Things like tone of voice, facial expressions, body posture, and hand gestures are all non-verbal, but they are hugely important in our communication with others.
If we say one thing with our words and another with our face or body, we can end up giving mixed messages and confusing others.
To make sure we are saying what we want to say with our words and our face, body, and tone, it is important for us and our children to learn how to understand and “speak” non-verbal communication.
As a family, make a list of different non-verbal actions. For example, folding your arms, snorting, frowning, etc. Then select a TV program or a segment of a video. Watch about 5 to 7 minutes of the program with the volume off. While watching the program without volume, identify the different non-verbal messages, especially the feelings that are expressed. After 5 to 7 minutes, turn off the TV and discuss what you observed.
To get the discussion started, use questions like:
- What were the non-verbal messages that you observed?
- Did you observe any confusing non-verbal messages?
- What feelings were expressed through non-verbal communication?
- What were some of the difficulties of this activity?
- What can you do to be more aware of non-verbal messages?
- How important do you think the non-verbal messages are in helping you to enjoy the movie and understand what was going on in the movie?
- Are non-verbal messages always obvious in real life?
As a family, take the rest of the day to observe and think about the ‘unspoken’ language we’re all using throughout the day. With a lot of practice, we can all become fluent at not only understanding others’ non-verbal cues but also harmonizing what we speak and what we ‘don’t speak’
Have fun!
