The Almost Perfect Language

Sign language, a very unique form of creation compared to any other languages in the world. Uniqueness lies not in the words but in the physical movements. To begin with this, let me give you a brief introduction how sign language actually begun. It was first created by the French people and later adapted and developed in the United States by the deaf people. This language is not a spoken language however, its the blend of several signs that are compiled and made into words so that the deaf are able to see instead of listening.

Today, this sign system is known as the American Sign Language. It is known to be one of the most refined languages in the world. It dates back centuries ago, when the American Indians used signs to intertribal(between tribes) communication. This has nothing to do with the development of sign language among the deaf, but it is a significant collection of history that associates with this idea.

Different angles and movements of fingers are used to form alphabets and connecting them into a sentence. This is a form of manual commnucation. Most signs are used to represent things and objects and not one single word. Because there will be a need of many types of hand movements if it was to represent a single word. Therefore, to make it easier, a sentence can be formed with the blend of signs of objects, ideas as well as alphabets.

A person knowing how to evaluate sign language smartly and correctly are able to easily cross a language barrier. This is because they as normal beings are able to communicate with the deaf using this sign language rather than using normal spoken language which can only be heard by the ears. Most educational institutes today in the United States have sign language part of the education system. It is to your wish if you would like to take that up as one of your electives. It will be beneficially to us because it will be an advantage to us to communicate with the deaf. It can also be used as art in dance performance (Bharatanatyam) or new form of art in the performing arts field.

The deaf have made their language a very creative and interesting one to learn on. With the variety of language available today, i'm sure there will newly-born languages in the future maybe with just few words and signs or maybe with eye movement. It lies in the creator!

Compiled by Jasneeta Kaur Bhullar =)

Body language

Body language is an important factor in communication. It has even been said that politics has become 93% body language, and 7% politics. During the Nixon Kennedy Debate in the 1960, the first ever televised debate, the rules of politics has changed in such manner. After the debate, polls from the television audience indicated a landslide victory for Senator Kennedy. On the contrary, polls from the radio audience showed a landslide victory for Senator Nixon. It was said that Senator Nixon was sweating and looked in doubt during the debate. This proves how important body language has become.

In the video above we notice how politicians have been trained with body language skills to better present themselves. First, we notice Hilary Clinton, during a Q&A session during the presidential election campaigns. Here, we can see how she uses her body and her arm gestures to portray her confidence after being thrown with an uncomfortable question. She raises her voice, her arms are let forward, giving her the more 'in control' position. She stands up straight with her shoulders back, showing confidence in taking the question.

Next, a short clip showing Bill O' Reilly is shown. Notice how his lips are pressed together indicating a firm stand against the audience that are opposing his views or are in line with Hilary Clinton's. He does a 'bouncy' movement, as illustrated on the clip above, it further enhances his firm stand that he isn't backing down from his question, and maintains a confident stance. He puts his hands behind and puts his chin up, further proving this point.

Another interesting clip to note is Senator McCain's interview. Notice how he takes a more friendly stance (as mentioned by the illustrators) by leaning forward and giving that genuine smile. Just by doing that, he changes his stance and tries to win votes from a different perspective. This proves the importance of body language, even more so for politicians.

;)

Written by,
Goh Keng Yu @ Daniel.

Our best listener(s)!

I think listening is an effort where a listener is providing opportunity for the speaker to tell the whole message. It is because a listening exercise might convert into hearing activity when human hears words which they disfavor or would not like to know. For example, a student would hear a History teacher talking throughout the class regarding biographies
of i-have-forgotten-what-i'd-learn-in-history instead of listening with their eyes, heart and undivided attention.

Secondly, a listener would be giving one's time to the speaker. For instance, live audience and tv listeners have listened to Tomok's confessions at final stage of One In A Million singing competition. In the process of listening to his stories, listeners are giving time to Tomok to tell his narratives and his requests. Given the chance to be heard, Tomok had change the perceptions of nation which resulted him as the champion from being the underdog.

On top of that, listening would create least expectations for the listener himself or herself. It is because the listener would hear words that might change their firm decisions. Namely, one would forgive the speaker due to the speaker's narratives about being late for a business meeting.

Lastly, listening would supply messages about the speaker's needs. Thus, we can help people like poor Africans after we listen to them.

More importantly,
we already have a credible listener from the start of our life because...
God always listens to us and our prayers!

