One of the functions that can be served by nonverbal communication is to regulate action. This was reinforced to me this morning while walking from our parking spot to the competition room in Kansas City.
Kelton and I were standing side by side at a crosswalk waiting for the light to turn green in our favor. A third gentleman was there and he was looking at his phone.
Kelton stepped slightly out into the street to look at something shiny. When he did this, the other guy, still looking at his phone, started to walk right out in front of a taxi. We stopped him and then had a good laugh about not following Kelton to your doom...
We so often fail to think about or recognize the impact our individual behaviors have on those around us. Even when we don't intend to send a message, we do. And those messages can potentially have dire consequences for those around us.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
The continually surprising world of language...
So a friend of mine suggested that since I am in Kansas City I should try out the food at Gates BBQ. After searching for the nearest franchise of this restaurant we had the following experience.
Upon entering the quaintly barn-like designed restaurant we were greeted with a loud, "HI!MAYIHELPYOU?!" (Lack of spacing indicative of the reality of the speed at which this highly accented question was asked.)
Just wanting to look at the menu for a moment I was once again assaulted by the speed talking wait staff with a demand for my order. When I told them we had never been to their restaurant before a more friendly employee offered us the following help.
"Never been here before, eh? Well I recommend that you have the four-boner."
Thinking to myself, "I know I didn't sleep much last night, and have spent several hours navigating the world of airports and all, but ????????"
She then loudly, innocently, and unapologetically offered us the "four boner". By now the 13-year old part of my brain is running wild with this idea and I am doing all I can to not openly guffaw at this woman's obviously ludicrous menu offering! I look to my students who are likewise doing their best to not give in to paroxysms of laughter at this woman's statement.
She then takes us around the corner to the photo menu and written right there is indeed the name "Four Boner"...
Given the symbolic and arbitrary nature of language it is no great surprise that the three of us from Utah were so locked into the connotative meaning of this term. We had grown up on the playground with the sexual connotation of this term and it hit us full-on, right between the eyes.
I am sure this poor woman thought we were completely nuts. It was obvious that we were flummoxed and amused by her statement, and she thought nothing at all about it.
Isn't it interesting the crazy things that language does to us.
Upon entering the quaintly barn-like designed restaurant we were greeted with a loud, "HI!MAYIHELPYOU?!" (Lack of spacing indicative of the reality of the speed at which this highly accented question was asked.)
Just wanting to look at the menu for a moment I was once again assaulted by the speed talking wait staff with a demand for my order. When I told them we had never been to their restaurant before a more friendly employee offered us the following help.
"Never been here before, eh? Well I recommend that you have the four-boner."
Thinking to myself, "I know I didn't sleep much last night, and have spent several hours navigating the world of airports and all, but ????????"
She then loudly, innocently, and unapologetically offered us the "four boner". By now the 13-year old part of my brain is running wild with this idea and I am doing all I can to not openly guffaw at this woman's obviously ludicrous menu offering! I look to my students who are likewise doing their best to not give in to paroxysms of laughter at this woman's statement.
She then takes us around the corner to the photo menu and written right there is indeed the name "Four Boner"...
Given the symbolic and arbitrary nature of language it is no great surprise that the three of us from Utah were so locked into the connotative meaning of this term. We had grown up on the playground with the sexual connotation of this term and it hit us full-on, right between the eyes.
I am sure this poor woman thought we were completely nuts. It was obvious that we were flummoxed and amused by her statement, and she thought nothing at all about it.
Isn't it interesting the crazy things that language does to us.
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