Special interest Article; Anthony J. Iantosca, BCFE IAFEI Nonverbal Communication Context Part Three (3) Academy Page on Facebook International Academy of Forensic Examiners and Investigators Growing up in a Culture very different than my own and not being very proficient at speaking the language at that young age. I used what I came to understand later in life as Body Language or Nonverbal Communication. As a young boy growing up in Bostons Chinatown my friends spoke either Toisanese or Cantonese or a combination of both with a little English thrown in. Chin-English, as my friends would call it, not very PC term but that is what it was called. I was taught and understood a few words but that was about it. How did I get my point across? How would I understand what others were saying to me when my friends were not around to translate for me? I would watch peoples expressions and overall body movements. A real friendly smile or the smile that was not a smile, the Sucker punch look as I called it. The way people walked up to me, how they would talk to me, how they greeted me. How some of the older kids would look at me when I was walking down Tyler or Beach Street. This told me if I was in Red, Yellow or Green. To put it bluntly, if I was going to get my ass kicked. Their actions and looks alerted me to what was to follow. Most times it was just ball busting or bravado, a few times it was not. First, you must be a Competent Observer of your Environment. At that time the only real entertainment any of us could afford was going to one of Chinatowns movie houses every weekend. China Cinema, Star or Pagoda and watching the newest Gung Fu or comedy movie that was being released by the Shaw Brothers in Hong Kong every week. At that time Fu Sheng was the Martial Arts Hero along with a new guy called Jackie Chan. Who knew! My older Gung Fu brother ( Di Lo) Philip would ask me, Tony how do you know what is going on? Back then they did not dub the movies in English as they did later on. I said by watching their actions. Their facial expressions and overall body language was so over exaggerated it was very easy for me to follow along. When I opened my Martial Arts School in Chinatown, I started to read books on Body Language by Julius Fast , Allan Pease and the few books I could find at the Boston Public Library that were available at that time. It was all very confusing. One book would say one thing, another book would say something else. The more books I read, the more I got confused. The reason for my confusion was not understanding Context The Second most important factor in understanding Nonverbal Behavior that all of these book did not focus very heavily on was Context That is the key to understanding Nonverbal Communication. You must decode the Tells based on the context of the situation you are in. Nonverbal Behavior can and will be very confusing without Context it is not a cookie cutter or one size fits all read, when attempting to decode Nonverbal Behavior. The Third most important factor when you talk or meet someone for the first time and as you continue to interact with them. You need to get a handle on their Baseline Behavior patterns. You need to note how they look normally when not stressed or in a state of Discomfort How they sit, where they place their hands, their posture and common facial expressions. How they tilt there head, etc. You need to differentiate between their normal relaxed Comfort Behavior and a stressed Discomfort Behavior. Establishing a persons Baseline Behavior is critical because it allows you to determine when he/she deviates from their Baseline Behavior Pattern. Remember a change in their Behavior is a change in their reality.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Sep 2014 22:47:30 +0000
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