Composed by Ho Bee Ling, Gervenne

Appearance & communication

Did you know that appearance matters a lot in human communication? This is because it sends a non-stop message to whoever that's looking. Think of it as a portable broadcast station, wherever you go, your overall appearance sends these signals to whoever in your line of sight. Now that you know of this, your appearance can be manipulated to send different messages. What makes your message stronger or weaker depends on how you 'stand out from the crowd'.

The easiest way to set up a proper appearance is by dressing up. When a girl walks down the road in KL wearing a dazzling dress. She's definitely sending out a message. However the positivity of the message still lies within the receiving ends. People might like it, or people might think she's overdressed to be walking in KL like that. Guys might fall in love with her, or guys might have a lust for her (which is dangerous). Which is why knowing what you're dressed for is important. You don't want to be sending out the wrong messages.


But dressing isn't the only part. Appearance is also strictly governed by behavior. Sometimes, how you behave sends out a stronger or even contradicting message with how you dress. You might be dressed in a suit, with a dazzling tie; but if you can't speak with elegance, you send a stronger and more prominent message to the people around you, and that contradicts the elegant appearance you were trying to send out.

So the next time you decide to go to a public place, think about your appearance. It definitely matters. That's why people can attract people without even trying. Or how someone tries to attract someone but sends out the wrong message. Its all got to do with appearance.

(:

Written by,
Goh Keng Yu @ Daniel

The ever deceiving smile

You looked my way and gave me a smile,
A simple one I'd never forget,
It pained my heart, yet it made me smile,
It almost killed, but you don't know that.

Just that smile, that simple smile,
So easy to look at, yet it ripped me apart,
It left me in pain, lost walking for miles,
A bittersweet sting that pierced my heart.

I don't know what feelings resided in your heart,
Once, i felt sure, I lost you from the start,
But then you looked my way and gave me a smile,
Your actions leave me dazed, stranded, almost exile.

I've lost, I'm stripped of my once proud honor,
You're filling me with feelings I can never forget,
You've left me in love, deep down in my heart,
In love with you, but you don't know that.

-Dudu-
7th May 2007

Have you ever been deceived by the ever-popular smile? I have. The poem you see above was written for a girl I fell head over heels for. FYI, I didn't succeed in getting her. It took me almost a year to get over that, too. Why? Because of her occasional smiles.

To start off, lets define the smile - to assume a facial expression indicating pleasure, favor, or amusement, but sometimes derision or scorn, characterized by an upturning of the corners of the mouth.

The smile is a form of expression. It communicates different meanings when used in different situations. Traditionally, smiles were the give away of personal pleasures or amusement. For example, if I saw Damian slip on a banana peel and fall, I'd smile to myself in amusement. & if Damian saw my smile, he'd probably know I was amused with his feat. See? Its a give away. You can't help but smiling, showing your intentions.

But then the smile can also be manipulated. It could be as simple as saying "hi" to someone in the morning. A smile is then added, to give it the extra friendliness & to promote a false happiness in the environment. A smile for a good cause, I would say.

& then there's the smile that you give to somebody of the opposite sex that is stealing glances at you. Now this one can get dangerous. I can safely say, this one communicates hope, whether intended to or not. Don't smile back unless you ARE intending to let the other person know you are pleased by his actions. I was a direct victim of this. I fell for a girl completely for her smile. When I couldn't get over her, it was because I kept remembering her face, smiling at me. Disgusting, i know.

Smiles mean different things. Its a way of communicating, and sometimes can be rather vague in meaning. The idea is to realize this, and becareful when somebody smiles at you next time.

Cheers. Smile =)

Written by,
Goh Keng Yu @ Daniel

Beauty & The "Ballet"!

While surfing the net, a picture displayed on a website caught my attention right away. To me, i felt a connection with it. because it was a picture of a thousand words It was just a picture of a couple performing a ballet dance. The performance was inspired by Walt Disney's Beauty & The Beast, a true classical cartoon which was spiced up with loads of romance.

Let me give you a short introduction on the term "ballet". Ballet is a type of dance that was firstly originated from France, around the 15-16th century period. It was later on developed in countries like Italy and England. This type of dance fascinates me a lot not only because of the cute little outfit the ballerina wears but itis the deep meaning behind every movement of the ballerina as well as her gestures and postures. It simply feels like the ballerina is trying to convey a message to her audience with simple hand and feet gestures.

