Examples Of Verbal And Nonverbal Communication

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There are two forms of communication, verbal and nonverbal. The strongest form of communication is when both of these elements work together to convey the person’s message. This essay will analyze the forms of verbal and nonverbal communication in the show “Blackish” by Kenya Barris, an American comedy that surrounds an African American family. The episode being analyzed is from season 3 episode 2, titled “GOD”, where the daughter explains to her dad that she is beginning to lose faith that god exists, so the father tries to persuade her in different forms. To be more specific, the scene being analyzed is when the family goes with the mother to get a sonogram of the baby. The use of verbal and nonverbal language can affect the environment or …show more content…

When the baby’s heartbeat is heard, the entire environment of the room transformed. The tension that was there was extinguished as the family began to rejoice. In this scene there are signs of both verbal and nonverbal communication. The family begins to talk, breaking the silence, and the room is filled with the words “oh thank god” which is a symbol of relief. Symbols represent a person, idea, or a thing (chapter 3, book) and in this case it represents the beliefs that their family has. A nonverbal action occurs shortly afterwards, they begin hugging and laughing out of joy. Laughter can be derived from vocalizations, also known as paralinguistic utterances that give information about our emotions or physical status (chapter 4, book). Another nonverbal act is performed by the doctor, when she begins to back up from the family. This is a sign of respect, that the doctor understands that the family needs some time alone to be happy and comfortable. This is an example of proxemics, in a way where the doctor understands that the family needs its intimate proxemics in order to celebrate with the people they are comfortable with. This moment is powerful because the family gets to go home with good news instead of bad, and the way they communicated made the moment even

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