are communicating, I really could not tell what type of relationship they were involved in.
I started to assume the lady and man were possibly in a relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend. They were looking at each other with direct eye contact and they started to hold hands. They seemed to be engaged in a serious discussion. It seems as if they are expressing some type of affection for each other. It almost appears as if the woman is telling the man something that is not going to make him happy. The woman is the one that reached out to hold the man's hand as he shakes his head.
I turned the sound on and the assumptions that I made were somewhat accurate. The woman was telling the man that she did not share the same feelings as he did for her. They were friends and she didn't want to ruin their relationship. I think my assumptions would have been more detailed if I had been watching a show that I know very well. Knowing the characters and the roles that they play on a familiar sitcom would have made my insights and experience a little easier.
Facial expressions and body language plays a huge role in communication. Eye movement and hand movements say a lot about what a person is trying to say.
Thank you for sharing your experience on this episode. As I am reading through many of the blogs they all seem to be the same perception of how our assumptions were. Communication is such an essential part of life. It is so easy to be misunderstood. Developing those effective communication skills is an important part of being a professional in the early childhood field and in personal life as well.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my favorite shows. There is a lot of history that goes along with it. One needs to have a background to understand. The characters use a lot of body gestures to communicate. Alot of the jokes require knowledge of the history of the show to get the jokes.
ReplyDeleteHi Theresa - I have been watching Friends since it began and now watch the reruns with my daughters. Based on your description, I think I even know which episode you were watching. I wonder how many acting classes focus on nonverbal cues because they are relied upon so much when one is acting to help tell the story. The readings and this activity have made me more aware of my own nonverbal skills and cues. It would be interesting to watch one of those poker championship matches to see how well they mask their expressions and control their voice tones.
ReplyDeleteThe more we know about a relationship or situation between two people the more we understand the nuances of their communication. I need to work on really getting to know the parents and children in my program so I can better understand their nuances and body language communication and not take situations in the wrong way.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your experience. It seems that we all have to same perception before we turn the volume on. It shows how important that communication is. We need to learn to practice effective communication so that we can ensure our children are getting the best education that we can give them.
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