I can’t really think of a specific instance where I have misinterpreted someone’s nonverbal message although I’m sure it has happened to me countless times. On the other hand, I can say I am very good at correctly interpreting the nonverbal messages of my two best friends. I have known these girls for about fourteen years and have gotten to know them extremely well. From everything to their subtle eye movements to a slight change in the tone of their voice I can always tell what message they are really trying to send no matter what their verbal message states. Being able to understand their nonverbal messages helps me understand them as people and allows us to get along so well.
Unfortunately we can never interpret nonverbal messages 100% correctly especially when they are unintentional. We can, however increase our accuracy to interpret nonverbal messages by checking the context of the situation, compare a person’s current behavior to baseline behavior and if all else fails we can ask for verbal feedback.
I do agree that it is hard to interpret nonverbal messages correctly all the time. I do think that the more you know a person helps with your ability to interpret thier nonverbal messages. Also the situation that you are in really does help with interpreting nonverbal messages. I am a big fan of using the shoulder shrug and raising my eyebrows. Depending on the situation those nonverbal messages i give out can me so many different things. I wish a little dialogue bubble would pop over most peoples heads when they give nonverbal messages. Instead we are stuck to either ask what people meant or come to our own conclusion.
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