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Reaction Paper #3: Nonverbal Communication

1) The document discusses a seminar on nonverbal communication given by Mr. CarlFrankl Glarino. 2) It discusses how important it is for counselors to understand nonverbal cues from clients in order to help them address deeper issues clients may not be consciously aware of or able to express verbally. 3) The author learned that effective communication requires awareness of both verbal and nonverbal signals, and that nonverbal cues can provide important insights in counseling.

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Monina Jones
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94 views

Reaction Paper #3: Nonverbal Communication

1) The document discusses a seminar on nonverbal communication given by Mr. CarlFrankl Glarino. 2) It discusses how important it is for counselors to understand nonverbal cues from clients in order to help them address deeper issues clients may not be consciously aware of or able to express verbally. 3) The author learned that effective communication requires awareness of both verbal and nonverbal signals, and that nonverbal cues can provide important insights in counseling.

Uploaded by

Monina Jones
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Jones, Luzenne S.

BS-PSYC IV Special Topics M 6:00-9:00 PM March 17, 2020

Reaction Paper #3: Nonverbal Communication

On March 9, 2020, we had a seminar on Nonverbal Communication conducted


by Mr. CarlFrankl Glarino. This was a very interesting talk because we were given tips
and tricks to the art of spotting nonverbal cues. It is very important to understand
people, not just what they show us on the surface but also what is hiding underneath.
So many people these days are used to concealing what they really feel because they
don't want to be called over acting or be judged. The purpose of the counselor is to help
the client slowly come out of their shell. Even during the first session of counseling, if
the client still seems like he/she is holding back, the counselor is patient and waits for
the client to become more comfortable. If the counselor notices the same nonverbal
cues in the succeeding sessions, that is when he/she addresses the client by telling
him/her that there may be something wrong that the client hasn't voiced out yet.
Mr.Glarino mentioned that noticing these nonverbal cues takes experience and it is not
easy for first-timer counselors. There were many examples that Mr.Glarino shared to
the class which were common nonverbal cues he's experienced and that many of us
could relate to. One example is when a person shows a happy face but clenches the fist
implying that he or she is actually angry. This is contradiction because the person's
facial expression doesn't coincide with his/her body language. Another example is
substitution. This means that if you are not ready to say something, you show it through
your gestures instead, hoping that the message will get through to the other person. 
Even features in the face such as the movement of the eyebrows can already say a lot
about how a person feels. An example of this would be a jealous girlfriend who raises
her eyebrows to her boyfriend when she feels insulted that he talked to another girl but
still shows a smile and calm composure. I, myself, am a believer in the saying that the
eyes are the window to the soul. You can use your eyes to tell someone how you feel
without saying anything. They show the truth, no matter what face we put on, in any
situation. One way to tell if someone is genuine is if they look straight at you when they
speak. There are many men who claim that women are very difficult to decode because
they expect the men to automatically know what they’re thinking. This topic is very
useful for men who have a hard time in understanding their female partners. Nonverbal
Communication can also be shown through paralinguistics such as emphasizing words
to make a point by saying them louder or with a higher pitch. I, myself, am very sensitive
to the tone of voice of my Mother. I can tell when she is mad at me and when she is
pleased with me. Sometimes people cannot express what they want to say when the
circumstances are not appropriate. This is when haptics or touch becomes useful.
Whenever you are with someone who is experiencing a difficult situation and starts to
cry, just simply patting them on their back is already enough to show them that you're
there and that you understand. Your body language can also help if you're trying to
make a point and it can influence others' impression of you. To make others take you
seriously, you must stand up straight and hold your head high. This is what I observe
from politicians when they hold rallies. They want the people to think of them as a
confident leader figure so they present themselves with a dominating stance. I can
agree that nonverbal communication creates a greater impact than plain words alone.
Humans are very expressive beings and express themselves in many different ways.

