Paper on verbal and non verbal cue alignment

[Samara]

Usually, I have no issue finding inspiration for grad school papers. However, one topic the professor assigned is just not hitting for me.

I can talk about non-verbal cues until the cows come home, but this topic is to discuss a time when the verbal communication is not aligned with the non-verbal behaviors. Well, as someone who is profoundly hearing impaired, non verbal cues are my métier... lack of alignment between v and nv is not. Hell, I can't even hear the v.

Any suggestions? I can probably add all sorts of crap from a nugget - just looking for a little inspiration.

[Whooter]

Samara,that is a great assignment  There are so many levels you can write on.  Years ago when we didn’t have the ability to travel as much we relied on the telephone to do business or talk with a boyfriend or girlfriend on the phone.  
The latest technology has allowed us to communicate so much quicker and easier.  We have texting and email.  The technology has given us this verbal way to communicate with each other.  But it is just not effective enough.  We (the users) decide to push through and invent non-verbal communication in the way of smiley faces and other symbols like ( to send a further message because the words don’t cut it.

What if I said “Lets you and I meet to discuss this subject further,  I mean for professional reasons”.  You may take this sincerely.  But what if I said “Lets you and I meet to discuss this subject further,  I mean for professional reasons (wink).  This would send a completely different message would it?  The same words except I added a non-verbal communication which changed my intention.

We have decided that we cannot live without the non-verbal communication so we invented this non-verbal out of keyboard symbols.  Why does Skype need to be so popular if we have texting?

Non-verbal communication is the most important part of communication with someone.  What if your boyfriend says “I love you and want to spend my life with you.”  But he is checking out the blond girl at the next table?.   The size of a persons office,  where you sit in a movie theater or business meeting, what you wear, your smile or frown etc. say so much more about you than your words do in my opinion.

Technology is showing that we cannot live without the non verbal communication.  They are going to have to continue to provide us with ways to have intimate communication/contact with one another.



...

[Inculcated]

Verbal and Nonverbal Communication: Distinguishing Symbolic, Spontaneous, and Pseudo-Spontaneous Nonverbal Behavior
Verbal and Nonverbal Communication Unit 2 Linguistics
Samara,
Okay, so whooter has kindly offered semiotics.  FWIW,all I’ve got are a couple of links to Google dox. to offer. When I saw your post I had hope Awake would chime in with something succinct for you about contradictory injunctions and metacommunication, but signposts and inflection and aside—what came to mind for me was that some conditions resulting from depression, ( or oddly enough even from antidepressants such as tricyclic medications)or Parkinson’s disease can produce a frozen expression or an incongruous affect. There is even a condition associated with traumatic brain injury called Pathological Laughing and Crying (aka PBA Pseudobulbar affect).Each of these of course pose a hindrance to communication and understanding. Maybe you could find something there to build on. IDK

And just because I’m an odd one that loves a good read about TBI and have long since devoured all things Oliver Sacks (even the one where he goes on and on about ferns), I’ll add a highly recommended (though perhaps not entirely relevant to your paper) read of Seeing Voices.

[Samara]

Thank you, guys... I forgot the  cyber aspects that introduces a whole level and physically based issues that influence affect.  I was getting stuck because I primarily intrepret meaning using nonverbal. I couldn't even think of a situation with enough complexity to base a paper around. However, I think I will break it into case studies, instead of one focal event. I can use these types of examples as case studies.

I thought of writing about verbal and nonverbal misalignment with the deaf vs. hearing community, but didn't want to use my disability as a topic. My speech and speech reading skills are excellent so I "pass" a lot and misunderstandings accrue. Interestingly enough, my professor's metier is interpersonal skills among diverse populations. But he seems uncomfortable with it. I have zero sensitivity about it and don't understand why people have to use pc terms and can't enjoy a good Helen Keller joke on occasion. Although the time someone was telling me about some name derivation in India and I thought they were talking about dildos was sort of embarrassing.

[Awake]

[ When I saw your post I had hope Awake would chime in with something succinct for you about contradictory injunctions and metacommunication, .

Damn. Thank you. That is awesome.

Samara, I think the double bind theory of schizophrenia and its relationship with communications theory, cybernetics, and the theory of logical types is a perfect match for your assignment. In particular an area within this study that focuses on ‘transactional disqualification’ of content (verbal) and relationship ( non-verbal) aspects of ones communication. I know I can cite a few or more examples that have been given of this in studying the pathological communication patterns between a mother and schizophrenic child. Also NLP  is pretty focused on the uses of verbal and non  verbal communication. Your paper could very easily be an inquiry into the double bind as a communicational approach to mental illness.  If you want more I have lots of resources. Some of this you will find in my double bind post. viewtopic.php?f=9&t=30423&hilit=double+bind%3A+mind+control

Google: Gregory bateson, paul watzlawick, cybernetics, double bind, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_bind

[Inculcated]

... Although the time someone was telling me about some name derivation in India and I thought they were talking about dildos was sort of embarrassing.

Giggles... I just tried to imagine how that interaction played out…Did you relate to them as if the conversation was on that topic or sit there wondering how the hell did this digress to talk of dildos?
Speaking of name derivation, it hasn’t escaped the attention of a couple of trolls that dropping a c from my login creates an entirely different word. This amuses me. As anyone who has ever been blasted in rap or in Daytop lingo “ripped” anyone in an encounter group knows, it is still (sans second c) a generally accurate word to express a common experience of the TTI.
And I just found out a couple of days ago-- if you google search the word-- Fornits shows in the top four results from when pedopath created a thread announcing my death. LoL!

[Che Gookin]

Nonverbal cues as they pertain to discourse competence within the hearing impaired community might be an interesting thing to look at.

[none-ya]

Samara wrote:
I thought of writing about verbal and nonverbal misalignment with the deaf vs. hearing community, but didn't want to use my disability as a topic

[/b]

Excuse me but did you go through a program with a hearing diability? That would be hell!

[Samara]

Thanks for all the help - it has effectively jogged my inspiration.

And NY - yes, I did, and no it wasn't fun, but it did get me over self consciousness about it. The thing that was diffiuclt were stupid staff who could not understand the difference between not hearing and not listening.  I also cop to discreetly turning down my hearing aids when it got loud in raps.

It was a great example of how staff were unequipped to deal with differences though.