Facing the Barriers
During the Thanksgiving holiday, I engaged my partner (we will call her "A") in an interesting game of language barriers. Through parts 1 and 2 of our game, I saw power shifts and struggles to communicate on both ends.
Part 1, the Silent Treatment
In the first part of my conversation with A, I restricted my communication to body language, hand gestures, and nodding/shaking my head. I found it very difficult to communicate this way and noticed that A had a lot of trouble interpreting me. Because it was so difficult to interpret what I was attempting to say, A ended up resorting to only speaking in terms of things I could answer in agreement or disagreement (nodding or shaking my head). This portion of our game seemed to drag on and really got us no where.
During the course of our conversation, A initiated at least 98% of the communication and topic changes. The only power I really had to initiate any changes was to use some gesture of affection (i.e. a hug). Because of my lack of ability to adequately communicate with A, and her resorting to yes/no questions, I think I held a good portion of the power in our conversation. My conversation limits really hindered her communication attempts with me and she was forced to accommodate my lowered language abilities. On the same token, I felt very "left behind" in my inability to change topics or initiate any particular conversation. In this aspect, A also held power in her own way and there was definite frustration on her end as well.
Imagining that A and I represented separate cultures in this exercise, I would say that she definitely held an advantage in communicating any complex ideas. While she would be able to adequately explain herself, and receive equally understood responses from fellow members of her culture, I would find it difficult to relay any type of complicated information. I can only liken my communication abilities in this game to "infant" or "toddler" abilities. In the scenario of cultures, I can imagine that a speaking culture would definitely look on a non-speaking culture as being less-than or infantile. The closest "modern situation" that might mirror this (that comes to mind) is the communication barriers between Deaf and hearing cultures (worldwide). For a long time, members of the Deaf community were considered "less than"** due to their inability to communicate through hearing and speaking. Even today, Deaf people sometimes face discrimination and frustration in their every day lives.
** I do not personally feel that any member of the Deaf community is less than. The above statement is made based on historical events involving Deaf Culture.
Part 2, the Monotone Treatment
For the next part of this game, I had to imagine that I was encased, from head to toe, in clear glue. Or that I had fallen victim to a Harry Potter spell and could only move my lips and eye balls. It was, in no lesser word, constricting. In all honesty, A found this rather amusing initially and she did not have any problems understanding me. The only confusion there really was for her was whether or not I was being sincere.
I think this experiment actually says a lot about how much our language abilities rely on non-manual markers like raised/lowered eyebrows, nodding, even a slight tilt of the head when asking questions. In normal, day-to-day conversations, these gestures and bodily articulations come naturally and they allow the people around us to more accurately interpret what we are saying. Because I was going against instinct and not providing A with any gestures, facial cues, or voice inflection, she was less capable of interpreting me. Body language allows us to read a person's sincerity, interest in the conversation, and emotions. I was not providing A with any of these things.
I think body language provides a huge advantage to a person's ability to survive, obtain resources, and reproduce successfully. Without the ability to read body language, we wouldn't (sometimes) know when someone poses a threat and therefore know when to fight or flee. Without body language, it would also be difficult for people to form genuine connections to each other and (eventually) to mate and produce offspring. It helps us to identify whether or not someone is actually interested in seeing us as a potential mate. Body language also helps us to obtain resources in that we may be able to recognize when someone can or cannot meet our needs and whether or not we might key in on their body language and use it to manipulate (maliciously or benevolently) them into providing resources.
There are definitely people that are worse at reading body language than others. These people are sometimes easily identified by their inappropriate responses to others. While I think it is hardly ever beneficial to be unable to read someones body language, I do think a scenario in which it COULD be beneficial is a job interview. If the interviewer is unable to read the body language of a particularly nervous person, the interviewee may stand a better chance in the interview. Because, any nervous gestures do not necessarily mean that the person would be incapable of handling the job at hand. Of course, this could be a double edged sword because body language can sometimes convey lying. I think everybody has a "tell," or a physically noticeable gesture or facial cue when they are lying and this is definitely beneficial.
