In Real Life: Recognizing Nonverbal Cues transcript Activity

>> [Background music] As you read in Chapter 6 of Looking Out, Looking In , nonverbal cues often reflect a communicators feelings and attitudes. The same words accompanied by different nonverbal cues can convey very different even opposite messages. As you watch the following scenes, notice all the ways Kim's nonverbal behaviors change. Even though she speaks the same words, pay attention to her posture, jesters, facial expressions, voice and her use of distance. How do these nonverbal cues reflect her feelings about her new neighbor Stacy?

>> Stacy: Oh, hi there. I just moved in Unit 14. My name is Stacy.

>> Kim: Hi, my name is Kim. I'm your next door neighbor [background traffic sounds] in number 12.

>> Stacy: Oh, great. This is a really nice place.

>> Kim: It is. Everybody's friendly, and we all great along really well.

>> Stacy: Hey, is that American Song Writer ? Are you a musician?

>> Kim: Yeah, I'm a singer/songwriter, mostly acoustic. I play around town, nothing too big, but, you know, I'm hoping.

>> Stacy: Oh, that's great. I'm a musician, too.

>> Kim: Really.

>> Stacy: Yeah. I play rhythmic guitar for the Festering Sores [sic]. Have you heard of us?

>> Kim: Yeah, I think so.

>> Stacy: Well you're going to have to come out and hear us sometime, or, hey, maybe we could jam together since we're both guitarists.

>> Kim: That would be interesting.

>> Stacy: I can tell I'm really going to like it here. Hey, do you know what their attitude is on pets around here?

>> Kim: They're really strict about the no [background traffic sounds] dogs or cats policy.

>> Stacy: Oh, okay. Well no problem, Jezebel [sic] isn't either.

>> Kim: Really? What's Jezebel?

>> Stacy: She's a green iguana, a real beauty.

>> Kim: You're kidding, right?

>> Stacy: No. As a matter of fact you'll probably meet her one of these days. She's a bit of a runaway, so she'll probably just run in your apartment if you leave the door open, especially when the weather gets cold. She loves a warm body to snuggle up next to [laughter].

>> Kim: Well I'm more of a bird person. So...

>> Stacy: Oh she's real friendly, you'll love her.

>> Kim: Well look, I got to run. I'm going to be late for a practice session.

>> Stacy: Okay. Well it was good to meet you. I'm really glad we're going to be neighbors.

>> Kim: Me too.

>> Stacy: All right. Bye.

>> Kim: Bye.

>> Now you'll see the same scene again. Both Kim and Stacy will speak the same words you heard in the first version. But this time notice how Kim's nonverbal cues signal a very different set of feelings about Stacy, her posture, jesters, facial expressions, voice, and her use of distance.

>> Stacy: Oh, hi there. I just moved into Unit 14. My name's Stacy.

>> Kim: Hi. My name's Kim. I'm your next door neighbor in number 12.

>> Stacy: This is a really nice place.

>> Kim: It is. Everybody's friendly, we all get along really well.

>> Stacy: Hey is that American Song Writer ? Are you a musician?

>> Kim: Yeah, I'm a singer/songwriter, mostly acoustic. I play around town nothing too big, but I'm hoping, you know.

>> Stacy: Oh yeah. Well I'm a musician too.

>> Kim: Really.

>> Stacy: Yeah I play with the Festering Sores. Have you heard of us?

>> Kim: Yeah, I think so.

>> Stacy: Oh cool. Well you're going to have to come out and hear us sometime. [Background traffic noise] Hey maybe we could jam together since we both play guitar.

>> Kim: Yeah, that'd be interesting.

>> Stacy: Yeah. I can tell I'm really going to like it here. Hey, by any chance do you know their attitude on pets around here?

>> Kim: They're really strict on the no dog or cats policy.

>> Stacy: Oh. Well no problem. Jezebel isn't either.

>> Kim: Well [background traffic sounds] what is Jezebel?

>>Stacy: She's a green iguana. She's a real beauty.

>> Kim: You're kidding right?

>> Stacy: Oh no. Matter-of-fact she's a bit of a runaway, so she might just run in your apartment if you leave the door open, especially when the weather gets cold. She loves a warm body to snuggle up next to [chuckling sounds].

>> Kim: Well, I'm more of a bird person. So...

>> Stacy: Oh, she's real friendly, you'll love her.

>> Kim: Look I got to get going. I'm going to be late for a practice session.

>> Stacy: All right. Well I'll see you around. I'm really glad we're going to be neighbors. Bye.

>> Kim: Yeah, bye.

1. Chapter 7 explains that nonverbal communication serves many functions, including substituting, accenting, regulating, and contradicting. Identify examples of each function in one or both of the scenarios.

2. Describe specific ways in which Kim's nonverbal behavior differs in each version of the scenario. Pay attention to her body orientation, posture, gestures, facial expression, and paralanguage.

3. Chapter 7 explains that nonverbal communication is ambiguous. Identify nonverbal behaviors of Kim (in each version of the scenario) that could be interpreted in more than one way.