Communication Skills: Language, Nonverbal, Listening

This week I was tasked with watching a television show without sound and try to gain an understanding of their relationships.  That was a bit difficult, but I chose a show from my husband’s DVR list called The Big Bang.  I usually find it difficult to sit through an entire episode of this show.  Until the now I had not watched a single episode all the way through.  Watching it without sound was very telling.  The body language of all the cast made it seem that they do not like each other.  They roll their eyes at one another regularly and it is evident that some characters are submissive to other characters.  It was apparent that Sheldon, Penny, and Bernadette are the dominant characters in the group.  The others do not often stand tall around them or turn away when they are speaking. 

Watching it with the sound on only validated my suspicions.  The three characters as mentioned above are self-serving and believe that they are doing the others a favor for being dominant.  They fold their arms and make dismissive hand gestures when others speak.  They make sounds that also diminish the value of other words.  Before watching with the sound on I could not determine what the plot was about.  I assumed that Sheldon, Bernadette, and Penny all wanted things their way.  And they are used to getting things their way.  In many scenes, they were the ones standing and speaking while the other characters were seated. In the end, Bernadette showed dominance over Penny by standing while Penny was sitting. However, later in the episode, Penny was standing while speaking and showing dominance over an entire room of people. 

I think that I would already know the relationships and interactions of a show that I would normally watch.  I probably would be able to follow the plot of the show without sound because I am aware of the relationship dynamics and prior history between them.  Watching The Big Bang Theory, I had no clue who the characters were or their names and their relationships between each character. Because they are usually in groups, it was difficult to see who was married besides Sheldon and Amy who had many scenes with them alone. 

Although this is not a show that I would anticipate watching again, It showed me how communication and relationships can be illustrated through body movement and placement.  Nonverbal communication methods are as loud and noticeable as verbal communication if one is focused on listening to both.