10 The Voice, For Students, By Students -M- ^ JL -1. ^ September 22, 2010 □ www.fsuvoice.com
Communication goes
far beyond talking
R.A stands for Removing Assistants
Residence Life out with
the old in with the new
Bod)' Talk: Part I
You Cannot Not Communicate. Yes, this
is a double negative, but it’s ok. What this
little phrase means is that everything you do
communicates something about who you are,
your intentions, your fears, your lusts, your
disgusts, your feelings toward others, and
more. You cannot avoid communicating. Turn
your back to somebody, and it sends
a powerful signal. Wear conserva
tive clothing or no clothing at all,
and you will send a message. And,
believe it or not, you are still talking
even though you might have stopped
speaking.
The body is a powerful persua
sive tool. In fact, more than 90% of all of the
messages we send to others are not the talk
ing bits, but the non-talking bits. We call this
nonverbal communication. You’ve probably
heard the phrase, “it’s not what you say but
how you say it.” I’d like to explore with you
some of the ways you might be communicat
ing with others without even knowing it.
Kinesics: Communicating through
movements. I’d bet money that most of
you can’t identify your own walking style,
or what we call your gait. I guarantee, how-
, ever, that your friends in the mall can identify
you based upon your walk long before see
ing your face. Everyone has a unique walking
sfyle—a combination of elements including
the vertical and horizontal spacing between
your footsteps, the amount of motion your
arms make when they swing, your posture,
head positioning and movements, tempo of
your footsteps, and more, There is some in
teresting research on this too that says that
those who walk faster in the workplace tend
to get raises and promotions more often than
those who walk slowly. Perhaps by walking
faster, they look like they have somewhere
important to go, and therefore are in high de
mand. Worth considering, huh? Don’t have
anywhere to go? Walk fast anyway, just in
case.
Proxemics: Communicating via the
use of distance and space. Ever known
someone who stands way too close when
talking to you? There is even a funny Sein
feld episode about this. So what do you do?
Move away until you are back in your com
fort zone? Then the other person no longer
feels comfortable, and will probably move
back into your personal bubble. Now you’re
back where you started. I’ve been there. It’s
aggravating! Your gender makes a big dif
ference too. Typically, there will be more
space used during male-male conversations,
than female-female. This has more to do with
social conditioning than with any conscious
decision. In my opinion, the most interesting
sorts of observations are made when exam
ining the use of spacing by those at parties
or clubs, or traditional hook-up spots. How
do you know when she’s not interested? Are
her arms folded, is she angling her body per
pendicular to yours instead of parallel, is she
slowly increasing the amount of space be
tween you? Most people demonstrate “no”
long before actually saying “no.” What are
your proxemics telling others?
Occulesics: Communication through
the eyes. Most people have heard
the statement that “the eyes are the
windows of the soul.” The eyes are
sometimes mysterious, deceptive,
subtle, blatantly truthful, seductive,
and even scary. What can you do
with the eyes? You can roll them,
blink them, widen them, squint
them, bat them with your eyelashes. You can
also show intrigue by raising an eyebrow
ala Spock. And then we get to eye contact.
Three variables to watch here: where you are
looking, how long you are looking, and how
often you are looking. Combined, the eyes
can communicate more than 10,000 different
messages. Gentlemen, one glance might not
get you into trouble, but if you’re constantly
staring at the wrong place or looking every
two seconds, she’s going to get mad at you.
Ladies, look a little longer if you’re interest
ed. Guys aren’t that smart. They’re expecting
4 seconds and you’re only giving them 2, and
thinking you’ve moved on to someone else.
Want to know if someone is lying? Look at
the pupils. If the pupils begin to contract dur
ing questioning, the interviewee is stressed
and likely lying to you. So, are your eyes giv
ing you away? Better believe it!
Artifactual Communication: Com
munication through artificial coverings.
Anything that alters your body image belongs
here. This includes clothing, jewelry, tattoos,
piercings, hairstyles, make-up, implants,
and cosmetic upgrades. In an ideal world,
we wouldn’t judge people based upon their
looks. But we don’t live in an ideal world.
That’s why, for example, it’s important to
dress not for the job we have, but for the job
we want to have. That’s why, it might be a
good idea to cover up tattoos and remove
piercings during job interviews. Lady Gaga
dressed in a meat dress for the VMA Awards.
She wanted to be noticed; she wanted to
make a point; she wanted to shock. She un
derstands the power of outward appearance.
There’s nothing wrong with this because
she’s thinking strategically. Are you?
Don’t underestimate the power of body
language. If our bodies are always talking,
then it behooves us all to start paying more
attention to the many ways that we communi
cate without words. Communication Matters!
Todd S. Frobish, PhD, is Associate
Professor and Interim Chair of tine
Department of Communication.
For the first time in years, Fayetteville
State University will not have RAs (resi
dential assistants) during the 2010-2011
academic year. Reasons for this momen
tous change in Residence Life
procedure vary from insufficient
funds to pay the RAs to the
belief that RAs are no longer
needed. Nevertheless, the most
probable reason for getting jid of RAs is
due to budget cuts. Still, some residents
feel as though getting rid of the RAs was
one of the dumbest things Residence Life
could have done. Other residents see this
as an opportunity to throw more parties
and roam from room to room knowing that
their chances of getting caught are low.
Both views could mean more power to the
residents and more problems for the staff.
One of the greatest joys of having RAs
was knowing that regardless of what time
of night it was, even if it was two in the
morning, if you lost your key, you could
contact the RA on call and they would
assist you. Another advantage of having an
RA was to relieve the RLC’s (residence life
coordinators) and RD’s (resident directors)
from having to do all the work themselves.
RAs meant fun programs, free food, and
someone to talk to about whatever was go
ing on. With RAs out of the picture things
can spiral out of control.
“Students got rowdy with the RAs. I
can only imagine what’ll happen without
them,” says Nathalie Rivera, a former
Bronco.
The removal of RAs could lead to dra- ■
matic situations such as rowdy alcohol par
ties, more break-ins and resident’s goods
being stolen, more sleepovers for buddies
who need a place to stay for a while and
worst of all, more pest problems
due to the lack of enforcement
of a resident to keep their room
clean. In a time of economic
difficulties, cutting RAs may
have been the best thing to do financially.
However, socially, it may have been the
worst thing.
Goodbye RAs and hello PAs (program
ming assistants.) PAs are the new group of
students hired by Residence Life who at
tend FSU, who have a good GPA standing,
as well as a sociable and friendly personali
ties. One of the roles of the Program Assis
tants is to assist Residence Life in creating
fun, intellectual and safe programs for the
residents during their stay in the dorms.
Yea, we may all be thinking that RAs were
more involved with Residence Life then
the new PAs, but who is to say that PAs
won’t do a great job?
As a former RA, considering all the du
ties of a RA, I believe the new PAs will do
a great job.
This is a new opportunity for Residence
Life to establish.a new elite force of will
ing energetic students to help ensure that
all the residents enjoy their experience
at FSU. With this stated, we as students,
young adults and residents of the dorms
should take the initiative to do the right
thing and support the PAs by attending
their programs.
E NEED YOUR VOIG
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Wi* Art* Th** {'hiinipicMU
DR, TODD
FROBISH
COMMUNICATION
MAHERS
CORTNET
SLAUGHTER