The Importance of Verbal & Non-Verbal Communication

This week we are studying about different types of communication, both verbal and non-verbal. Our assignment this week was to watch a TV show that we've never seen before with the sound off. We were to make observations regarding the communication, and then go back and watch the show with the sound off. Here are my observations from this assignment:

TV Show: The Blacklist
Observations:

• There was a plane crash and appeared to have only a few survivors
• A man appeared to be interrogating another man, based on what appeared to be yelling and angry facial expressions
• Men in suits are seen escorting another man in a suit to what appears to be a secret holding cell. It looks like the man speaking to the "criminal" is sympathizing with him or feels bad for him
• There is a concerned girl in the office whose face appears to not understand what is going on
• There is a panicked man on the phone who appears to be fidgeting, in a hurry, and talking with his hands
• The man who appeared to be interrogated was taken/kidnapped with a bag over his head making me wonder if he is a terrorist and had anything to do with the plane crash
• A different man was watching the news coverage of the plane crash then walked to the door with a gun. He immediately put the gun away and let the person in the door. Based on the visitors facial expressions they are concerned about the plane crash.

What I learned when I watched the show with the sound on: 

• The man who I thought was being interrogated was actually not, he was just explaining to a fellow worker what happened. He also is not a terrorist; the flashback of the person being kidnapped was not him.
• The man who was being held in the top secret cell was actually not friends with the people escorting him. He was speaking smugly to them about how his girlfriend was worth it.
• The girl who I initially thought was concerned about the plane crash was actually concerned about covering it up
• The man on the phone, who appeared to be panicking, was not significant at all and was only in the background
• The man with the gun, who I thought was concerned about the plane crash, was actually responsible for it

I liked this assignment because it was out of the ordinary and a nice break from "typical schoolwork." I also found it a very meaningful assignment. This assignment really highlighted the importance of non-verbal communication such as facial expressions, hand gestures, etc. While I gained a lot from paying attention to only the non-verbal communication, I learned more from the verbal communication. I learned that you can make assumptions based on non-verbal communication that turn out to be completely false. Therefore, both non-verbal and verbal communication are equally important.