Barriers of Simple Conversation

Part A:

First off I have to start by saying, I think out of all the assignments we have written, researched and taken part in, this one was by far the most challenging! I’ve heard silly jokes that women can’t go 5 minutes, let alone 15 minutes without interrupting a conversation; with that being said, I’m interested in how this worked out for the males in this class to see if they find it as “challenging” as women supposedly do.

I wanted this assignment to really test me. So instead of sitting within a group of friends and listening, which I find easier to do, I sat and listened to my boyfriend… for 15 minutes straight. Not a word escaped my mouth, but OMG was there ever a few I wanted to say after! It was extremely challenging just listening and not being able speak. Also, after realizing how much I rolled my eyes, I knew I had to find new ways through body language to actually try to communicate with him. This also posed a huge challenge, my actions were interrupted in different ways then they were meant, which was so FRUSTRATING. So instead of agreeing with him and encouraging the ideas he was talking about, my crazy hand gestures, followed with extreme spasmodic head nods, discouraged him to continue talking about one topic and moved to another, which I didn’t want. Also, these actions may have scared him into thinking I was going into a seizure. 

After this assignment was finished, I wanted to see if maybe he was just challenging me, to see if I wouldn't say anything to the somewhat outrageous comments and sports commentaries given. So throughout the weekend I tried to listen more, without saying anything. It was crazy how much more he opened up with the time I didn't interrupt him. 

Chase (my boyfriend) is an amazingly patient person who always just wants to help. By doing this assignment I realized that a lot more can come out of just listening to a person then continuously interrupting someone. Although, I still stand by what I said previously about it being rather frustrating not being able to "properly" communicate with words. I am lucky I had Chase to work with on this assignment, we both challenge each other and push each other, and this made for an eye opening experience, in more ways then one. First, like mentioned earlier, actually listening and learning from him and secondly, to think about how communication through voice is crucial. Those who cannot speak are at a disadvantageous to actually being heard, not in a "vocal cord" sense, but by being misunderstood, miscommunicated with and ultimately blocked by a "talking barrier". Those who know sign language can communicate, but based off this assignment if they didn't know it, it would be so incredibly hard. 

Part B:

This part really ticked me off. It was bad enough having to sit and listen the day before and try to communicate through gestures, but now I have to be monotone… which as lame as this sounds, I needed to practice the night before at. HOW INCREDIBLY HARD not allowing any expression in your voice. I once had a professor in a class of 250 students that was monotone, and it was the most challenging class. It was hard to “get into” the lectures given, and it was hard to be interested in the topics discussed… and la de da same thing happened to me when I had no expression in my voice. Pretty sure everyone lost interested, and the first thing said after I made a comment was, “Why are you talking so weird?” I explained to the group of people what I was doing, and of course it became a game of “lets get her to talk the most.” The other part that I could BARELY grasp was not using hand gestures or body language! OMG I talk with my hands so much, it’s like I’m trying to land a plane. So, besides not allowing any altering in my tones, I wasn’t allowed to express myself through body movement, which was so hard. I realized the same thing occurred as what happened in Part A; I was misunderstood on EVERYTHING I was saying. If I meant one thing, to them it meant another. If I was excited about another, it seemed as though I disliked it. If I truly despised something, it was as though I was neutral on the idea. 

Body language is also crucial for communication, which makes me think about those who cannot read body language. Wether visually impaired or just cannot differentiate from one body language sign to the next. This will create miscommunication between parties, which is unfortunate. The people I worked with for this assignment instantly knew something was different about the way I was talking and acting...but what if they didn't know it was an assignment and it was the first time we were meeting? 

Both scenarios of just listening and creating body language (not using sign language) and not allowed to use body language only mono-toned speech opened my eyes to the problems of communication. For those that can't physically participate in it, and to those that can but are misunderstood, communication is a huge part in todays world and society. This assignment was challenging, eye-opening and perplexing.