Different people
may react differently to different situations. Verbal or nonverbal interactions
amongst people can be attributed to culture, gender or age difference.
Thus, every single person would definitely have different ways of interaction
if you were to observe them closely. If we were to compare the males and
females, we can observe differences between them in terms of verbal and
nonverbal communication.
During lunch last Friday, i overhead one of the
conversations that took place between two teenage Caucasian girls. Just a few tables away from them, I noticed two
other teenage Malay guys who were wearing collared shirts, having their own
conversation as well. As I was seated quite close to the two groups, I could
actually listen to both of the conversations that were going on between the two
groups.
When the girls
talked, they seemed to be using a lot of eye contacts when talking to each
other. They were focused on the conversation as they were constantly looking at
each other while waving their arms around explaining details of what was being
shared. The guys however, seemed to be in a relaxed manner and uses less
eye contact as they were constantly checking their phones throughout while
conversing. Based on these two groups, their interactions can be based on gender
and culture differences.
Culture plays a
role in communication. As what was seen, the guys were constantly using their
phones while conversing. This may seem rude to other cultures but not in
Singapore. In Singapore, this is a normal trend where people may be using their
phones while conversing. The girls however were not using their phones while
conversing. Based on the two groups, culture differences plays a role in how we
communicate.
Gender differences
also plays a role in communication. As what was mentioned, the girls seemed to
be well connected to each other based on their verbal and nonverbal interactions.
The girls seemed to be chatty while the guys are not as they were constantly
checking their phones and this illustrates their nonverbal interaction that
both may not be interested in the conversation. Based on these two groups, I feel
that gender affects how people interact with each other.
To sum it up, I believe
that gender and culture differences plays a role in how we communicate with
each other. What are your thoughts on this?
Thanks, Syai, for this post. It is quite specifically focused, and quite detailed. There is one clear problem to me though: You seem to be overgeneralizing from these two specific observations, extrapolating grandiose statements where it may not be possible to do so. Do these four people really accurately represent all men and women?
ReplyDelete1) ...can be attributed by culture, gender or age difference. >>> ...can be attributed to culture, gender or age.
2) with their fancy clothes >>> What does "fancy" mean? Does it mean the same thing to all people?
3) Whereas just a few tables away from them, I noticed.... >>> (sentence fragment---do you know why?)
4) They seemed to be focused on the conversation that was going on as they are ... >>> (verb tense consistency?) ?
5) Whereas for the guys, they seemed to be very relaxed, uses less eye contact and were wandering... >>> (sentence fragment/verb tense inconsistency) ?
6) ...girls that was.... / different genders interacts >>> (subject-verb agreement?)
7) Whereas girls, when they speak, seemed to be very deep into the conversation itself... >>> (sentence fragment)
Let's work on this.
Hi Brad, thank you for the comments and inputs on how to improve my language and writing. I have edited my post and rewrote it so that I did not overgeneralize the topic. Do hope this post is better!
DeleteThanks for your effort!
DeleteHello Syai, thank you for sharing your view on how culture, gender and age affect verbal and non-verbal communication. I totally agree with you that either of these three factors affect verbal and non-verbal communication.
ReplyDeleteHello Zheng, no probem at all! Do hope you enjoyed reading my post.
DeleteHi Syai,
ReplyDeleteI found this post to be quite an interesting read as it was what you could conclude over an observation you've had previously.
I think your post is clear. It accurately described on what basis were the judgments passed and verbal or non-verbal communication can differ among the varies cultures and genders.
It was a concise post as you kept to the topic and explained it well throughout.
Your post is also concrete as you described the scene well. However, I had previously also used the word "wailing" to describe the hand gestures to which Brad pointed it out to be as incorrect. I suppose there isn’t any word as such. So I think you could perhaps you should replace it.
I think your post is correct as it address the topic and is indeed an evaluation of verbal and non-verbal communication based on your observation.
Your post was coherent as there was a good flow and all the points connected well. You also kept with the same tone throughout. However I do feel that your second paragraph is incorrectly put together. Particularly, this sentence: “During one of the conversations that took place between two teenage Caucasian girls, inside the school’s canteen last Friday.” I think the sentence is incomplete as it does not address what happened during the conversation.
As for completeness of the post, I do agree with Brad on whether it is justifiable to conclude based on just the four people. It would be good if you could give a supporting point (short example).
Your post certainly was courteous as it did not offend anyone and not biased in any particular way.
Lastly, I do agree that gender and culture impacts on communication immensely. While communicating, we should respect the other person and increase our knowledge about the different cultures.
It was great reading your opinion and your input on verbal and non-verbal communication. I hope to read more from you in the future! Happy writing! :)
Hi Rati, thank you so much for the input. I've looked through my post and re-edited again. Thank you for pointing out the flaws in my post. Do hope my post makes more sense now. Cheers.
ReplyDeleteHello Syai,
ReplyDeleteI think you did a great job to observe and compare between the two groups. I do agree that culture and gender will influence the way we communicate. The different of two cultures does cause misunderstanding, if the two girls were to communicate with the two guys they might find them being rude and not respecting them while communicating but that may not necessary be the case. By understanding the different in culture and gender communication, we can analyse things from a different point of view. Another reason is that we can better understand why some people act the way they do and why they make certain decision because I think that the way someone gets brought up plays an important role in that. For example like what you said, it is a trend for Singaporean to be using their phone while conversing and that is how the way we are brought up. Therefore, understanding how the culture of the other party works is important. Overall a great post.
Hi Syai!
ReplyDeleteInteresting observation between these two groups. I like how you tried not to overgeneralised by using "Based on these two groups". However, when you compared about gender, you mentioned that "girls seemed to be chatty while the guys are not as they were constantly checking their phones and this illustrates their nonverbal interaction that both may not be interested in the conversation." I feel that the comparison is incomplete. Are you trying to say that guys in general are less talkative? Perhaps you can further explain your point
I felt guilty when you wrote that it is a normal trend In Singapore where people may be using their phones while conversing. I did it at times, depending on how important the need is to check my phone. But let's face it, even if it's a norm in Singapore, it is a bad habit! Eye-contact is a crucial part of non-verbal communication to let that other person know you are giving him/her your fullest attention.
Thank you for sharing your observations. Looking forward to read more from you!
Regards,
Hany Humaira