Observation - Week 4

This last week I was in Las Vegas for EDC. I mentioned this before, but I work for a special effects company over the summer and do the pyrotechnics at events. We've been on a chain of EDM festivals, and I've been back and forth all over the country setting up fireworks and flames and such at major events.

It really affords me some neat opportunities. I have access to any part of the event, and I spent Saturday night sitting on one of the stages with some of the biggest names is EDM literally 15 feet from me. EDM isn't really my cup of tea, so hearing the same songs over and over gets a little monotonous, but I got a birdseye view of thousands of people crowding the stage to get as close as they could to the artists. What an awesome people watching/observing experience?

It was amazing to me to be able to simply watch people and be able to discern their emotions. It's so loud, there's no way you could ever hold a conversation - so there's a whole line of unique nonverbal communication you could write about that just pertains to the production workers trying to communicate -  but the general public was what I found most interesting.

Most particularly, how easily you could discern sincerity. I watched a number of different people as they danced. Dancing in itself was interesting to me, as it kind of embodied everything we've been learning about nonverbal communication, but more specifically, I found it interesting how I could discern which emotions were real, and which were fabricated.

It didn't really have anything to do with their abilities as a dancer or their particular skills - it was all about timing. You could see which people were truly enjoying themselves. They moved effortlessly and smoothly and there was a message of real disconnect from their surroundings. They were enjoying themselves so much, that dancing was almost a natural response for them.

And then their were others, some of who had amazing moves and skills, but everything seemed forced. The way different parts of their body moved didn't seem to be in harmony. It was just a fragment of a second difference, but it was distinguishable. Almost as if there was a lag between their brain telling each body party what to do next, as opposed to a naturally occurring response to their enjoyment.

It was crazy to see, and if I wasn't watching closely, I don't think I would have ever noticed. Man, this class is cool.