At one of the train stations in Italy, I did an action stunt ala Jackie Chan by leaping off a moving train with my suitcase. No damage done to my physical self as I was heavily padded by the coat I had on but was emotionally shakened. I was brought into the station office by an Italian officer who asked me tons of questions in Italian but all I could do was stare at him wide-eyed, unable to recover from the shock plus I could not understand him anyway. He exchanged a few sentences with another lady officer who spoke a little English and was told that they needed to photocopy my passport as they were convinced that I was either trying to commit suicide or was an illegal immigrant! I wished I speak Italian at that moment, honestly! It was a huge misunderstanding due to the lack of verbal communication!
So, for the next week or so in Italy, I tried to learn as much Italian phrases as possible but alas, I got so hooked on Italian that when I bought my Metro ticket in France two weeks later, I blurted out "Grazie" instead of "Merci". This was when non-verbal communication worked for me. I doubt the counter lady could make out the distorted pronounciation of "Grazie" even if she knew Italian but my smile and little goodbye wave made it known to her that I meant "Merci"!
From these two incidents, I realized the importance of both effective verbal and non-verbal communication skills, especially for someone like me who enjoys travelling to different countries. When language barriers exist, flash a smile!
And just in case you may be interested to know, I alighted at the wrong train station which meant I jumped for nothing! ): Here's a picture of a very unhappy me at the said station:
Hello Yan Ru! I must say that I like the way you orient the readers into the upcoming story that you introduced in the second paragraph. In all, the story does serve a good reference to us that communication does not just come in speech but also in our body movements or actions. Your Jackie Chan stunt led the Italian Officer to think that you were attempting suicide while your smile and wave made it known to a counter lady that it was a goodbye instead of something else. I would love to know what does “Grazie” means, but let’s not diverge too much from here. Your story is able to make me feel the importance of body language, or as you implied “nonverbal communication”. Personally, I think that regardless of verbal or nonverbal communication, it is important to engage in a face-to-face communication. Fortunately, you did engage in face-to-face communication with the Italian Officer and counter lady, hence the opportunity to clarify the misunderstanding they had of you from the beginning. That is why I believe everyone will agree that an integration of verbal and nonverbal communications can develop communication to near perfection.
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Ivan
Hi Yuan Ru,
ReplyDeleteI like the way you link your introductory paragraph to the story. The train jumping act must be a very "memorable" experience. You are so brave to do that. What was going through your mind when you did that? You must have shocked quite a handful of Italians.
By the way, i was wondering if flashing a smile would work if the person has a less than desirable look? Or if the person does not have a great smile to begin with..
Cheers,
Chee Siang
That was a very interesting story, though I must say the feeling of being misunderstood and not understood must be really bad. I am not much of a traveller, but if one day I decide to embark on a journey of self-discovery and set off for some distant lands where English is not commonly spoken, I really should learn from your experience. Either I equip myself with some basics of the language or hire a translator. But I guess it'll make economical sense to just take a leaf out of your book: flash a smile!
ReplyDeleteYour post really illustrates how nonverbal communication can come to our rescue at times. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Hello Yuan Ru! Thats quite a hilarious story you have over there. I like the way you've developed your experience to explain the importance of verbal and non-verbal communication separately. I agree smiling breaks down the communication barrier significantly when in a foreign country. I was wondering if perhaps if you pointed to the phone to call for one of your friends who spoke Italian, it might have been better? Though with the shock of jumping off the train i must imagine it to be rather difficult. Great post!
ReplyDeleteDear Yuan Ru,
ReplyDeleteThis is a lovely tale of misadventure and intentions "lost in translation" (or better, no translation!). Your story demonstrates both the need for more effective skills and your bravery. Oh my!
Of course, this was not just about you not being able to communicate. Your hosts at the station also lacked skills in the language that I thought virtually every train station in Europe would have had a speaker of. Not so, huh? What then happened? How did nonverbals get you through?
Anyway, thank you for sharing this with us. Now I want to read the sequel: Yuan Ru Escapes from the Italian Train Station Unscathed.
By the way, there are a few minor language issues in this otherwise entertaining post:
1)However, what if the parties involved spoke differing languages?
2) No damage done to my physical self as I was heavily padded by the coat I had on but was emotionally shakened.
3) So, for the next week or so in Italy, I tried to learn as much Italian phrases as possible but alas, I got so hooked on Italian that when I bought my Metro ticket in France two weeks later, I blurted out "Grazie" instead of "Merci".
Have a look at these and see if you can recognize the problems.
Grazie!
Hi there!
ReplyDeleteWow! Your story is very interesting! After reading it, I wish to link this to the fact that Singaporeans service providers do not like to smile! A lot of them do not understand that just a simple smile melts any wraths away. It is such a simple form of non verbal communication but difficult to see in Singapore. We have a lot to learn.
(Hmmm I realise my initial comment yesterday was not posted on this wall at all. Hence I just posted another comment above!) =)
ReplyDeleteHi Yuan Ru!
ReplyDeleteHahaha it is really a funny post. Your coat must be really very well padded for you to escape without injuries. Either that or you must be very agile! I am also surprised that there wasn't at least one proficient speaker of English at the station, considering that English is such a pervasive language. I guess that tells ur we cannot assume anything. This is really a very light hearted story that tells us how important communication is.
I also guess that a friendly smile is always very well received anywhere in the world too! I look forward to your next post with great anticipation.
Regards,
Ken Jie
Hi!
ReplyDeleteI like the way you brought your story across. It really got me reading continuously for more details about your adventure.
Maybe you can consider getting language phrase books for your trips too, just in case smiles do not work for some communicators.
-evonne-