Nonverbal Communication skills-- Communication-related Activity 1

The TV show that I chose to watch is The Big C, Episode 4, Season 1, which I never watch before. The first time when I watched this episode with sound off, from the facial expressions of the main character in her forties, I can see that she smiles a lot throughout the show, which shows that she is quite positive. 

In Scene 1, she was in an office with a man. She smiled and looked confident, being happy about what she was saying. However, the man talked to her frowning and seemingly unhappy. In this scene, from facial expressions, I feel that they are not in a really happy communication and I made an assumption that they were in the interview and the man was not satisfied with the woman.

In Scene 2, the main character, she approached a teenage boy who was playing video games in a rugby field. When she was talking to the boy, the boy focused on his games without looking at her, showing no respect for her. After a little bit conversation, the woman put her eyes on the video game and I guess she was asking something about the game. The boy made a signal that showed her something happening in the field. Her facial expressions showed that she did not expect what's happening in the field. Then she took away the video game from him and made a gesture with her thumb up pointing backwards. Then the boy got into a jeep. I made an assumption that the woman and the boy is mom and son, who are not in a really good relationship.

In scene 3, she with a man was in a restaurant, seeming having a date with the man. She smiled and was in a good conversation with him. Then he took her to a big house. Another woman, let's say A, showed up in front of house, wearing very formally. The main character leaned against the man and smiled happily, showing they were intimate. The A showed them to walk around the house. I made an assumption that the man and the woman were a couple who were finding a new house.

The second time when I watched this show with sound on, I was surprised that the assumptions that I made, some are right but some not. About her relationships with others, seemingly I guess right, whether in a good and intimate relationship or not; however, about the plot, mostly I made wrong assumptions.

In scene 1, actually the woman wanted to get her money back from 401(k), which made the man in the office confused. They were not a job interview. In scene 2, they were mom and son. She was not happy about him playing video games instead of working a summer job. She asked where the video game from. I guess right from their facial expressions and gestures. In scene 3 the assumption of which surprised me most, I am shocked that they were doctor and patient. In their conversation in the restaurant, the woman showed a positive attitude toward her cancer. Because she wanted to experience something that was different from what she had experienced in her life, she tried new things, such as buying a convertible, and pretending to be another woman. That's why she went with the man to see the house, pretending girl friend and boy friend.

From the blog assignment, I learn that nonverbal communications have a great impact on showing how the relationships between people are. If I had been watching this show and known about the plot well, I think with the sound off, I wound be more correct about my assumptions. Though I was wrong about some of their relations, from their nonverbal communications, I was right about the relationships between them, whether good or not. Therefore, we should pay attention to our nonverbal communication skills if we want to promote a relationship with other since "nonverbal behavior is communicative" (O'Hair & Wiemann, 2012, p. 129).

Reference:

O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.