Hi Mayli~
Because your time was short, I went ahead a wrote up the essay. It is
followed by the 5 concepts that you required.
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Although the very word “communication” usually brings to mind words
and speaking, there is a type of communication that requires neither;
it is called “silent communication.” Silent communication can be as
complicated as communicating with people who don’t speak the same
language as yourself, or as simple as a facial expression. It can be
as conscious as giving someone “the cold shoulder,” or as subconscious
as body language. Yet, whether complicated or simple, conscious or
subconscious, silent communication plays a fundamental role in every
persons life.
According to academic studies, in certain situations up to 90 percent
of the information we obtain from other people is given to us without
words. "Body language, gestures, facial expressions and tones of voice
can reveal almost everything," Loren Dickinson, PhD, explains in her
lectures. (Loren Dickinson, PhD, "Beyond Words,"
http://www.icemall.com/shop/item513.html ) Studies have also shown
that even when the words we use say one thing, certain types of silent
communication can make us believe that the opposite of what's being
said is true. For example, we may hear a politician say he will not
raise taxes, but something about the look on his face and the tone of
his voice may make us not believe him. Another common example of this
sort of silent communication is the child who tells us they didn’t
break some household object. Although they may vehemently deny the
act, something about their body language may tell us they are without
a doubt guilty.
Actors have long been aware that this sort of body language works
successfully as a silent communicator. For example, award winning film
actor Michael Caine has noted that when he plays a character who is
lying, he will often allow his eyes to shift back and forth, signaling
the audience that he isn't all he may first appear to be. Other common
“tricks” of the actors trade include fidgeting to silently tell the
audience he or she is nervous, pulling at clothing to silently express
discomfort, smoothing his or her hair to silently express a desire to
please, and shifting from one foot to another to silently hint at
boredom.
Another style of acting relies entirely upon silent communication: The
old and cherished art of miming. Because miming requires complete
silence from the actor, mimes must rely exclusively on silent
communication. Yet from the heaviest sorrow to the grandest joy, a
good mime can fully communicate not just his or her deepest emotions,
but even the story of his or her life. With facial expressions and
gestures alone, a complete play can be communicated to an audience by
a mime.
Other types of artists have also long employed silent communication.
Painting, sculpture, photography, and all other non-verbal,
non-literary arts must rely on it completely. Columnist Frank Morgan
wrote of one personal experience he had with this sort of silent
communication: "We visited the Canadian Museum of Civilization in
Hull...it was moving. There were a dozen life-size sculptures,
plaster-casts of the sculptures on the Canadian War Memorial on Vimy
Ridge. I stood, unconscious of the passing throng, and looked at
Sacrifice in the centre. To the right was the bent statue of the
homeless, but to the left was the soldier breaking the sword in two.
Silently, it spoke to me in the words of the prophet Micah, 'They
shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning
hooks, nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall
they learn war any more.' With the breaking of the sword, those
several sculptures spoke to me without words." (Frank Morgan, The
Record, http://www.therecord.com/opinion/morgan/opinion_morgan_020810102424.html
) All visual artists must express something; perhaps a sense of
history, a feeling of loathing, a sentiment of love—-even something as
specific as “no war” or “God loves you.” And for thousands of years,
visual artists have successfully communicated such things with
absolute silence.
Another example of silent communication comes when a person is in a
foreign place and doesn’t speak the language. Each year, hundreds of
travelers must somehow manage under these trying circumstances; how do
they do it? With non-verbal, silent communication. Through facial
expressions and gestures they manage to get the information they need
to find the car rental counter, their hotel, the public restroom,
museums, and much more.
Not all communication—-silent or otherwise-—is human-to-human.
