The skill of observation

The Skill of Observation Your Mission: Think of yourself as a nonverbal specialist – and practice the skill of observation. You will enter a cultural setting and try to understand what the people in that cultural setting understand and communicate about themselves and their culture through nonverbal communication. You are to describe/explain these people's nonverbal communication as you see it. *Please note that “culture” is not limited to race and/or ethnicity – culture describes a group of people who share similar behaviors, norms, attitudes, etc. So, for example, you may go to a Moroccan restaurant, attend a place of worship other than your own, go to a gym – all these settings provide you with the opportunity to observe a group of people who are part of a particular culture, or subculture. Your Tools: Your notepad, your good humor, your sense of adventure, and your keen powers of observation. Process: Take your notepad and find a place to (inconspicuously) sit and observe other people in an environment where you have not been before. Without directly communicating with anyone, spend ONE HOUR describing in your notepad whatever features of the communication environment seem significant to you – perhaps the environment itself, the communicators, the process, the message, the emotions, the action, your own decoding of the scene, perceptual lenses, etc. Whatever seems significant to you about the communication of these people and the communication environment – write it down – for ONE HOUR. *Turn in the field notes with your paper!! Assignment: What do you understand about the nonverbal communication of the culture after this exercise? Part I: Introduction Your introduction should include a brief description of the setting you chose – where, what time of day/day of the week, the people involved, etc. You should also explain why you chose this setting to observe. Finally, you must include a foreshadow of the THREE (3) nonverbal concepts you chose to use in your analysis (define those concepts according to our text). *I suggest throwing yourself into the observation, taking great notes, and THEN deciding which 3 concepts from the text you would like to discuss in your essay. If you go into your observation looking for some things and not others, you may miss out on something significant in the environment.* Part II: Body/Analysis Analyze your observations and include this analysis in your paper. In order to further “bring to life” the material we have discussed so far, use at least 3 concepts from the text and our class discussions in your paper. There should be a clear connection made between your observations and the concepts you chose – meaning, how did these concepts function in your observation? Ideas To Get You Started – the following may be helpful before your observation (in preparation for the observation), during your observation (what to look out for), and after the observation (analyzing your observations, especially). - What got your attention? What did you find significant about the setting? What nonverbal communication cues did you observe? Did you think about yourself or the people you were observing during the hour (i.e., how you were different/similar, imagining some aspect of the personal lives of the other people, etc.)? If so, why? How much was listening a part of your experience? Did you notice any conflicting messages (nonverbal and verbal seemed contradictory)? Expand your mind. The questions above are suggestions/ideas, you may address other aspects of your observation. Part III: Conclusion End your paper with an overall evaluation/summary of the exercise – including your estimation of the role nonverbal communication plays in everyday life. This paper must be: Coherent and complete Grammatically sound No less than 5 FULL pages in length 12-point font Times New Roman Double-spaced Must include title page Stapled * See your syllabus for additional paper requirements