Communication Skills: Language, Nonverbal, Listening

The show I watched is Bizarre Foods.

     I have watched this show in part, once, but chose it because on the primary channels there were many interruptions of an amber alert.  I am not putting this alert down, it was on and off so many times, it was hard to watch a show with any consistency so I went to the Travel channel. 

     First, I watched without sound:  I was able to observe that the female was professional but friendly and open to hearing the questions her male companion was asking.  Our text describes non-verbal communication as “spontaneous and unintentional” (O’Hair, D. and Weirmann, M., 2009. p.103).   As I observed this show without sound, I saw hand gestures, especially of the male tourist and eye rolling and laughing of the woman. 

What assumptions did you make about the characters and plot based on the ways in which you interpreted the communication you observed?

     The woman in the show was friendly, relaxed therefore I assumed that they were working on a food show project. This woman took him to several restaurants and markets, and then I turned on the sound, as I wanted to hear what he was saying about the food.  When he was handed the fruit, I immediately knew what it was without being told. I tasted it in Africa; it had a different name than what the guide used because of the language difference but it was the same fruit. She called it Corazon in Spanish, which means heart.  We called this fruit “sour soop” and yes, it was sour and bitter. When he sampled the fruit, it was very distasteful to him.  Obviously, by the gesture of his hand and his face, he did not like it.  She was disappointed; her face showed disappointment, instead she threw her head back and laughed.  I think that I would call this “channel discrepancy” because she obviously was disappointed but laughed to cover up and not say something inappropriate. (Adapted from O’Hair & Wiemann, 2009)

Would your assumptions have been more correct if you had been watching a show you know well?

     If I had watched the show regularly, I would have known that she was a guide or if it were another show, I would have been more aware of the relationship of the two.

What do you think the characters’ relationships are based on the ways in which they are communicating?

     The person narrating the show was traveling to a tropical country to visit. The name of the country was not evident until I turned the sound on and discovered it was Puerto Rico.  Andrew, the name of the male had a female travel guide and she was taking him to different markets and restaurants with native foods.  The guide was open to his remarks of the beauty of the country and the foods.  Their relationship appeared to be relaxed and friendly but professional.  Then I turned the sound on, and that was when he was telling her how much he did not like the fruit. 

What are they feeling and expressing based on the nonverbal behavior you are observing?

     There was a sense of professionalism: relaxed and friendly but definitely a professional flavor and that is why I thought it might be colleagues working together on a food project.   

Write about your experience in your blog, including what you learned about communication from this experience and insights or “aha” moments you believe would be helpful to your colleagues.

     I think that the “aha” moment in this show was when he ate the pig’s ear.  He was surprised, his face reflected surprise and pleasure.   He expressed how much he liked the taste by verbally and non-verbal expressions.  He complemented with his face, his eyes and his hand gestures.  Another example of an “aha” moment and a non-verbal communication: he was at a family home in a remote village; after he had eaten, he thanked the younger women but kissed the grandma on the cheek.  Her reaction was smiles, eyes shining and hands clapping.   

     Tasting of bizarre foods brought to mind some of the strange, to my thinking, foods that I ate while in Africa.  Sour soop was one that I just could not tolerate; it was so bitter and stringy.  I did learn to enjoy many of their foods: and have even made the Mafia Tiga, peanut soup for my preschoolers.  That was a hit: they loved it.  That would be my personal “aha” moment, when the children ate the peanut soup and loved it and wanted more. 

     I have a better understanding of non-verbal communications skills and how they can be misinterperted and that verbal skills are skills to be worked on regularly so as to communicate what it is you are saying without misunderstandings. Life does not exist without communication, determining what kinds of skills you want to work for is the goal that each person has to ask themselves. 

Reference:

O'- Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2009). Real communication.

New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.