This was a fun exercise even with my self-proclaimed
observation skills I totally missed the boat on my interpretation of the non-verbal
cues, in the show Parks and Rec.
With the sound off I had the relationship of the main character
as a boss and her employees who were disgusted with her, they rolled their eyes, folded
their arms, sighed and looked down. With
sound on I discovered the employees were disappointed.
I assumed the main character was angry and a domineering
boss, she did not smile much and her body posture was stiff. I thought she had a crush on a male coworker and was flirting with him,
using a big smile and tilting her head when she talked.
With the sound on I realized this character was not domineering
but she followed rules and is a bit nerdy. What I assumed was flirting with the
male coworker turned out to be her wanting to be accepted by a male dominated
work force. My assumptions were all wrong which changed the whole plot.
If I did this exercise already knowing the characteristics I
would have seen a whole different picture. This really shows me that although I
consider myself to be observant I cannot go on what I see and make assumptions.
This is exactly what I have been doing with a coworker that I discussed in my
discussion this week. Ooooo!
I guess this could be a great reminder that we always need to be careful when we make assumptions! I too consider myself to be pretty observant, but being aware of how assumptions can hinder relationships is so important. I have never seen this show either, sounds as though I would have been misled without volume as well!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your post. I have noticed that I too, assume things before actually knowing the circumstance.That is a very dangerous thing to do. I'm glad you enjoyed this exercise, so did I. It opened my eyes to a different way of seeing, that I didn't really acknowledge at first!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post. We do so often read things wrong especially when we are not hearing the conversation. We can never assume anything
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post as well! Body language and gestures can be confusing. Watching the shows with the sound off aloud for assumptions based off of movements, that is the reason why becoming effective communicators is so important. It removes the need for assumption.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
Tina
ReplyDeleteYour assumption that the lady was flirting with the man is a prime reason why we should not judge and situation based on nonverbal cue. I am sure that situation like this one has cause a lot of hurt feelings.