Today, "Disney on Ice" is very much liked by millions of spectators because of the beauty in the movements the performers have got for their audiences. It uses mostly the concept of ballet dancing but on ice!. Most parents have found it a very great form of exercise for their young children as it retains the body's flexibility. That picture shows a ballet story performance, which means a classical story which have been brought to live and recited in a dance routine with the use of ballet steps. It's amazing how people even think of such ideas. It is simply like bringing a drama to stage. This shows a very clear form of non-verbal communication. It uses hand gestures, eye contact and other physical movement along with a background music to tell the story to the audience.

This type of classical ballet stories are very interesting because there are always hidden meanings that the spectators will have to figure out by themselves. A close attention is needed in order to figure out the whole performance that is being staged. Usually the whole performance will be inspired by a specific character and the ballerina will be dressed in similar color or outfit the character wears, this helps the audience to figure out the character that is being used for that performance.

I'm definitely a huge fan of ballet dancing. It expressess a variety emotions and feelings that cannot be said through words. Hand gesture as well as physical movement plays a huge part in this dance. This is why its a different type of dance from all others because a ballerina is always seen as a very graceful person due to her distinct body language.

Compiled by Jasneeta Kaur Bhullar =)

Language unites us

Just yesterday, I've realized the importance of language. I saw a Malay lady in her twenties sitting at a table. I've went to sit with her of all the empty tables that were available at that time-being. While waiting for my food to be served, we had a few light conversations. Soon, her parents came and sat down with us. Honestly, i think if she were another person, she would have speak negation by politely tell me that the seats are occupied. Yet, when her parents came, uncle and aunt said Hi as well as Lina introduced them to me.

Throughout our talk, Lina and uncle have used English language to speak to me. Their language proficiency in a foreign language signifies working class people. At times, Lina has to perform language divergence to share our conversation with aunt. This scenario has made me aware that it is language that unite all of us regardless of race, country, culture or gender. The fact that both genders perform different conversational styles is also authentic. As an acknowledgement for their act in parting to me, Lina expressed "bye". On the other hand, uncle said "nice to meet you!".

Another doubt has poped in my mind again after that situation. What if we have all speak distinct slangs and jargons?

I think the conversation would transform slightly.=)

Communication gave birth to language. Subsequently, language is the reason for various worldwide professions. Namely, jobs that include psychologists, magazine editor and broadcast readers. Moreover, language is use by businessman to manipulate the minds of other business dealers and customers. Influential or powerful words used by children across the world to persuade their parents on buying their indulgements are in the forms of "please", "may" and "would".

I would like to end here with an attractive quote by Julia penelope. "Language forces us to perceive the world as man presents it to us."
( credits to http://www.quotegarden.com/language.html)

Thank you.

Composed by Ho bee Ling, Gervenne

The power of music in communication

Music - an art of sound in time that expresses ideas and emotions in significant forms through the elements of rhythm, melody, harmony, and color.

Music is a form of expression. In more ways than you can think of, music is a powerful form of public communication. The rhythm of the music, when heard even from afar, draws and attracts attention, and then conveys a deep message. The best thing about music is that it is not just heard, but it is felt. I quote, "Music is the slow descent from reality to fantasy in which everything becomes a blur". When you feel the groove of music, your body automatically reacts. A unique form of communication indeed.

Music is also a language. Not everybody can feel music. Therefore music becomes a universal language that only a group of people can understand. It does not matter where you live in; Africa, England, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia; Music is universal. Put different people speaking different languages in the same room with some drums and some bells; what do you get? Communication- at its highest form.

Music can be shaped like gel to perform different functions. A good use for music is that it can communicate hope. This can be seen in religious groupings. Churches form choirs or bands that sing, or get the public to sing with them. The songs they sing can bring inspiration, motivation and hope in heightening levels. Take for example Taylor Swift's - Love story song, originally a country song. In the youtube video above, it was "gelled" into something else, giving a more hopeful and peaceful sound through the piano and cello.

The meaning of music always lies in the receiving end's interpretation. This is what makes music so unique, one sound- different meanings.

I love music. Don't you?

Written by,
Goh Keng Yu @ Daniel

The Secret Language Of Our Eyes...

Even though there are loads of ways to find out if a person is telling the truth, but the fastest way to detect a lie is by reading one's eyes. Eyes holds a very deep and meaningful language that can never be versed through words. There are also people that can read one's mind by just staring deep in their eyes. Our eyes speaks the language of its' own. In fact, our eyes are one of the most important part of our body as it detects sight. Therefore, caring for eyes is essential.

