When it comes to non-verbal
messages, it is actually very easy to have misinterpretations. While no
specific instances of my own misinterpretation come to mind, I do know that it
not only happened, but it usually resulted in an embarrassing situation (which
is probably why I don’t remember specifics). One instance that I do remember
wasn’t a result of my misinterpretation, but rather someone else’s. When in
high school a friend and I were talking about vehicles we might like to have
and a person misunderstood our gestures towards his vehicle as gestures toward
him. Needless to say he was angry, and it almost led to a fight.
When it comes to improving the accuracy with
which I interpret non-verbal messages, I have found that asking for clarity
helps. In many cases just getting the context of the gesture can vastly improve
my understanding of it. If someone makes a gesture that gives me a reason to
have an emotional response, I generally request that they clarify it for me so
as not to be the person I mentioned above.
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