Week 7 Question 1

1). Because nonverbal messages can be ambiguous, they are open to misinterpretation. Have you ever been wrong about the meaning of someones nonverbal message? Describe what happened. How can people increase the accuracy with which they interpret nonverbal message?

I definitely have been misinterpreted when it comes time to my non-verbal communication. An example of when this happened when I was actually out at a night club with my friends on a Friday night. I had been tired from work all day since I was up early and I went to San Francisco to visit a friend of mine that I haven't seen in a long time. Going into the night, I was already somewhat tired and just wanted to relax and wind down from the day and week. As the night progressed and when we got to the night club, I was just standing back relaxing enjoying my drink and perfectly fine just socializing with people. I was a little quieter than usual but I was still talking to all of my friends. A couple friends of mine came up to me and asked me if I was upset or bothered by something and I answered no.

I truly was not bothered or upset by anything. Only thing that was different about me was that I was relaxing and taking it easy; not dancing or bouncing off the wall like most other people that night.

I believe the best way to interpret nonverbal message is first to ask someone how they are feeling based on their actions because times actions can be misinterpreted too based on how someone else is feeling or their actions. The more you interact with someone, the more you can begin to understand what their non-verbal messages mean. Even after being around someone and feeling like you are able to get an idea about how they are feeling, asking still does not hurt because situations vary on a daily basis.