Silent Film

It would be great if we went back to the silent film. The Artist inspired this post. In those days as I am sure even in earlier days we depended far more on what we perceived more than words to find meaning in our every day lives. I also suspect that this perception of body language with emphasis on facial tells it was a matter of survival.

Try a new training method, new for this post anyway. Pick a movie, a dram is preferential, and watch it from beginning to end with the sound off. Focus on what you see as to how they use body language to convey meaning. Try to figure out how a character feels and what their body language/facial expressions are telling you as to what they are going to do as a result of those feelings. You may need to watch it this way several times to see several characters.

When done and with notes in hand you then watch it with full sound. It also may take a few viewings to make sure your analysis is fairly accurate. Keep doing this from time to time to teach your mind to perceive things outside the spoken word. Sometimes you may see one thing and hear another. Which is the more important?

In my humble opinion what you see as to what is projected from the body/face is far more important but don't forget that it is not always accurate. This is where your training in judgement is critical. You need to be able to analyze it somewhat objectively for accuracy especially in regard to defense/protection in conflicts.

I feel due to the flood of technical wonders our minds are gravitating away from our once innate ability to read others behind the words that our dependency on words and technology may be placing us in danger. Think about this!

p.s. a nagging thought back in the nether regions of my mind, did I do this post before?

Click for a larger view :-)

Try this silent film still, what is she saying with her body language and what is his response? Stop laughing .....