Eyes can easily exhibit lies as well as a level of intense affection if you are attracted to someone. In simply words it reflects truth and affection clearly in the eyes. Most people have the tendency to look away when they are hiding a truth or telling a lie. They are just not capable of looking straight in the eyes of the person they are lying to. However, locking our eyes continuously in a scenario will just make us feel more aggressive and will affect the tranquility around us. That's the main reason why we actually can't look right into the eyes of others for a long period of time.

In some cases, it is acceptable to look away while conversing with someone but in most cases it is advised to as it shows how much genuine is there in the speaker's speech. For example, in one study carried out in America, it is shown that children have a higher possibility to answer all question correctly if they look away from the questioner. It devotes more brain power. In this scenario it is truly acceptable. However, it is unlikely to be the case if your mom stares at you asking you, "where were you last night?".

The direction of where the eyes look is also very important. Some scientists have said that the direction of the eyes detects whether you are telling the truth or simply spinning a tall tale. According to few research carried out, if someone that is looking to the left when questioned about a thing is simply telling a lie because the left part of the brains works on creativeness and this means they are trying to imagine something. However, if a person looks to the right, where the less-creative part of the brains works, it means they are thinking of the truth and not making up things. But this don't necessary mean that whatever being uttered from the mouth is all truth. It depends all on the speaker and how truthful can they can be.

Something that amuses me a lot about eyes is the pupil dilation. Pupil dilation is when your pupil grow larger. Most commonly in situations like when the person you're attracted to passes by, your pupils start to dilate or when u enter into a dark room. As you have seen in most cartoons, characters are drawn with dilated pupils to make them look more attractive and adorable to fascinate kids. Imagine, "Bambi"!. Now I know the actual reason behind why women use to drop Belladonna into their eyes.

To sum up, eyes say a lot. It only takes the effort and time to master the skill of reading it!

Compiled by Jasneeta Kaur Bhullar =)

Language can...

Language is powerful in persuading, efficient in concealing a truth and sufficient to create mutual understanding in people.

Quote: "Men are like bank accounts. Without a lot of money they don't generate a lot of interest."

(credits to http://www.scorequotes.com/rankings.php)

One of the potentials which a language can carry weight on us is its capability to influence, confuse and inspire humans. Language may be structured in forms of quotes, poems and speech. For example, the above quote used euphemism to roughly illustrate that a man has to be very wealthy to catch the opposite gender's attraction. Moreover, the relative words in this sentence, "a lot of money", would puzzle us as in how much money could signifies a lot of money as well as "a lot of interest" may play a riddle with the number of people which a man could charm. Besides, this quote might reflect on man to strive harder in their career to achieve riches in order to "generate a lot of interest."

Of course, a statement that bears no evidence would just remain as an opinion statement and a persuasive statement. For instants, this quote is obviously a biased statement. Many women

(maybe majority) will oppose strongly towards this statement. Wealth is not the most important element in a woman's criteria compared to bond and harmony. How strong a praise or a blame is being placed on a person or a group of people will be determine by demonstrative pronouns. Using"they" instead of "these people" in this quote would lay less emphasize on those people involved.

On the other hand, this sentence might means as long as a man perseveres at keeping a lot of money in his bank account, he will definitely accumulate much interests which is granted from the bank.This statement is true to its meaning in this way. Therefore, a sentence could provide different meanings which represents the presence of semantic rules as meanings lie in people but not in words.

Secondly, language is interesting for its ability to cover a "less favourable opinion" and hold back a truth or many truths. Thus, human could manipulate a story or conversation by using equivocation words. For instants, you would like to address an individual as a mature person rather than old. Besides, a plump person would be referred to as a person who thinks weight is just a figure. Words order in a sentence which applies syntatic rules may also mask the identity of the responsible person. An honest criminal will admit "I stole the money." Conversely, a "less honest" criminal may answer "The money was stolen from the shop." True, the fact is that the specified amount of money is gone.

Yet, who did it?=)

Furthermore, language is essential to craft understanding, clarify an issue and express emotions. With language, I am able to pen down my point of view and read other people's perceptions too. Moreover, language aids communication. With the existence of language, humans have no barrier in communicating and conveying our needs as well as wants. A world without language to human is akin to a glass as a blockade in between people. Lastly, worldwide governments use language to declare, spread news and give confirmation to an issue. With accurate and clear vocalizations, a message will be spread throughout effectively. Adding on, human exercises language to verbalize their feelings. An example of low context cultures is "Thank you", a commonly used phrase to denote appreciation.

