Observing Non-Verbal Behaviors

            I selected an episode of Parks and Recreation to view for this assignment.( My television viewing is usually done between household chores, cooking, laundry and such. So watching a program without sound required me to sit and focus on the video. Sounds makes television viewing easier for me. I can listen and do other things.)

In the opening scene a group of people are gathered around a desk looking at a computer screen. There are two characters standing apart from the group who appear to be explaining something. The group at the computer is looking at a Panda Bear on the screen, they all appear excited. The two characters who are standing to apart approach and everyone erupts into smiles and displays of joy.  A new slogan for Pawnee. Is this the Panda’s name? I have no idea. A female character from the introduction (who may be a supervisor) meets a male character at an eating establishment. She hands him a binder labeled Questions about the Job. He take it and then she produces another binder labeled More Questions about the Job. The scene switches back to the office a male enters a plops into a chair the male in the room looks in his direction some dialogue takes place. The male that entered is thumbing through papers on clipboard looking frustrated.

Three of the characters appear separate from the group, a male character enters the scene carrying gifts for the two females. One gift is a pair of shoes the other some type of doll and after a commercial break, they are in an empty establishment that may have been a restaurant. They are engaged in conversation. There are several more scenes with this group entering empty restaurants. It appears someone in the group is wanting to open a restaurant.

Once I viewed the program with sound it was easier to figure out what was happening. The group was excited about the Panda playing ping pong with his tail, but the web site was about an online application for choosing a new slogan for the town of Pawnee. The female with questions was indeed looking at changing jobs and had many questions. The male in the group looking at restaurants, was interested in opening up a restaurant that was close to his present job, so that he would be close enough to work both jobs and his coworker s would be able to patronize his business.

Without sound I was able to figure out one of the subplots, “choosing a new slogan for the town”, there were several other story lines that made no sense to me without having any previous knowledge of the characters and their relationships in the program. My perception was that the show was a myriad of inconsequential interactions between the characters.  If I had been a fan of the show for previous seasons I would have had some background on the characters and been able to follow the story.

Communicating with others is a complicated process, even when you know the person. There are different variables that require the speaker/listener to employ communication skills that fit the present situation. The use of gestures, tone of voice, and eye behaviors and physical appearances are means of non-verbal communication that reinforce verbal messages. While non-verbal actions are powerful and tend to be more convincing, they can be contradicting as well (Weimann, 2012).

References:

NBC (Director). (2014). Parks and Recreation [Motion Picture].

Weimann, D. O. (2012). Real Communication: An introduction . Boston/New York: Bedford /St Martin's.