Interpreting Communication

This past Friday, as my husband sat down to watch one of his shows, I had a chance to take a break from my typical list of things to do and sit down to watch a round with him. While getting settled before the show started, my one year old found the remote and decided we should watch a different show Extreme Fear Factor: Siblings. (Impromptu movie night with our one year old, this is the life!) Since the show was new to the both of us, I thought what a perfect time to make my observation of the way we interpret nonverbal communication. We watched the show without audio and it was actually pretty neat, these were my observations!

**Without audio**

-Three sets of sibling pairs: two males, two females and one male and one female

-I could not have made a definite call on how the individuals were related, but it is evident that they are familiar with one another and came into the show together, or have really strong chemistry

-competitions are fierce, but the pairs are at least attempting the challenges

-the pairs are real team players cheering one another on; they are jumping up and down cheering one another on

-[Sidebar: What the heck are they supposed to be doing with that?!?!?]

**With audio**

Had my husband, not told me the relation between the pairs, I definitely would not have been able to determine that these people were siblings. Though some of them were same sex, they could have very well have been affectionate, but not over the top, couples. Something that tickled me about watching with audio vs. without audio was the fact that I believed the other teams were cheering them on, when in reality, they were cheering for them to quit so they would have a better chance at winning the $50k cash prize. Though I knew there was a reward of some sort attached to the challenge, had I known there was a $50, 000 reward, I probably would have developed a scenario other than them cheering one another on.

After completing the assignment, I have come to better understand the way that our perception of a person or situation can change based on our level of familiarity. When I have encountered a person or situation on multiple occasions, I have a more accurate perspective of what to expect and how to handle certain situations, but it is not always that simple. We have to be aware that not every person or situation will be the same, and it does not benefit anyone when we make assumptions and treat people based on those assumptions. We have to remain open minded to receiving the message being delivered.