The Silent Language

A very dry read with a strong message. A message I wish I had learned back in high school.

Recently I found a quote that emphasizes a part of The Silent Language message.
"We don't see things as they are. We see things as we are"

This book explains why languages can never be 100% translated. One has to grow up in the culture to understand the nuances of words and body language.

This work is helpful in understanding communication. Hall points out the importance of non-verbal communication. Examples of crucial communication that takes place non-verbally would include gestures and motion. The idea can be extended to meaningful examples of movement communication including the performance arts such as theater and dance. Ordinary communication though is replete with examples of how crucial non-verbal communication plays a role in ordinary discourse. Understanding is more difficult on the phone, through IMs, and in email, to mention just a few every day examples of how critical non-verbal cues play a role in communication. This is an excellent book.

Hall discusses how humans communicate with each other using gestures and expressions rather than words.

An Anthropologist reveals how we communicate by our manners and Behavior

An anthropologist talks of culture as communication.

Hall gave me some of my first inklings about how complex society is, about how communication is more than writing or talking. I'm still, after all these years, not very good at 'reading a room' or catching the nuances of 'body language', but at least I learned early on that much may be happening in other contexts than speech or text.