Communication skills

For this week assignment I watch a recorded episode of the reality show real house wives of Atlanta. In this episode in the sound off version there are a group of men I assume are the husbands of the wives. They are in a group talking in a bar or club atmosphere. Looking at them communicate it was hard to determine what they were talking about. Based on their body language, facial expressions, and different emotions displayed I assumed they may be talking about things men normally talk about. During the conversations there was a lot of laughing and high fiving and other hand gestures between the guys.  Based on what I observed they seem to be friendly and cordial at times and other times they seemed angry based on body language.

After re-watching the episode with the volume on I realized the husbands were communicating about their wives. They were discussing previously aired episodes of the show and offering advice to each other how they could have made certain situations or outcomes different. This explains why their communication skills varied throughout the show. They discussed instances where their relationships with their wives were more pleasant and when they were not. When the talked about or addressed more pleasant situations their body language and gestures (high fives and laughing) were more evident.

It is so obvious how we can make the wrong assumptions about a situation based on our opinions. I assumed these guys would be talking about sports or something or than their wives. Even if the show had been one that I watched on a regular basis I probably still would make some wrong assumptions if I was not fully aware of what was being communicated. I have often heard people say that they can tell when someone is talking about them even if they can’t hear what’s being said. We often make bad decisions about other people’s intentions based on our lack of properly identifying or knowing what is going on when others are communicating