Demonstrative Communication
Autor: Sharon • September 20, 2017 • 914 Words (4 Pages) • 753 Views
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Two girlfriends, one married and the other single, are at a restaurant, enjoying a girl’s night out. While talking, laughing, eating, consuming an adult beverage and enjoying one another’s company, a very nice looking, well dressed gentleman approaches the table, looks into the eyes of the unmarried woman sitting on west side of the booth and says, “Good evening lady, how are YOU tonight?” Then looks to the married woman sitting to the east side of the booth and says, “Good evening, how are ya?” The nonverbal communiqué to the unmarried woman was “I’m interested in you” while his communication to the married woman was a “general acknowledgement.” The determining nonverbal cues were the accentuation of the word “you” and his eye contact that effectively amplified his words.
Demonstrative communication can be regulating because the cues purposefully interrupt the flow of conversation. Coworkers have congregated in the break room to engage in a discussion about the newly elected officials, when the conversation moves from casual to argumentative. Appearing from his office, a long time supervisor puts his arm on the forearm of a subordinate, without uttering a word, gently guides him out of the break room. The guidance is an effective method of regulating the conversation by removing a participant from the ensuing argument.
Words are a key to communication but there are many methods and ways to communicate nonverbally, some of the demonstrative cues are complementary, amplifying, and accentuating while others are contradictory and regulatory. Then there are those substituting gestures. Whenever demonstrative communication displayed, it plays a major role in providing meaning to both the sender and receiver. Mark Twain may have summed it up best, “words are only a painted fire; a look is the fire itself.”
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References
Cheesebro, T., O'Connor, L., & Rios, F. (2010). Communication in the Workplace. Columbus, OH: Prentice Hall.
Twain, M. (2013). brainyquote.com. Retrieved from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_communication.html
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