I think that Mr.Glarino is a very professional and excellent speaker. Mr.Glarino


has very good rapport with the students and he knows how to make the class laugh with
the examples of nonverbal communication that he acted out for us. His discussion took
us on a rollercoaster of emotions because there were times that we were laughing
hysterically and there were also times that we felt our heartstrings pulled. I think that
Mr.Glarino has a talent in speaking in front of a crowd because he showed his
confidence the whole way though and kept us engaged in the topic. When Mr.Glarino
mentioned about his FC Experience, I think we all felt amazed knowing that he's helped
a lot of his clients feel better about themselves. The story about the kid who identified
himself with a plane really hit home. The kid wanted to be free like the plane but inside
he felt that he wasn't free because he always felt trapped being around his parents. As
someone who also has overprotective parents, I can relate to how he feels. In
Mr.Glarino's FC Experience, they made use of the Gestalt approach to counsel their
clients which help them become more self-aware. In the Gestalt approach, there is
overexpression of what is said. Mr.Glarino asked the kid to repeat the phrase "I am free"
to the point where his enthusiasm lessened in his facial expression and his true feeling
came through. One lesson that I learned from Mr.Glarino is that not everything is what is
seems. Sometimes you have to dig deeper to discover the true meaning of how a
person feels. Not only is Mr.Glarino very wise but he is also very relatable. Everything
that Mr.Glarino said was the reality of what most people encounter through their
relationships with other people. The more you interact with others, the more you
understand the nonverbal cues unique to that particular person and his/her personality.
Just as Mr.Glarino suggested, different people have different ways of showing their
emotions and it’s up to the counselor to adjust to their client. Mr.Glarino prepared a by
partner activity for the class so that we could practice our counseling skills and spot the
inconsistencies in what our partner was communicating to us in the counseling session
simulation. I appreciate that Mr.Glarino let us practice our skill of spotting nonverbal
cues so that we could understand how to apply the knowledge that he taught us in a
situation similar to real life. Practicing our skill of combining empathetic listening and
active listening together is very important so that when we are doing actual counseling,
we will already know how to observe and understand every side to what the client is
trying to communicate.

There were many lessons that I could apply to my own life from Mr.Glarino's
discussion on Nonverbal Communication. I learned that the most important thing in
communication is hearing what isn’t said. This is a skill that could be applied to
everyday life in the daily interactions I have with people. Everyone is capable of
communicating and we all do, but that doesn’t mean we are effective communicators. I
am going to focus on becoming a more effective communicator through becoming
aware of nonverbal communication. Good quality communication is the foundation of
successful relationships, both personal and professional. The ability to understand and
use nonverbal communication is a powerful tool that can help you connect with or
understand others effectively. What you communicate through your body language and
nonverbal signals affects how others see you, how well they like or respect you, and
whether or not they trust you. Unfortunately, many people send confusing or negative
nonverbal signals without even knowing it. When this happens, both connection and
trust are damaged. Since nonverbal communication is, in general, essential to one’s
ability to navigate social situations and interact with others, it makes sense that
nonverbal communication can be a powerful source of insight in counseling. A
counselor who is attuned to a person’s nonverbal expressions, while also taking in the
words actually spoken by the person, might be more easily able to recognize when a
person’s body language and speech do not match. The counselor may learn more from
a person’s gestures than from the words being spoken. These kinds of cues may help
the counselor and the client identify and access deeper emotional issues for which the
client may not be consciously aware. Drawing attention to a person’s nonverbal forms of
communication and pointing out possible contradictions between the person’s
expressed words and what is conveyed without words can also help a person increase
awareness of how nonverbal communication is used in personal interactions. Bringing
oneself to the present and attending to facial expressions or posture can enhance self-
awareness and may help one communicate more effectively with others. I can use this
knowledge if I decide to become a counselor in the future by noticing the details,
behavioral nuances, and listening carefully to my clients. I felt sad when Mr.Glarino
mentioned that he lost a friend over not being a good listener because he was too busy
on his phone to give his full attention. I can learn from Mr.Glarino's experience by not
repeating what he did to my own friends and make sure I give them my full attention.
People appreciate it when the person they are talking to listens to them whole-heartedly
and sincerely. I will strive to be a good counselor someday by helping my clients who
may struggle to verbally share their feelings or emotions. I can do this by picking up on
their nonverbal signals while also being aware of my own nonverbal signals I am
sending to the client since nonverbal communication works both ways. 

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