Language

Part 1:

     This was perhaps one of the most hilarious experiences I've had regarding assignments for school. Due to the hectic nature of my schedule I was only able to do these exercises with a classmate from my Communications class. I mainly utilized body language as a means to convey messages to my partner. Needless to say, it started off as five minutes worth of confusion from both ends. We clearly weren't understanding each other initially. I decided to shift my body language into something more discernible. Sports, was the first topic that came to mind and I gestured the act of kicking a ball. Immediately my partner yelled out "SOCCER!" and from there we reached a mutual understanding. He asked what my favorite position to play was and although the truth to this question was "defender" I gestured my arms wide and acted like a goalkeeper, just to keep things simple. This assignment was neither difficult nor easy, it was a challenge, a rather fun one at that. My partner decided to start mimicking my actions in order to empathize with what I was trying to convey, it was like playing a messy game of charades with a better sense of immersion.
     Control of the conversation was constantly shifting, once my partner realized what I was trying to express, he went on to carry the conversation further with more questions. Later on, my partner was the one who changed topics mostly due to the fact that he had more flexibility in conveying ideas since he had the power of verbalization. Initially, I had the power in the conversation but the scales shifted towards my partner's favor as we progressed.
     In terms of communicating complex ideas within a population, I believe that verbal communication has the upper hand. The greatest ideas throughout our history we're formulated through essays and writing, oratory storytelling, plays, and many more. Non-verbal communication might be effective at conveying simplistic ideas and emotions however, verbal communication has unrivaled versatility when it comes to expression. A speaking culture can view a non-verbal culture as alien and mysterious, and its safe to assume that there isn't going to be an abundance of understanding between the two. When I was on vacation in France, I had zero knowledge of the language thus, I could only communicate with people through limited verbal usage and non-verbal communication. I often made a lot of French natives laugh due to my poor attempts at asking for directions to certain landmarks, so it's safe to say that they had absolutely no idea what I was trying to say.

Part 2:

     This part of the assignment was definitely a lot more challenging. I am a very expressive individual, when I tell stories or simply talk to others I use a lot of gestures to supplement my messages. The simple act of restricting all these non-verbal cues was quite difficult for me. My partner had an incredibly hard time trying to prevent his laughter from consuming his composure due to my sad attempt at a poker face throughout the conversation. In terms of understanding what I was trying to say, my partner was responsive and understood most of what I said.
     The eye-opener for me during this activity was the realization of how important "signs" are in our day to day communication. The adage "actions speak louder than words" has an incredible amount of credibility and is the basis of all disciplines regarding behavior. Anxiety can be seen through the mannerisms of an individual, having closed off body language is a sign of discomfort and the want to be left alone, and much more can be conveyed through non-verbals.
     A lot can be read through body language and having competent knowledge on the subject can benefit a person majorly. If a person can read a potential aggressors body language then he can act accordingly (fight or flight). A person being able to read a friendly individual's body language then he can either befriend or trade with the individual. In terms of reproduction, a potential mate will provide "indicators of interest" which will prompt a prospective male to "make a move" and proceed to courtship.
    Yes, there are a great deal of people who are oblivious to non-verbal cues. These are typically the type of people that approach people without proper prompting and can be labeled as "creeps" because they can't read the discomfort that people show through non-verbal gesturing only. A situation where reading a person's body language would be unreliable is if they are master liars, those who have complete mastery over their non-verbals and can feign sincerity through extended eye contact and lack of anxiety gesturing.