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In Communication Mosaics, Julia Wood speaks of various communication concepts. The majority of these concepts can be considered non-verbal ways of communicating. I am going to specifically discuss and experiment with just a few of them. For this assignment, I have chosen to experiment with space, eye contact and gaze, and physical appearance. I will explain how Julia Wood describes these concepts in the text and also talk about my own personal observations.

According to Wood, proxemics refers to space and how we use it. The text goes on to say that in the US, we interact with "social acquaintances" at a distance of 4-12 feet, but with friends or intimates we feel comfortable at 18 inches. I think that I might have proven her a tad bit wrong. I decided to try these numbers out in a little experiment. While engaging in conversation with my girlfriend (whom I have been dating for over a year), I began to slowly move closer to her. Her immediate reaction was to cease talking and stare at me like I wasn't human. She continued to ask what I was doing, stick her hand into my chest, and move away. So instead of being comfortable with just "18 inches of space," she pushed me away because I was apparently frightening her. I

Julia Wood states in Communication Mosaics that poets call our eyes mirrors of the soul for a good reason. This reason, according to Wood, is that our eyes communicate "complex messages about how we feel." "As adults we often look at the eyes to judge emotions, honesty, interest, and self-confidence" (Wood 113). She also explains that strong eye contact increases the credibility of the speaker.

To continue on the same concept of space, I decided to use a different person to experiment on: my little brother. In the middle of a conversation with him, I slowly took steps away from him. At first, he didn't even respond. He acted as if he didn't notice that I was doing anything. Then, after about 5 or 6 steps, he stopped talking and asked if I was all right. He proceeded to ask me what I was doing, so I responded with, "nothing." As he continued the conversation, I took two more steps away. (This is my favorite part) When he noticed that I had spaced myself around 15 feet away from him, he stopped talking, called me a jack ass, and walked away from me while complaining to my mother that I wasn't listening to him.

I went into the dressing room for about five minutes, came out, and explained to the girl in the fitting room that the items simply didn't look right on me. So, I handed the sweaters back to her and walked out.

For my final experiment with space, I went to the Penfield Library and sat extremely close to a complete stranger. Though there were many other available seats in the vicinity, I sat at the sat closest to her. Looking at me out of the corner of her eye, she waited 20 minutes then finally made reference to the bathroom. After returning from the bathroom, she sat in a different seat. I sat there for about 5 more minutes, letting her remain uncomfortable. Still not saying a word, I got up and left as she watched me the whole way out. I think I scared her to pieces.

For this concept, I walked into American Eagle, a trendy, upscale store found in most of the malls

Some common words found in the essay are:
Communication Mosaics, American Eagle, According Wood, Julia Wood, Penfield Library, eye contact, julia wood, wood 113, physical appearance, comfortable 18 inches, according wood, truck drivers, 18 inches, comfortable 18, minutes noticed, five minutes,

Approximate Word count = 1359
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Movies