Frequently, humans feel as if they have a kind of silent
communication with animals. Although we can't speak their language, we
often feel we can communicate with our pets silently. A pat on the
head seems to effectively communicate “You are a good dog.” A hug and
a kiss seems to let the cat know we love her. Softly spoken words seem
to tell animals of all kinds that they have no need to fear us. Many
people believe that a dog’s lick, a cat’s purr, and an animal staying
beside them instead of running away mean that, indeed, the creature
has clearly understood us although they don’t understand our specific
words. There has even been a best-selling book and a popular movie
based upon one man who communicated with horses so well, he was dubbed
“The Horse Whisperer.” Using non-verbal communication, Monty Roberts
has become the most famous and one of the most successful horse
trainers ever known.
Animals themselves are known to communicate silently via body
language—and even scent. For example, a cat may mark his territory in
a variety of ways from scratching to rubbing against objects;
scientists believe this sort of marking silently communicates to other
animals that they should stay away. Sometimes such markings also
provide silent communication between animals who share territory.
(Cynthia Roberts, “Scent Marking,”
http://zebra.biol.sc.edu/smell/cindy/cindy_doc.html )
One area of silent communication that almost everyone is quite
familiar with occurs in domestic life. For example, the wife who is
miffed at her husband for some serious offense may readily adopt
silent
communication; she may not speak to him for hours at a time, may avoid
looking his way, and in other silent ways clearly give him the “cold
shoulder,” silently communicating to him that she is upset.
In fact, communication between the sexes is rich with a silent
language. For example, while the dialogue between a man and woman may
be strictly business, when the woman flips her hair, lowers and raises
her eyelids, half-smiles, and looks at the man with her head slightly
bent, she is clearly flirting. And when he brushes his arm against
her, touches her knee or her hand fleetingly, and smiles broadly, he
is flirting, too. Silently, the man and woman are expressing their
romantic interest in each other.
Similarly, many a wife has been frustrated when her husband has not
picked up on her silent communication. Women often feel as if the men
who love them ought to just “know” what they desire; they feel they
are using body language and tone of voice that tell their men exactly
what they think and are feeling. Although this form of silent
communication is not always successful between wife and husband, a
similar type of silent communication may prove very successful around
other women. For example, reading her friend’s silent communication, a
woman may quickly realize that her girlfriend really doesn’t like her
new boyfriend at all-—despite the fact that she may say that he is
“just fine.”
Silent communication even comes into play on the battle field. In the
military, soldiers must be able to communicate without words, so they
don't alert the enemy to their presence. Simple hand, face, and arm
movements take the place of words and have saved many soldier’s lives.
On another type of field--the sports field--the best players can look
at their fellow teammates and "just know" what they are going to do
next. This may be the most difficult sort of silent communication to
describe, but those who play sports are very familiar with it. "A
player can just take a look at their teammate and know exactly when he
should lob the ball up to his teammate so he can slam it home," one
athlete writes. "Every sport is like that. You can tell what a coach
wants you to do just by a look he gives you." (
://www.google.com/search?q=cache:yBcPAbTDIB0C:www.cord.edu/faculty/olsen/webboard/wwwboard/messages/129.html+%22silent+communication%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
)
Perhaps one of the most poignant anecdotes about silent
communication—-and one of the greatest indicators of its powerful
effect—-is the story of a German woman living in the time of the Nazis
Party rule. She was standing at a bus stop one day in 1937 when the
Gestapo came by and took a Jew out of the line behind her and made him
stand alone. Not able to think of anything to say, the woman instead
silently moved and stood beside him, clearly indicating to the Gestapo
and all others around her how she felt about anti-Semitism. (“Pastoral
Care,” ://www.google.com/search?q=cache:oTaBFs6AY-8C:www.mdf-aberdeen.com/insight/pdf/news2.pdf+%22silent+communication%22+religion&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
)
So while we may generally feel that our primary source of
communication is verbal and relies almost exclusively upon words, in
actuality our facial expressions, tone of voice, and body language are
often a far superior form of communication--despite the fact that they
are completely silent.
1,524 words
1.HONESTY
2.THE ARTS
3.COMMUNICATING WITH NATURE
4.EMOTION
5.INTUITION |
