Callista wrote:
They're both obviously acting. Do this for an experiment: Listen to a TV show. Any TV show; preferably one with actors featured prominently, a sitcom or something. Forget about the words, and just listen to the pitch and rhythm, and memorize the patterns of the "song" of the speech. Then compare that to a real-life conversation, preferably one you can comfortably watch without getting involved. Listen to that one the same way--ignoring the words, paying attention to the rest. You'll probably notice a difference--and a pretty big one too--between the two sorts of patterns. You'll see a difference between experienced actors and people who are being interviewed for the news, or are featured on a reality TV show--more monotone, less drama. Experienced actors will often exaggerate their voices, like a caricature of speech. There's another pattern that comes out when someone's giving a speech. And there are others, too, subtler ones I'm still figuring out that have something to do with established relationship and social structure. Sometimes I can hear those patterns; sometimes not. Usually only possible if I don't try to think about what words they're saying. I just can't do it fast enough otherwise. Naturally, in a normal conversation, I pay attention to the words, because that's what I get the most out of.
It could be an interesting tool, anyway, to learn how to use rhythm, pitch, speed, etc. in a conversation; but don't expect you'll be able to learn to multi-task it without years of practice, and even then not perfectly. I know I can't. But it's still a useful exercise to help you understand what those things mean in NT communication.
I was watching a program about reality tv (which I generally avoid because it all so dumb). This program was about the "unreality" of reality tv. They stressed that "when a camera is in someone's face or in the room, people behave differently." They try to get noticed, they start speaking/acting differently. They will do outrageous things that people would not normally do (such as start disrobing or saying silly things).
This is what I thought about when I saw the clip from the Dating Game. These participants were exaggerating their tones, facial expressions, etc for the camera. They were essentially posing.
Anyways, I wouldn't watch any of this crap to figure out how people behave normally. It just ain't "normal".
30 Oct 2011, 12:00 pm