As a bottom line, we should make good use of language for language is a special gift and language symbolizes us, human.=)

Composed by Ho Bee Ling, Gervenne

Holding Hands

Holding hands. Yet another form of non-verbal communication. Hand holding is an intriguing form of communication. It is a continuous process that involves two people voluntarily holding hands for a particular reason; which include:

1. expressing friendship/love
2. physical intimacy
3. emotional support
4. guidance
5. to show togetherness
6. to urge to follow
   

My post today will cover mainly about my experiences with holding hands with other people, particularly with people of the opposite sex (keeps things interesting). Holding hands can be a tiresome process. Especially when it comes to holding hands when you're going out with a girl you like.

At first, you have to communicate to the girl that you intend to hold her hand. However, doing this verbally can make situations awkward, and therefore solely depends on behavior and signs. During my early years in high school, I remember doing so by swinging my arms when walking next to her, and then occasionally brushing against her hand when I do so. It never brought the same results each time I did it. Sometimes the girl would distance herself from me, thinking that she was walking too close to me (bummer). Sometimes I hit the jackpot; when I get a response from her hand constantly brushing against mine. (at this point I normally take this as a hint to hold her hand)

Getting the hands to hold yours isn't the ultimate challenge. There is also the part of letting go. Letting go implies different messages; thus making it another form of communication.

• What do you do if your palms are sweaty?

• What if she lets go of your hands because she saw something she liked and rushed at it when you're walking at a mall?

If she lets go off your hand, does it mean she rejecting you? Or is it just because her palms are getting sweaty? And then what kind of response should you give? If you don't hold her hand again after that, it would be safe, but then what if that wasn't her intention? As you can see, theres plenty of room for mis-communication to happen here.

In today's society, holding hands bring forth a variety of intended messages. So much so, it becomes confusing. For instance, take the following case:
1: "If I hold her hand on our first date, would that make things seem like its going too fast?"
2: "If I don't hold her hand on our first date, would she think i'm a coward?"

Holding hands is definitely an issue to be thought about.
Think about it.

Written by,
Goh Keng Yu @ Daniel

I know this subject is called Human Communication, but just a few days ago, i was surfing the net, and suddenly i came across this article about non-human living organisms communication. Have you ever wondered to yourself, how non-human living organisms communicate? Today, i'll be talking about how the plant and fungi communicate.

Among plants, communication is observed within the plant organism, i.e. within plant cells and between plant cells, between plants of the same or related species, and between plants and non-plant organisms, especially in the rootzone. Plant Roots communicate in parallel with rhizombia bacteria, with fungi and with insects in the soil. This parallel sign-mediated interactions which are governed by syntactic, pragmatic and semantic rules are possible because of the decentralized "nervous system" of plants. As recent research shows 99% of intraorganismic plant communication processes are neuronal-like. Plants also communicate via volatiles in the case of herbivory attack behavior to warn neighboring plants. In parallel they produce other volatiles which attract parasites which attack these herbivores. In stress situations plants can overwrite the genetic code they inherited from their parents and revert to that of their grand- or great-grandparents. Fungi communicate to coordinate and organize their own growth and development such as the formation of mycelia and fruiting bodies. Additionally fungi communicate with same and related species as well as with nonfungal organisms in a great variety of symbiotic interactions, especially with bacteria, unicellular eukaryotes, plants and insects. The used semiochemicals are of biotic origin and they trigger the fungal organism to react in a specific manner, in difference while to even the same chemical molecules are not being a part of biotic messages doesn’t trigger to react the fungal organism. It means, fungal organisms are competent to identify the difference of the same molecules being part of biotic messages or lack of these features. So far five different primary signalling molecules are known that serve to coordinate very different behavioral patterns such as filamentation, mating, growth, pathogeneticity. Behavioral coordination and the production of such substances can only be achieved through interpretation processes: self or non-self, abiotic indicator, biotic message from similar, related, or non-related species, or even “noise”, i.e., similar molecules without biotic content.

Done by: Bryan Lim

Hand Gestures!

Gestures are a form of body language or non-verbal communication. Although some gestures, such as the ubiquitous act of pointing, differ little from one place to another, most gestures do not have invariable or universal meanings, having specific connotations only in certain cultures. Different types of gestures are distinguished. The most famous type of gestures are the so-called emblems or quotable gestures. These are cultures specific gestures that can be used as replacement for words. Communities have repertoires of such gestures. A single emblematic gesture can have very different significance in different cultural contexts, ranging from complimentary to highly offensive.

