Rich Parker

SLM 521

Web-drop 5

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

A sort of wacky look at the messages behind gestures and facial expressions

Ever wonder why your mom’s so much better than your dad at noticing when something’s wrong? Ever notice how your mom’s so much better at telling when your lying than dads? Ever catch on that it’s a lot tougher to hide your true thoughts and feelings from you mom than it is from your dad? Why is that?

Studies have shown that women spend a lot more time holding babies before they are able to talk than men spend. Studies have shown the moms spend a whole lot more time staring at the faces of their newborn children before the child has the ability to talk than dads spend.

And because of this women, moms and (yes, so be careful) girlfriends are much more skilled at reading the hidden meanings behind facial expressions and gestures than men, dads and boyfriends.

With a little practice we can all get better at reading these non-verbal cues. We can all get better at being able to tell if words and thoughts are sincere or whether a disconnect between the words spoken and the body language should signal some kind of warning that things aren’t quite right.

Let’s Do A Little Investigation!

I. Using a good search engine, type in some of the following search terms: body language, facial expressions, gestures, non-verbal communication, kinesics.

II. Make a list of some of the most common non-verbal signals and what these silent signals might mean.

III. Find a good search image search engine (Google is one of the best for images) and, using the same search terms above, try to put together a small glossary that would help people decode common non-verbal communication.

IV. Be sure your glossary has at least a dozen images and your best explanation (based upon your research) of what each facial expression or gesture might mean.