Verbal and nonverbal behaviors
For this discussion, you are going to observe a conversation between two people and comment on both their verbal and nonverbal behaviors during the interaction.
First listen to either a conversation you observed outside of your home, such as at school, a grocery store, an elevator or on a bus. Do not make it obvious you are listening to their conversation, just casually observe. While you are observing, try to answer the following questions and report back about the conversation in your original post.
- What do you think the relationship between the two people was?
- What do you think they were discussing?
- What nonverbal actions occurred in the interaction?
- What paralanguage did you pick up on and how did it influence the conversation?
Keep in mind these responses will all be conjecture because you will not know what the true answers are. The point is to see what information you can obtain by simply watching people converse.
Answer preview
I think the relationship between the two people was that of a couple who engaged in a fight. It seems like they were either dating partners or married, but I could not tell the state of their relationship. However, they were not in good terms because they appeared to conflict about the pregnancy based on their non-verbal communication. All I heard were people shouting and calling each other names. I could tell there were emotions involved in the conversation, and they were couples who had argued about an issue revolving around the pregnancy.
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Verbal and nonverbal behaviors
