Communication in the 21st Century: Is It What You Say, Not How You Say It? | Vivian Ta | TEDxUTA

Nonverbal behaviors have historically been regarded as more important in communication than verbal behaviors. This talk will argue how and why verbal behaviors, rather than nonverbal behaviors, are most critical in today's digital society.

Vivian P. Ta is a PhD student at the University of Texas at Arlington where she conducts research in social and personality
psychology. Specifically, her research focuses on examining the role of latent semantic similarity in a variety of interactions, including romantic relationships, friends, strangers, face-to-face
interactions, and computer-mediated interactions. She is a fellow of the National Science Foundation’s LSAMP BD program,

[elfea.undaloc]

Who's here for purposive communication ??🤚

[samuelmbau]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:

00:17 *🗣️ Importance of Verbal Behaviors in Communication*
- Verbal behaviors may be more crucial in communication than traditionally thought,
- Mutual understanding in communication is essential for effective interaction,
- Common ground understanding is assessed by the use of similar words and their contextual meanings.
02:17 *📊 Introduction to Latent Semantic Similarity (LSS)*
- Latent Semantic Similarity (LSS) is a measure used to determine the extent of mutual understanding in communication,
- LSS is assessed using latent semantic analysis, analyzing the contextual meaning of words,
- It quantifies the shared meaning between blocks of text or groups of words in a conversation.
04:07 *🧪 Empirical Testing of LSS Measure*
- Initial study used videotaped recordings of interactions between strangers to validate LSS as a measure of mutual understanding,
- LSS measure proved to be legitimate in determining the level of mutual understanding,
- Provides a quantitative means to assess communication dynamics.
05:25 *💬 Verbal Behaviors as Predictors of Understanding*
- Verbal behaviors, such as the amount of talking and asking questions, significantly predict mutual understanding in communication,
- Nonverbal behaviors like gestures or facial expressions were found to be less essential in establishing common ground understanding,
- Highlighting the importance of verbal communication cues in fostering mutual comprehension.
07:00 *🌐 Impact of the Internet on Communication*
- The Internet has revolutionized communication by primarily shifting it towards text-based interactions,
- Technologies like email, instant messaging, and social media have become dominant modes of communication,
- Text-based communication minimizes the influence of nonverbal cues, emphasizing the significance of verbal behaviors in online interactions.
09:25 *💬 Adapting Communication Focus in the Digital Age*
- In a society where text-based communication is prevalent, emphasis should be placed on verbal behaviors rather than nonverbal cues,
- Recognizing the importance of adapting communication focus to align with the predominant mode of interaction,
- Advocating for prioritizing what is said over how it is said in contemporary communication contexts.

Made with HARPA AI

[דוביהולץאחדשאוהבתנך]

Everything she said might be true, but I got bored listening. Verbal communication is essential to understanding, but you won't be listened to if you don't have the right non-verbal skills...

[ArtinJ]

When a PhD person in Communication makes you want to sleep, there's something seriously wrong about their communication.

[sofiaysabela.valenzuela]

I agree with what Miss Vivian Ta said in the video, that non-verbal behaviors are indeed important, but what we should focus more on is our verbal behaviors, especially now that we are in the 21st century where we all tend to communicate through technology and internet. When we communicate, our main goal is to be understood and to understand our counterpart, in short, to have a common ground understanding with the other people that we are communicating with. We always pay attention to our non-verbal behaviors thinking that they are the key to understanding each other, but non-verbal behaviors are responsible more on creating an emotional connection and relationship between communicators, and not understanding. Also, it was proven on the research conducted by Ta and her team, that verbal behavior is the only and most important factor that contributes to the establishment of common ground understanding between communicators. In previous discussions, we have discussed the things that globalization has brought to us, and one of those is the interconnectedness between nations, changes in the communications as it was affected by the technology and internet. Nowadays, there are endless possibilities when it comes to communication with the use of internet, we can communicate no matter how far or we are of different time zones, we can communicate through texts, that is why verbal behaviors are more important.

[jasperdomacaoili]

Shout out sa manonood nito dahil sa prpcom nila goodluck

[activespark]

Bakaa namaaan, hi sa mga nanonood para sa Purposive Communication.

[danielaliong]

Vivian talks about the importance of
Communication in our globalization this two types of communication is the verbal and nonverbal she talks about the differences of the two which is verbal has ability to talk to two or more person while the non verbal communication is able to talk using sign languages, body language expressions or reactions of people but Vivian is more focused about the importance and benefits of verbal communication because this will understand what the people saying and explain what they are doing but non verbal has also importance because this helps people create communication by deaf or mute persons they are making conversation by the guestures.

[noneoftheabove]

You clearly mentioned « gestures, gazes and smiles » as examples of nonverbal behaviors that to you are not or were not important in understanding one another at least in the act(s) of communication you studied but allow me to disagree and say that you failed to mention (Consider?) one major and at times the most decisive nonverbal cue, which is voice/pitch/tone..how would I understand someone I am talking to (not texting or sending an email to) fully and clearly and be able to respond appropriately if for instance I can’t hear them well (volume) or if they said they were happy and excited with a very dull intonation or that they were happy to meet me (you said you examined a first encounter of strangers) while their intonation was rather flat?? What if I responded with a nod and a smile because I received conflicting messages (happiness:verbally, and rather « not really »: nonverbally)??. All along, you compared what is incomparable. Oral and written communication are two separate genres I like to think..and have to be treated for being so. I would go as far as to say that even in written communication it’s not just what you say as much as it is how you say it that matters; lay out and clarity of ideas, their cohesion and coherence would impact if not actually determine understanding.

[kolleen]

She didn't touch on tone of voice. Tone is part of verbal behaviour but it always falls into "how you say it." I feel like she purposely evaded that.

[duyphaminh]

she was just saying the same thing again and again

[joannejuanane]

bat kasi naimbento ang pcom na yan pahirap sa buhay e

[jonathansteeves]

Thanks Vivian. An interesting talk from 2016, which when watched in 2018 surfaced the question of how the emergence of emoticons (emotional expressions in non-verbal format) and word-enhanced graphics upon social media platforms like Instagram influence the theory of what vs how. Perhaps there is a "middle way" emerging via the internet which combines both "how" and "what".

[JeromeVGalon]

ANDITO AKO KASI GAGAWAN KO ITO NG 3 PAGES CRITICAL RESPONSE PAPER...IKAW PARA SAAN?

[williamsherman]

She seems really nervous. Also, I"m surprised she did not talk about technical communication like Discussion Boards, or emails. In those situations, you may not have things like Body Language or Tone, but you do have the ability to set a "tone" or intent through something like a smiley face:)

[DarwinjakeDong-as]

Bakit po paulit- ulit yang mga sinasabi mo😢 Haystss... mas lalong hindi ko masasagutan itong PRPCOM ko 😩 🤙🤙🤙

[za_snake]

Words are powerful, gestures are meaningful. Thank you Vivian, for the reminder of verbal communications importance.

[jeromegonzales]

Binabati ko po lahat ng BSIT 1A jan whoooo. Nuod Nuod for activity 🤣

[georgeschlaline]

Too complex You can't communicate either girl

[jeanieakridge]

Although non-verbal communication is vital in understanding way beyond mere words, with today’s use of technology (texts, email, instagram) the words we use are vital in the initial communication process. Your verbal & writing skills must be sharp!