Speaking Without Words

We all know that communication is extremely important, but sometimes I feel like nonverbal communication isn't given enough credit. It all goes back to the whole issue of content vs. process. How something is said is more important than what is said. The tricky part of nonverbal communication is that it can often be unconscious or unintentional. A person may have a specific way of speaking or behaving that might appear rude to others, even when the person is behaving the way they naturally do. When dealing with issues involving nonverbal communication the best thing to do is to look for patterns. It would be unwise to jump to conclusions about a person's behavior without knowing how they typically behave in specific situations. We touched on this in class when we were talking about communication differences between cultures.
If you ever want to observe how much of an effect nonverbal communication can have, watching actors rehearse for a play is an amusing way to do this. I was sitting in on a rehearsal for an opera scene that one of my friends was performing. There was one particular line that was bothering me and the teacher that was directing the performance. My friend was supposed to be apologizing for bringing up a topic that she thought had bothered her distraught aunt. To fit the context the line was intended to be said in a comforting way, but every time my friend said it it sounded like she was angrily saying, "Gosh, I'm sorry. You don't have to freak out about it." Since this is a person I've known for several years I realize that wasn't what she intended, but to someone else it might have seemed unfitting. The point is, that just a simple facial expression or inflection of a word can entirely change the meaning of what is being said. I think that more people would be careful about how they say things and how they judge what others say if they were truly aware of the power of nonverbal communication.