From the paper:
“AIDS is a demographic disease. The most prone to the disease are women, children and the poor. The testimony to this statement is the fact that in a country like Africa the most effected by AIDS is the women and the children. This is mainly because they have to deal with the fact that society considers them a second-class citizen, they are basically the child bearers and have many stigmas attached to their actions within the society.”
do 3 peer reviews
peer review 1
Emily Cresta
IDS302
January 28, 2022
Called It!
One of the most enjoyable things about being in sales for the length of time that I have been is interpreting people’s nonverbal communication, or more simply, their body language. For the last decade, I’ve been blessed to work in the diamond and gemstone trade. One of the most productive, useful, and downright entertaining things I’ve learned during this time is how to read and understand body language. Very often I find myself watching sales floor video surveillance with my peers without the benefit of audio recording and discussing amongst ourselves what we think the client is thinking based on their body language, and how the sales presentation is going. We excitedly say, “called it!” when the client walks or buys as we expected.
I’ve realized a long repeated pattern of events with clients, especially those looking for higher ticket orders, and its not the pattern one would typically expect.
The market I cater to purchases engagement rings for an average of $9,000. That’s no small amount of money, certainly. Clients who come into our showroom expecting to spend a chunk of change like this are very often already feeling intimidated and “on their guard.” This is clearly evident from our surveillance video, which I’ll shamelessly admit I watch from our office when I’m off the sales floor simply out of boredom. We don’t have a speaker hooked up to this system in our office, so there is no audio that I can play back, and I can only understand what I see as there is nothing to be heard. When one of my peers walks out to greet the client who just entered, almost every time I can visibly see the client stand a bit taller when addressed and typically freeze in place. Our very first goal when interacting with a client is to immediately make them as comfortable as possible, which can often be observed from the video footage. I’ll often see my peer and the client chat for a bit, and at some point the client visibly relaxes, starts using more hand gestures, and puts their phone away. One of our telltale signs of a nervous client is one who will not let their phone out of their hand. The cellphone is a comfort item for the majority of people, and they feel nervous without it. Even the simple act of putting it on your purse or pocket can contribute to a feeling of helplessness and aloneness, so once the client puts their phone anywhere besides in their hand, we know we are on the right track.
This exact situation played out just the other day. I was on my lunch break and chatting with a showroom manager in our office and noticed a client enter the showroom via the security video screen. The manager and I shifted our attention to the video and observed and chatted about what we thought the client was feeling and how the salesperson was adapting their presentation to suit that particular client. Like clockwork, he was nervous. He came in with one hand in his pocket and the other holding his phone, which he held slightly in front of himself as if he was looking at the screen but he was in fact talking with a salesperson outside, and making eye contact with her. We found it a bit odd and a touch entertaining, as we assumed, he was nervous about shopping for diamonds and was in such a habit of holding his phone out in front of him (lets be honest, we all are), that he didn’t realize he maintained the position as he was having a verbal conversation with my coworker.
After a couple of minutes, I saw the client relax a bit by putting his phone in his back pocket, but he immediately stuck that hand in his jacket pocket. Not much ground gained here. My coworker stood next to him as they talked rather than stepping to the other side of the showcase. By doing this, she eliminated the physical barrier between herself and the client which often helps people feel less pressured and intimidated. It wasn’t until about 10 minutes into their conversation that I saw her walk behind the showcase and start showing him product. This was a picture perfect scenario of how she read his body language and took some steps to make him a bit more comfortable, so much it could be seen from our surveillance video and observed all the way from our back office.
peer review 2
With Just a Look
IDS 302: Interdisciplinary Inquiry Leonel Garcia January 28, 2022
With Just a Look
Reading Body Language is a skill that can come in handy in several instances, whether it be in a good or bad manner. A few people can pick up on several social ques and others are just oblivious. An instance I perceive the use of this skill in a positive manner is how my sister and I can communicate without saying anything it is just looks or glances. Which usually comes into play when we are in public, social gatherings, at home, about anywhere. Scenarios this comes into play is when people say something controversial, or the gossip is exceptionally good, or when it is time to leave somewhere. For example, when we are with family, some of them are not educated on much of the current events and few are following the idea of being anti-vaxxers. When hearing this I was sitting on the other side of the room from my sister but right when the topic came up, there was no hesitation we just looked at each other knowing very well how we felt about the information. In a similar scenario, one of the significant others of the same part of the family, expressed how he is a flat earther at one of our social gatherings. With no explicit communication, my sister and I raised an eyebrow at each other knowing we both meant to laugh at such ideas, especially because I had just taken a lab in one of my astrophysics courses, at the time, on why the Earth is not flat. Furthermore, another body language communication I had experienced was having to help friends escape a situation in which they did not feel comfortable. One time at a party, a guy continued to bother my friend even after she had made it clear she was not interested, and as he persisted, her demeanor had completely changed. She went from being open and enjoying herself to being uncomfortable and closing herself off, focusing on her phone and when she had the opportunity just giving me a stern serious look across from her. And just from that I can tell it was time to go or just go to another area around us. As expressed, the use of body language can come into play in any way possible, through the connections you have with people such as family and friends. Or one’s ability to be able to notice social cues in public spaces.With friendships and family, such use of this language can illustrate the bond you have with a person, how a simple glance can clearly tell you how someone may feel in a place or about something. Then out in public, having the skill can lead to numerous opportunities such as saving someone from an uncomfortable moment, or reading body language can tell you how an interview may possibly play out, one’s interest within an interaction or whenmeeting new people. Such a skill can impact many of the social interactions in one’s life.
peer review 3
In the process of communication, besides speaking, body language is also a part of communication. Not only that, but the use of body language is sometimes even better than the language itself, making it clear to both parties what they are saying to each other. In our daily life, there are many examples of body language. For example, in a conversation with my friends, when my friend says something I agree with, I will look him in the eye and nod. That means I agree with him. Because in this kind of situation, if I open my mouth and say I agree with what my friend is saying, obviously I will take part in his conversation. But I can avoid this if I use body language. Therefore, in general, the deficiency of spoken language can be made up with the help of body language, which helps the spoken language to vividly display the content to be expressed through tangible, visible and expressive movements and expressions. Another example is that I once communicated with others, and we had a pleasant conversation at the beginning. But when he got a phone call, he looked at his watch more often. I noticed that too. Obviously, he probably had something important to attend to and was too embarrassed to interrupt me. Therefore, looking at the watch is also a kind of body language, through which I judged his intention to leave. So we ended our conversation very happily. As he left, he said goodbye to me and shook my hand apologetically. This is also a physical gesture, through which I feel his apology to me. Most of the time, I find that verbal communication is not enough. Therefore, in daily communication, we will use a variety of body movements instead of language to achieve the purpose of facial expression. In a variety of social occasions, people’s hands and feet, or some facial expressions will convey a lot of information, revealing the subject’s thoughts and feelings, love and hate, as well as cultural accomplishment.
what to respond to/rubric
1. Does the student’s summary include a creative (or at least clear) title?
2. Which part of the communication exchange is described most vividly?
3.Which part of the analysis is the strongest from your angle?
4. If the student were to complete this assignment again, what could they include or not include, to make the overall assignment better?
5. Choose something you like about the essay and explain why you like it. How could the student build on this to make it even better next time?