She: "Wow! Now, you can WRITE in Body Language using it, anytime and anywhere." (This is an approximate English translation of the original statement, made in September 2012 by her in our native language or mother-tounge.) There was a genuine smile on her face while saying it.
Me (to myself): "What? 'WRITING' in...?" For a few moments, I couldn't believe what I had just heard. I was showing my new shiny tablet (PC) to one of my close friends and telling her that I could write even while commuting by train. In those days, I used to have very less time to write.
Her very own assumption about body language was 'a language through which something can be written/put down'. So, although her statement was practically absurd or childish; it was absolutely RIGHT or CONGRUENT in the context of her WRONG assumption about Body Language. Really hard to swallow? Yeah! It is.
Verbal (spoken/written) languages are mostly identified by single words only (English, Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin, Farsi, Hindi etc.). As the phrase contains the word 'Language', 'Body Language' is mistakenly assumed as a verbal language by many people until explained in detail. What about you?
It doesn't matter if they're words (verbal cues) or body language cues but the only thing that matters the most is CONTEXT. In above case, the words uttered by her were cues that have been clustered in a single statement and the context was her own assumption about Body Language.
Being a human behaviour researcher and a nonverbal communication analyst, I've heard several such kind of statements so far. Some of them were personal too. I guess that you too might have heard them. Also, I don't have any doubt that I (and you too) will continue hearing them in future.
Over-generalising, having strong biases, lacking depth, analysing cues outside their context, failing to establish the context correctly and above all - not looking at human behaviour rationally always goes against human behaviour experts or analysts, let alone Body Language Experts.
While Artificial Intelligence (AI) reading or picking the Body Language cues much timely, rapidly, clearly and precisely than human eyes; the super-critical responsibility of establishing the context correctly will be left to the rational human brains only. Are we ready for it?
Me (to myself): "What? 'WRITING' in...?" For a few moments, I couldn't believe what I had just heard. I was showing my new shiny tablet (PC) to one of my close friends and telling her that I could write even while commuting by train. In those days, I used to have very less time to write.
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| Steepled Fingers: Most prevalent pose among experts |
Her very own assumption about body language was 'a language through which something can be written/put down'. So, although her statement was practically absurd or childish; it was absolutely RIGHT or CONGRUENT in the context of her WRONG assumption about Body Language. Really hard to swallow? Yeah! It is.
Verbal (spoken/written) languages are mostly identified by single words only (English, Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin, Farsi, Hindi etc.). As the phrase contains the word 'Language', 'Body Language' is mistakenly assumed as a verbal language by many people until explained in detail. What about you?
It doesn't matter if they're words (verbal cues) or body language cues but the only thing that matters the most is CONTEXT. In above case, the words uttered by her were cues that have been clustered in a single statement and the context was her own assumption about Body Language.
Being a human behaviour researcher and a nonverbal communication analyst, I've heard several such kind of statements so far. Some of them were personal too. I guess that you too might have heard them. Also, I don't have any doubt that I (and you too) will continue hearing them in future.
Over-generalising, having strong biases, lacking depth, analysing cues outside their context, failing to establish the context correctly and above all - not looking at human behaviour rationally always goes against human behaviour experts or analysts, let alone Body Language Experts.
While Artificial Intelligence (AI) reading or picking the Body Language cues much timely, rapidly, clearly and precisely than human eyes; the super-critical responsibility of establishing the context correctly will be left to the rational human brains only. Are we ready for it?
Very interesting and despite the rather crass title the article resonates with me, although I find the term body language itself a little trite. Nonverbal communication has many aspects bodily movements are just one aspect of it not it’s entirety.
ReplyDeleteI do commend you for your perspective which steers well away from the online gurus who peddle a certainty in assessment which is just not achievable because behaviour isn’t binary.
- Bob Pointer (UK)
Behavioural Analyst