Observation # 5

I ate dinner and did my observation at Brick Oven located in St. George. It was another chaotic environment similar to the airport observation I made last week. Almost every person not actively eating or directly talking with their party had their face down into their phone. It showed a lot of disinterest in everything that was going on. Small children banging their silverware to try to get attention from the rest of the family. Those talking to each other talked animatedly. Large arm waves, pointing, smiles on their faces. Some couples sat next to each other in the booths while others faced each other from opposite sides. Those that faced each other seemed to be more actively listening to their partner speak. Some even held hands from across the table. There was one couple that was clearly going through a fight of some sort. While being seated the woman came in with crossed arms and heavy foot falls. The man with her at least 5 steps behind, not looking at her but looking around at the salad bar, walls, floor. When they sat at their booth they sat on opposite sides, the woman’s arms were still crossed and the man just sat there. No conversation, I found it funny that the only time the woman smiled was when the waiter was speaking with her.

Journal #5

The topic of being able to detect deceit has always been a very interesting one to me. I have many brothers and sisters that have kids. I would babysit a lot while growing up and one of my favorite nonverbal ques to tell if they were lying worked every time. At least until they were old enough to know better. I would tell them that when they lied to me there was a bright red spot that would appear on their foreheads, but only adults could see it. Instinctively when they told a lie they would cover their foreheads with their hands. Very obvious nonverbal cue there.

I think the idea of being able to concentrate on the smaller less noticeable ques is even more intriguing.  I found Lena Sisco’s Ted talk very informative and it just peaked my interest more. The idea that she earned trust with just a smile seemed almost too good to be true, but that’s what they say with customer service as well. Smile, smile, smile that is what makes a person feel open and welcome. I have found that since reading our text I have become hyper aware of the small nonverbal movements that give off, sometimes without even noticing. I notice more, I think it would be interesting to delve deeper in being able to detect lies with those cues. I’ve casually studied the use of handwriting analysis to detect lying, this seems like another great step.