There are many types of hand gestures such as the A-ok, Air Kiss, Thumbs Up, High Five, Namaste, Hook em' Horns, and etc. I'm going to explain one of the hand gestures, and we'll look deeper into it and not forgetting, how we apply and use it in our daily life. The hand gesture i'll be talking about is the V Sign! :)

The "V sign" is made by lifting and separating the middle and index finger with the palm of the hand facing the recipient (and the remaining fingers clenched). It was associated with the catchphrase "V" for Victory in World War II. It was associated with British prime minister Winston Churchill during World War II, and later, with U.S. president Richard Nixon. In the 1960s, it came to be known as the sign"peace", the gestural equivalent of the peace symbol. This sign is frequently used by the Japanese, most times holding up 2 "V" signs very close to either side of their face with a big grin during pictures. In the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and some other countries, reversing the V sign so that the back of the hand faces the recipient is seen as the equivalent of giving the finger. In these cultures, it is often referred to as the "two finger salute". Popular myth supposes it was originally a taunt by Welsh longbow archers (fighting for the English) made towards the French who were known to cut off an archer's first and middle fingers if captured.


Done by: Bryan Lim (:

Wink...

Wink! Another very important body language which carries a label full of meanings.

Winking is an action done by us, humans. We come cross men, to be more precise doing it for several unknown reasons. On everyday situations, i'm sure you have come across someone on the streets doing that to you and i'm also sure that you will just stop and wonder why is he doing that or simply ignoring him completely. A wink just means a simple facial expression made by briefly closing one eye. Many people are mistaken a wink to a blink. Both differ from each other.

Winking can carry loads of meanings. As usual, different cultures take it differently from their own perspectives. As stated by wikipedia, western cultures analyze it from a different view. They use it while communicating with a sexual intention, ranging from flirtations to an explicit invitation. On the other hand, the Asians especially Indians from India claim it to be a very offensive gesture.Some think that it may show a symbol of being a pervert with explicit intentions while others may view it as a private joke or something of similar terms being shared. In the Latin American culture, its similar to the American culture but they view it as a romantic gesture and done widely among friends. So it's an act of being friendly if you have been winked at in Brazil or Argentina.

Winking might be taken for fun. However, there are children or adolscents who wink unvoluntarily or unwillingly because they are going through stress. It's a form of defect. It is advised that winking should not be done if it's not accepted anyhow by anyone. Most people might not take it willingly. It's an obscene act and so, you people please stay out of winking. You can blink but not wink!

Compiled by Jasneeta Kaur Bhullar =)

Sharper Than Words...

Something that amazes me most about our own human race, is the fact that we use gestures or in simple terms "body language" when communicating with each other in our daily life. To most of us its something habitual and an unavoidable form of act. However, to the rest of us its our individual "style" or to teenagers it's often known as a "cool" act to display a particular body language while communicating. Gestures are usually categorized as a form of non-verbal communication. It can be combined with verbal communication or simply can be done just like that without words being said. Different people have different perceptions towards this term as it carries a variety of meaning like motion of body, movement of body and etc..

In my humble opinion, gestures have everything to do with emotions, feelings as well as expressions. It is also obvious that gestures play its important role depending on a situation that's occuring at that particular period of time. In most cases, it has played a very important role culturally. For example, ample of gestures are used in the classical indian dance which is more closely known as the Bharatanatyam dance which originates from the southern state of India, Tamil Nadu. In this dance, the performer uses his/her eyes to coordinate with the beat of the song while exhibiting an extraordinary movement with his/her hands and feet. These physical movements are simply known as gestures! It's fascinating how spiritualized performances relates closely to gestures! Not only that, even the Modern Jive and Salsa rhythms together with flexibillity and gestures. In short, i would like to say that gestures has everything to do with every form of dance, as long you are moving and shaking!

Gestures can affect us in many different ways. It is very momentous to show the correct gesture at an appropriate timing. This is will help to prevent any misconceptions. Besides that, it is also significant to know about the acceptance of gestures in different societies in the world. Some might display an act of obscene and some might exhibit an act of peace and harmony. One should be very well-versed before using them. According to some research done, smiling is a universally accepted gesture. Understood and known by every society and culture in the world but there are cultures that have logic reasons for smiling. For example, the Japanese might smile when they are dealing with a great depth of confusion or anger. In Asia, Asians will most probably smile when they are embarassed due to shyness. In the United States, smiling might not be accepted by everyone. It might not be known as a tool of friendliness but it is often reserved for close friends and family. Therefore, it is important to see situations and learn about gestures used by people around the world. It can be really funny how gestures are seen from different angles by different people.

