Verbal and Nonverbal Messages

Verbal and Nonverbal Messages

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.

For your response post, write 3-5 sentences offering different perspectives and observations based on what your classmate wrote. We all read nonverbal behaviors differently!