The 8 rules of Fight Club

It’s not what you said but how you said it, the Voice is an amazing thing, it creates the sounds we make to accompany our words or non-words. We have the ability to express our physical, emotional and attitudinal states just by the tone of our voice. Being able to tap into your own tone of voice and the tone of others gives you the ability to detect how people are thinking and feeling.

   The vocal properties that are used in the clip “The 8 rules of Fight Club” can be controlled and manipulated. Within the first four words that Edward Norton says I was able to pick up on his pitch and volume. With the rising of tone in the beginning of the sentence with the word “Gentlemen” and then the falling of his tone as he continues his sentence with “Welcome to fight club” Since starting his sentence with a slightly higher pitch and then his typical fundamental frequency and raising the intensity on that first word quickly gets everyone’s attention on him.
   Something I noticed Edward Norton using throughout his entire monolog was silent pauses. When stating each rule of fight club to all the members he would say what number rule it was then add a break in speech that carried no sound. These pauses were purposeful; he used this as a tactic to create a dramatic effect in presentation. Using the silent pause has a tendency to make others feel intimidated Edward Norton was leaving the entire crowd on the edge of their seats as the wait for the explanation of the rule.
   When teaching the member of fight club the eight most important rules Edward Norton was accenting specific words. As he gave the second rule “You do not talk about Fight Club” Edward Norton uses the volume of his voice and the rate of his speech to emphasize and draw attention to the first three words “you do not.” That grabs his audience’s full attention and displays the high importance of his intended message
   With Edward Norton’s vocal qualities he has the perfect mixture of raspiness and breathiness that bring his character to life. The throaty quality in his voice worked well in conveying the image of his tough guy persona. The breathiness aspect in his voice showed his characters attitude towards his power as he reported the rules of fight club to the members.
  Throughout Edward Norton’s monologue you can see how we use our voices to produce messages. The qualities that able us to produce vocal nonverbal communication is complex but understanding the messages that are being sent out and how to use our own vocals enhances our communication and ability to interact with others.

           

So how was your Spring Break?

  Spring break a week long period that college students across American look forward to all year. Typically scheduled in the late weeks of March the week of spring break gives college students a chance to relax and enjoy some warm weather before finishing off the second half of the semester
    With everyone returning from spring break there is plenty of stories sharing going around. Accurate interpretation of facial expressions during communication is essential for social interaction. One’s Facial expressions communicate information that helps us understand the state of mind of our peers and adjust our behavior accordingly.
    While in the library I ran in to one of my sorority sisters Kelsey, we started discussing spring break. As Kelsey and I conversed about her break I noticed the eye contact and mutual gaze that was occurring. We were both looking in to each other’s eyes showing that we were interested and paying attention. Kelsey was talking about how she worked over the break, she works in a small family run ice cream paler and the weekend of spring break was their opening day. When describing the mass of crowds that came in during the weekend I could see the look of shock her face produced. When she went back in to the memory I noticed her eye brows were raised and her eyes became widened. This facial management technique of intensification really conveyed her emotion of shock to me and got me to understand how she felt when serving the crowds.
       With all the hard work she put in during the week Kelsey decided that she deserved some retail therapy. As Kelsey told me about her shopping trip and the purchases she made she was smiling, it was a real genuine smile I don’t think she was even aware or could control the smile that she was producing. Her smile was a true depiction of the joy she felt towards the memories from that day.  
     While using the Facial Action Coding System I was able to break down Kelsey’s face into three regions. By looking at what region the movement emerged on Kelsey face I was able to classify the particular emotions she was feeling.  Being aware of these nonverbal cues as well as our response to them points out awareness of how our facial and eye behavior is perceived

Tell Me How You Really Feel; Nonverbal Behaviors

What does a person’s movement, gestures, or posture say about them? Our body language is extremely important when interacting with others. A large percent of conversations are interpreted through our non-verbal’s. Being able to read and understand our peer’s body language is essential in forming new relationships and creating lasting impressions.  