An important character that reminds me deeply about gestures is the mime. What are mimes? Basically mimes are people are who use mime in the field of performing arts, which involves acting out a story line through body movements and motions without speech. In the streets of France, mimes are very easily found doing performances in order to gain a few pennies a day.

To sum up, I would like to say gestures are widely used in the everyday situation. We use them every second when expressing a thought or idea, when dancing, when singing, when crying or even when eating and sleeping. They can be of great use especially when it has to do with expressing a deep thought. Use it wisely and it might be more powerful than what words can even mean!

Toodles!.

Compiled by Jasneeta Kaur Bhullar =)

Smile-always!, your best communicator, my finest symbol!=)

I have a short experience that i would like to share in my earlier blogs. This episode has brought a deep message in me. To put my old friend's words in this composition demonstrates a token of appreciation to this individual.

I reminisce about an event which took place during the last few years. A random bus passanger had conducted a perception check on my face expression when we sat next to each other. "Why aren't you smiling? It ain't nice to see," inquired by this unknown person followed by a smile. I had verbalized my narratives by saying, "A smile is redundant and grant no gain." Since then, I had acquired abundants of "Smile Always!" statements through calls, short message service (SMS) and live conversations from this friend which then subsequently had led to dyadic communication. After a short period of time, we had diverged to our own chosen paths.

The following riddle has remained silently unsolved in me throughout these times that has developed involuntary intrapersonal communication. " Would i have obtained better series of events if i have potrayed additional smiles?"

My sole philosophy, "Smile Always!" has become a symbol to me. My smile represents my remembrance of my old friend and my determination to achieve eternal happiness.

For some parts across the world, smile is an image of success and pride. For instants, the smile of a recognized Russian astronaut was marked as an indication of space exploration era.
A source in Pravda.Ru says, "Gagarin became a legend while alive. He became world-famous after the USSR’s successful launch of world’s first-ever manned spacecraft. He did not have a vestige of the superiority complex because of his fame and will always be remembered as a simple, friendly man. His sincere smile symbolizes the beginning of the space exploration era for almost 50 years, since his historical flight on April 12, 1965."
Georgy Grechko, a cosmonaut complimented, “We remember him the way that he was – a handsome, responsible, hard-working and friendly person.”
(credits to http://english.pravda.ru/russia/history/09-03-2009/107206-gagarin-0)

Moreover, a smile would bring various positive perceptions to majority people. Is a smile contagious to you? By giving a smile, the receiver might interprete this message as a gratitude, encouragement or care. The scene of a pair of lips breaking into a beautiful smile on an ordinary person like Julia Roberts could generate charm and attraction. Thus, a smile is capable to enhance identity needs, practical needs, social needs and physical health needs like depression.

Adding on, a smile is helpful in reserving your current feelings, ignoring a non-constructive criticism and avoiding an argument. As a consequence, an individual might perform suitably in communication competence. A smile may also indicates psychologically to your friends and associates that you are a potent listener. Furthermore, a smile aids you to conceal an awkward emotion.

Last but not least, we can see a person's characteristic through their smile. Based on their smile, we could roughly judge whether they are cheerful, gentle, shy, optimistic, grateful or proud. These personalities can be observed clearly especially in photos. Let us take a look at HELP'S cover page on Foundation in Arts booklet. I think, being selected to symbolize this department would be a great honour to students. Thus, faces of deserved pride are seen on this fine picture.

Surely throughout the presence, if someone were to ask me, "Why aren't you smiling? It ain't nice to see." Without a second hesitation, I would not speak my narratives. I would like to plant a smile on my face as an answer.

Dear friends and readers,

here comes a beautiful quote.
“If you see a friend without a smile; give him one of yours.”
( credits to http://thinkexist.com/quotations/smile/ )

My old friend and I casually ran into each other again during few days ago after a very long length of time. Well, the akin line of query that was once asked in the starting point of our friendship, were heard again from this old friend...
Could you predict my response?

"Smile always!" =)

Composed by Ho Bee ling, Gervenne.