Overall, A and I both prefer being able to communicate on equal, understandable ground. While we found this exercise interesting, we both learned not to take our language abilities for granted. I also learned that it must have taken a long time and a lot of hard work for humans to develop an adequate form of language in any culture.
Hello T,
ReplyDeleteAs always, you have a smooth writing style that makes for easy reading. You made a few good points on body language and I agree with you. When you look at the bigger picture it is easy to see how body language is important to the evolutionary process. Species use body language to attract mates and warn off predators.
Thank you for the compliment on my writing style!
DeleteBody language is definitely important!
Sounds like you had interesting results with this experiment! Both parts of it were difficult, frustrating, or amusing for different reasons and were made so just by changing a few communication techniques. Your explanation of your experience with part two was amusing and pretty accurate, while it was good that we could speak, it was actually kind of comical, at least for one member of the pair.
ReplyDeleteIt was definitely quite a sight to see me attempting monotoned conversation with my partner. I must have looked like a ridiculous robot! This was most certainly an entertaining assignment, at very least.
DeleteI find it very interesting when students interpret Part A as them having power in the conversation because their partners change their mode of speaking to accommodate them. You need to recognize that this isn't power. It is the benefit of talking with someone who has a relationship with you. Imagine the same conversation with a stranger on the street. Would you feel that power there? Would they be likely to take the time to accommodate you or would they just walk away and not bother? You have very little power in this conversation. Any you do have is given to you willingly by your partner. You won't have any if they don't give it to you. So is that really power?
ReplyDelete"For a long time, members of the Deaf community were considered "less than"** due to their inability to communicate through hearing and speaking."
I fully understand your qualifying statement, but your point is important. We do tend to associate speaking ability with intelligence and even worth, even if it does not accurately indicate either. Why is that? Why do we make that connection between speech and someone's value in society? You also see this in how non-native speakers are treated by native speakers, don't we?
For Part B:
"Body language allows us to read a person's sincerity..."
You brush over this, but it is good that you raised the point. Humans actually use body language as a bit of a lie detector. If your words don't match your body language, we tend to believe the body language, which is harder to fake, and assume you are lying. This causes problems if you know the person, but think about the implications if you are meeting a person for the first time. Would you trust them if their body language didn't match their words? Do you think you would trust them to be reliable, to help when asked, to act fairly in a business transaction? Probably not. Reading body language tells us who we can trust and who we can't and it has far-reaching implications throughout our lives.
Can you think of a specific group of people who have difficulty reading body language?
For your interview example, the failure to read body language benefits the interviewee, but not the one doing the interviewing, so that isn't describing the situation in the guidelines. Can you think of a situation where body language might lie to you? Do all cultures use the same body language? If you travel to another country, can you trust what you read from the body language of those living there?
Professor Rodriguez,
DeleteThank you for the feedback, you made some very valid points!
I can definitely see where I actually lacked power in the first part of this exercise.
Something you brought up that I hadn't thought of before was whether or not body language differs across cultures/countries. That would certainly make sense now that I think about it! I believe it hadn't occured to me (in part) because I am not particularly well-traveled. But, I am now interested in the concept and will certainly be more aware to any differences in body language I witness in the future!
Your post looks well put together. I thought it was quite creative to refer to the individuals you interviewed as "A" and etc. I thought Part B was the most complicated part of this assignment. Never knew how much I used body language or hand gestures when I speak until it came to the point where I wasn't allowed. Fun experiment, I would recommend many people try this just to see what kind of responses they will receive.
ReplyDeleteI thought part 2 was also pretty complicated. It was difficult to remain "in character." And, I think it would be interesting to watch othe people engage in this exercise. Thank you for reading!
DeleteThank you for the response! And part 2 was certianly very restricting!
ReplyDelete