Interpersonal skills refer to the skills individuals need when they interact with other people. Also, the meaning of interpersonal skills has a number of synonyms, such as social skills, soft skills, people skills, or communication skills. I chose the pop culture assignment because I like media related information and relating areas of life to it. The clip I chose to present was from the Andy Griffith Show, called “Citizen’s Arrest. ” Some interpersonal communications techniques that are used include kinesics (Wood, 126), paralanguage (Wood, 133), listening for information (Wood, 157), loaded language (Wood, 99) and artifacts (Wood, 129).
The most used is paralanguage and kinesics. In this episode of The Andy Griffith Show, Barney is sitting in his police car and sees Gomer Pyle get in his truck after leaving the post office and do an illegal U-turn. Barney proceeds to pull Gomer over and block his truck in. At this point, it is very apparent that Barney is agitated. The nonverbal communication he is using is kinesics. Kinesics is the study of communication through body movements, stances, gestures, or facial expressions (Wood, 126).
Kinesics can also be considered body language and eye contact. Our body language signals a great deal about us and how we are feeling at a particular time. Body language and eye contact are key indicators of how we as a society function. Wood states that attorneys have used body language to sway jurors, and customers tip better if their server maintains eye contact during their stay. Throughout the clip, kinesics is frequently used by everyone in the scene from Barney and his agitation, to Gomer being completely confused and later equally agitated.
Artifacts are used by everyone “to announce their identities and to project a particular image to others” (Wood, 129-130). Artifacts are personal objects with which we announce our identities and personalize our environments (Wood, 129). During this clip, Barney’s artifact is his police uniform, while Gomer’s artifact is his mechanics uniform. His crooked hat also shows that he perceived as being simple. From the beginning of the clip where Barney pulls Gomer over to the end of the clip, Barney uses paralanguage to communicate.
Paralanguage is the way in which you say words, including volume, pitch, speaking rate, and voice quality, as well sounds that are not words. He is talking loudly, or yelling, at Gomer. Paralanguage is also vocal communication that doesn’t involve words, such as sounds like gasps and murmurs. Paralanguage is used throughout the clip, by everyone including Barney, Gomer, and the onlookers. When Gomer calls out “Citizen’s arrest, citizen’s arrest,” after Barney proceeds to do an illegal U-turn, the onlookers cheer for putting Barney is his place.
When Andy Griffith comes to find out what is going on, Barney wants to put up a fight about having to write himself a ticket. The onlookers continue their paralanguage by groaning and murmuring to get Barney to write the ticket. It is at this point that Andy Griffith comes over and starts to listen for information. This is when people want to gain and evaluate information (Wood, 157). He is trying to get to the bottom of all the conflict that is happening in the streets. He is being mindful of both Barney and Gomer by staying focused on the situation and asking questions to get more information.
Barney uses loaded language at this point in the clip, as well as one other time later on. He calls Gomer a, “Boob. ” Loaded language refers to language that triggers strong emotional and negative responses (Wood, 99). For example, calling an older person “geezer” or “old fogey” is loaded language. During this clip, Barney is speaking emotionally charged words. During this episode of the Andy Griffith show, many styles of verbal and nonverbal communication were used. Kinesics and paralanguage are the most used during the clip.
Just watching this episode reminds me that people have many ways to communicate. Although we ought to be setting examples for others to follow, we also need to remember that we ought to treat others as we would like to be treated.
Works Cited Wood, J. , Interpersonal Communication: Everyday Encounters, 7th ed. , Published by Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2013. “Citizen’s Arrest,” The Andy Griffith Show. Writ. Everett Greenbaum ;amp; Jim Fritzell. Dir. Dick Crenna. December 16, 1963. http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=rwEvysDpNm0;amp;feature=fvwrel