Stress, delivers you communication!=)

Stress is a feeling of uptight and anxiety on behalf of unsatisfactory circumstances. However, that is not what I will be talking about. STRESS, is his name. STRESS is someone's name.

The feeling of stress is an agitation to both our mental as well as health. Stress is obviously a less approval emotion to majority people. I have done a short survey on a handful of friends. They would prefer stress could sustain at a minimum level in them. Journey of life itself is hectic enough along with dilemmas which comprises financial difficulty, politic and treason. How would reading the word 'stress' alone sounds to you?=)

I beggar belief on the presence, STRESS, is authentic on earth as a name. I have made abundant of random search on this name in the internet which then resulted a USA resident who has this name, STRESS. An intrapersonal communication occurs in me when I deliberate over the possibility of his consequences for having this noncomforming name. For instance, if STRESS is his valid name, will this name holder add needless burden through psychologically in himself? Would this name, STRESS, be the blame for his loss of social support networks?

A name regularly determines first impression. By this, the name STRESS might generate self fulfilling prophecy in himself, associates and public. Therefore, communication progresses between two individuals where they use name as a subject or symbol. From here, a name like STRESS might enhance a new dialogue when STRESS's friend speaks his perception and interest of this name, STRESS. They might also practice empathy which serves an efficient communication. On the other hand, this scenario might turn ugly due to an opposite perception of humor and sympathy in STRESS's friend. For example, a new friend of STRESS may terminate this conversation without hesitation after STRESS introduces himself.There is also a chance that STRESS's friend would potray a hideous expression as a reaction. How this name, STRESS, influence one's impression on STRESS after hearing his name is similar to how the tidiness of a student's handwritting influence an examiner's perception of an essay's quality. These mental pictures have demonstrated interactions and body languages which form dyadic communications.

STRESS, is obviously a less preferred or even considered given name to an infant. An acceptable name is important to defeat internal distraction in the name owner himself. Again, some questions have poped up in my mind. How will a group of people response to hearing this name if they happen to come across it in the internet (like me) =) ? Could there be discussions posted in the internet regarding all the odd names in the world which include the name STRESS? If you were STRESS, would you reply to their comments to determine STRESS is not a strange name? Just by the name STRESS, public communication takes place between a group of people sharing the same interest and STRESS himself. Hopefully, the discussions will consist of good opinions and empathy.=)

Has a negative feeling already resides in you after reading numerous repetitions of this green word, STRESS? If STRESS is not an imaginary name, I admire him if he stays composed whenever people indicates an unpleasant reaction because of his name. Therefore, I would like to say, " welcome, Mr. STRESS!"=)

Composed by Ho Bee ling, Gervenne

Kissing- The language of lips

Kissing: To touch or caress with the lips as an expression of affection, greeting, respect, or amorousness.
*defined by The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

Kissing is a form of dyadic communication. It is symbolic, and represents different expressions which are subjected to the interpretation of the receiving party. Depending on the situation, kisses express different meanings. In certain cultures, kisses or pecks on the cheeks are forms of greetings. The most generally perceived expression of a kiss is affection. In western marriages, after the vows have been exchanged and the wedding pronouncement given, the groom lifts the bride's veil and kisses her.

A game-breaking point to note is that kissing is formed by our culture, which means to say we are not born kissers - we learn it. Thus, kissing becomes a unique and complex "language". Kisses are very commonly used around the world (about 90% of us do it). But this means about 650 million people don't. Danish philologist Kristoffer Nyrop found that members of certain Finnish tribes bathed together completely nude, but considered kissing indecent. This disallows kissing to be a universally accepted language.

Furthermore, from the 90% of us who practice kissing as a form of non-verbal communication, cultural differences and beliefs further segregates and attaches different meanings in kisses. For instance, an "Eskimo kiss" involves rubbing noses, not touching lips. It is even reported that the Chinese found mouth-to-mouth kissing nearly as horrifying as we find cannibalism. Another example, quoted from wikipedia "The french kiss, involves romance and sexuality, in which one participant's tongue touches the other's tongue and usually enters his or her mouth".

Try googling "kissing" and you'll be surprised to see guides and tips with kissing. Thus we can safely conclude that kissing is in fact a language that we are all desperately trying to understand. It requires a lot of communication competence to be perfected and be accepted. The big question here is, how did we all get started with kissing in the first place? Perhaps it serves to satisfy our social needs? The truth can only be found beneath communication.

Exciting, no?

Written by,
Goh Keng Yu @ Daniel
Information retrieved from the net