   Over the past weekend I had the opportunity to attend a Phi Sigma Sigma leadership conference. Working in a room with hundreds of women gave me many chances to study the nonverbal messages that others sends out. During one of the break sessions I found myself watching an interaction between two girls.
   The first thing I noticed between both girls was there posture. Each girl was leaning forward siting in a face-to- face dimension. Their posture implied that they were both interested and open about what one another were saying. Something else about their posture was the way both girls’ shoulders were curved in towards each other. That created an intimate feel for them and also nonverbally let others know that the conversation they were having was private.
   As their conversation continued I paid serious attention to each girl, that way I could realize each girl’s roles with in the conversation. I concluded that “girl-A” was telling a story to “girl-B”. Girl -A affect displays were a clear indication that she was telling a story. Her uses of fabricated gestures displayed a clear description of the emotions she felt about what was going on in the story. By clenching her fists and clapping her hand together I could tell that she felt passionately about what she was saying. I observed that Girl-B was being a great listener by the regulators she was using. She was nodding her head as Girl-A spoke, showing agreement and understanding. I also saw Girl-B produce some interactive synchrony. By showing animated expressions like puffing out her bottom lip to make an exaggerated frown and placing her hands on her hip while also making a shocked expression had me assume that as a sad and shocking part came up in the story  Girl-B mirrored that showing that she also felt those emotions that Girl-A was describing to her
   Through watching others nonverbal behaviors when interacting with others showed me how many conscious and unconscious behaviors we produce. I’m now knowledgeable on how easily detectable nonverbal behavior are. Knowing what messages you are sending through nonverbal behaviors and how they transact with will now better your future development and interaction with others.

Proxemics in the bedroom

  The bedroom is typically a private room designed from an individual’s reflection of one’s personality.  The bedroom is one of our primary territories looked at with high importance. The psychology behind how we incorporate proxemics into our bed room design is astounding.
    Privacy is an important commodity in everyone’s life. It is a boundary- control process that regulates our nonverbal interaction with others. When living in a small college apartment with three other girls, any kind of privacy is hard to come by. I have adapted my own communication privacy management as a way to establish my own space around the apartment. With the use of proxemics I have organized my room to focus on the three fundamental areas of proxemics: space, distance and territory, thus creating the social order and intimate environment I desire.
     When first glancing into my room, the main focal point is my bed positioned right in the middle of my room. This places you in the correct mind set because a bedroom is an area primary used for sleep. Since a bedroom is typically a place of relaxation and rest there are many objects that we label as our primary territories. In my room I would place my bed and clothing as my most important primary territories. By adorning my bed with sheets and pillows of my choice I am clearly marking that this is my possession and that any kind of territorial violation will not be welcomed.
     The other semi fixed features in my room have ways to convey meaning to both myself and to others. The Television in my room may be in the corner but it is definitely in a socio-petal space. The way it is diagonally positioned against the wall makes it simple for everyone to see it in my room no matter where they stand, promoting involvement and bringing everyone together. While my clothing in the back corner creates a socio- fungal feel because those are more personal items, it is preferable that they are withdrawn in the corner and not out for everyone to see.
       I have signaled that this room is my territory by the use of indexical markers. I have decorated my walls with things that have personal meaning to me like my sorority letter and pictures of my family and friends. By the use of proxemics and how you design your room can nonverbally alter the messages you’re sending. Keeping the fundamentals of proxemics in mind can teach you to convey the nonverbal messages you desire.

                                   

The Reflexive Cycle

Scrunching your forehead, rolling your eyes and playing with your hair all forms of nonverbal communication, but are these nonverbal actions truly conveying the emotions that we pair with them. With use of the reflexive cycle you are able to look at yourself and work in changing undesirable behaviors as they relate to social experiences. Personal expectations of behaviors such as twirling/ playing with your hair in social situations can be taken in to consideration with use of the reflexive cycle.

     When looking at my own nonverbal behaviors I came to the conclusion that I was unaware of the cues that playing/twirling with my hair produced. A habit formed as a young child has now become a subconscious action. This action that is comforting and normal to me is not giving off the impression that I’m intending. For women, twirling/ playing with their hair is seen as a flirting gesture. I’ve realized that when twirling my hair in formal situations I’m giving off the sense that I’m bored or disinterested, even acting impatient giving off a nonverbal message that I have better things to do
To make sure I’m not sending off those negative nonverbal messages I need to make a change in my behaviors. The first step that will make a large difference in my tendency to play with my hair is pulling it up and away from my face. I have made myself knowledgeable about the triggers that lead to me playing with my hair, when those situations occur I now know that I need to keep my hands occupied.When watching the nonverbal actions of others I admire, I’ve learned what nonverbal communicative actions are appropriate for different situations. When seeing someone else is playing with their hair I automatically pin them with the valley girl stigma. I noticed that it is very hard to take an adult seriously, because when playing with your hair it is giving off a child-like essence.
Nonverbal communication has such an effect on how we interact with others. I now see how my nonverbal behavior shapes how others act towards and intermingle with me. Without playing with my hair I am much easier to approach. Since I’m no longer giving off that “valley girl” stigma I’ve notice that when interacting with others I am receiving more respect.
       With the reflexive cycle I became more mindful of my own nonverbal behaviors I’m aware of the distorted perception that can result from nonverbal. This has helped me further develop my ability to convey the message I’m aiming for. The reflexive cycle was a success for me I’ve seen what message that playing with my hair has been giving out and I am now better equipped to cope and respond to situations without giving off the negative aspects that come along with playing with my hair.