From reading chapter five, we all know that nonverbal communication is ambiguous. This means that nonverbal cues can contain multiple different meanings. Since nonverbal communication is not “black and white”, it is guaranteed to have some misinterpretations between the sender and receiver. One area of nonverbal misinterpretation can come from Kinesics or body movements. I have been involved in football for many years, and nonverbal cues are used constantly to relay information. If the cue is interpreted wrong many bad situations can come from it. For example on defense we use hand signals to send in the play call. A couple of weeks ago I thought I saw the sign for our us to play cover two when in fact the actual sign that was given was for us to play cover 4. As a result of me coving the wrong part of the field a pass was caught against us. This is frustrating to me because I pride my self on always doing the right thing, but because I misinterpreted the signal I was out of place. In this particular case I could have improved the nonverbal communication by paying more detailed attention to the sign that was given instead of assuming. I could have also possibly asked one of my teammates what play was called so we all could have been on the same page.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Week 7- Misinterpreting nonverbal messages
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Hi there Dom! I think that the common theme in this chapter is assumptions. In many cases, non-verbal cues are misinterpreted because one of the individuals involved assumes one thing or another from the signal shown. I believe if people paid more attention to the message being sent as well as ask questions if things are not clear, misunderstandings would be less frequent. The can be especially helpful in International Business. When people are communication cross-culturally, it is especially important to understand the differences in non-verbal communication. Business deals can be broken by misunderstanding a hand shake or a look in the eye.
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