Nonverbal Communication

TASK 1)

With a partner, list 10 emotions (mad, sad, happy, etc)


TASK 2)

With a partner, list 10 nonverbal methods (as in, not using words) of expressing an emotion, demand, opinion, or request.


TASK 3) VOCABULARY:

Work with a partner by either dividing the sentences in half or writing the eight sentences together.  Write a sentence for each vocab word.

Vocab A)

attitude n a general opinion or feeling about someone or something

SENTENCE:

communication n the process of sharing information or expressing thoughts and feelings; communicate v

SENTENCE:

complex adj consisting of many different parts and often difficult to understand

SENTENCE:

interpret v to explain or determine the meaning of a statement, action, event, etc.; interpretation n

SENTENCE:

Vocab B)

misunderstanding n a failure to comprehend a question, statement, or situation; misunderstand v

SENTENCE:

tone of voice n the way your voice sounds, which often shows how you are feeling or what you mean

SENTENCE:

gesture n a movement of your head, arm, or hand to express your feeling

SENTENCE:

signal n a sound, action, or event that gives information or tells someone to do something

SENTENCE:

TASK 4)

Watch these videos with the sound muted on your computer. Pay attention to the nonverbal cues in the videos.

Write a few sentences to summarize what is happening in the video.

Pay attention to the people's body language to understand their emotions and opinions.

This list of adjectives can help you:
aggressive, annoyed, angry, apprehensive, confident, confrontational, defensive, delight, disappointed, disgusted, excited, frustrated, happy, helpful, humorous, hungry, nervous, offended, relaxed, persuasive, sad, sorry, tired, uncomfortable, understanding, upset, well-mannered, worried

EXAMPLE:



The Asian man looks tired because he leans his head back with his eyes closed. Because of his culture, he thinks it is okay to fall asleep and put his shoulder on the big white guy next to him. The big guy looks uncomfortable because he rolls his eyes. This is not normal where he is from. He looks around the train as if he was nervous about what people would think of him, and wonderful it is it was actually happening. When his eyebrows go up for a moment he looks like he accepts it as okay. He puts his head on the woman's shoulder and she looks uncomfortable because she looks around on the train. The woman's frown shows she is not happy.


A) Eels: What body language do the different men show? What is the misunderstanding?





B) Dog Park: What body language does the man, the girl and the old women show? What is the misunderstanding?




C) Doctor's Office: What body language do the doctors and girl show? Play the sound, what is the tone of voice of the doctor? What is the misunderstanding?

TASK 5) Look at Graph on Page 138

1. How much meaning is expressed through words when those words seem to be different from nonverbal signals? How much meaning is expressed through nonverbal communication?

2. Do these findings surprise you? Explain.

TASK 6) Summarize the following paragraph about Albert Mehrabian

Albert Mehrabian is a psychologist known for his studies of the relationship between verbal and nonverbal communication. Mehrabian found that face-to-face communication has three basic elements: words, tone of voice, and nonverbal messages. He also found that nonverbal messages are especially important in communicating feelings and attitudes. According to his study, when a person’s words express a different attitude or feeling than the nonverbal messages he or she gives, people are more likely to believe the nonverbal messages.



TASK 7) Make a list of what adjectives that describe the attitudes and feelings of the man and the woman in the picture on page 139 (You can use the ones listed in TASK 3 to help you). How does their body language help you know their attitudes and feelings?

1. Which attitudes and feelings did you choose?

2. How did the people’s bodies, hands, and faces help you understand their feelings?

3. What do you think is happening in this situation? What do you think the people are saying? What is their story? Do their nonverbal messages match what you think they are saying?

TASK 8) Write a short script with a partner in which you act out a 10-second long situation. Try to use very little words but a lot of body language/non-verbal cues.