post 1 - chapter 5

I have a HUGE problem with over analyzing nonverbal communication. I'm a dancer, so in my opinion, every movement has meaning. Like Marth Graham, I believe that movement cannot lie. I think that non verbal communication is a very important tool to use if you want to know how someone really feels about you. On the other hand, if you read too far into the information being sent out, you may end up misconstruing what is being said.

I'm a huge perfectionist, so I always try to be the best at everything I do. That's a very difficult task in the dance world because there will always be someone better that you, no matter how good you are. With that being said, auditions are torture for me. I strive to be the best in the room, but since dance is a very subjective art form, it is hard to know what the person in charge is looking for. One way to dicover this information is through nonverbal communication. Most of the time, the people evaluating you never speak to you directly. The only way to know how they feel is through their reaction. Since most judges are trained to be very hard to read, non verbal communication can often be misinterpreted.

This situation happened within one of my dance classes last year. I spent the entire semester being picked on by the teacher. Everytime I saw him outside of class he would give me a fake smile and avoid eye contact. He also would watch me with a sense of concern on his face. This made me think that he hated me! I wasn't going to audition for the modern company at school because he was in charge of the program and I knew how he felt about me. My friend signed me up and made me go. To my surprise he took me into the company, and ended up giving me one of the highest grades in the class. Now he jokes around with me and I am able to understand his nonverbale communication, but at times it still makes me feel like he hates me!

I think one way to avoid this sort of situation is by taking the time to get to know the person better. People from different cultures use nonverbal communication differently. If we jump to conclusions, we may be creating a situation out of nothing. Also, I think it is important not to rely only on nonverbale communication. By using regular verbal communication, you may be able to clear up some of the things you may not have understood about the nonverbal communication.