Communication on Television

I chose to watch the talk show "The View" on ABC. If you know anything about this show the hosts talk about all the hot news topics at the beginning of the show and many times the discussions get pretty heated. So, I decided to watch this show without sound to watch for nonverbal behaviors. I noticed that Joy and Elizabeth seemed to use their hands to talk more than the others. Sherri tends to make facial expressions when talking about something she is passionate or upset about. I saw her roll her eyes and have looks of disgust at one point in the show. Whoopi seems to sit with a more relaxed posture than the others. Barbara being the oldest and most experienced host seems to have most mature upright posture. At one point in the show, Elizabeth seems to be talking loudly as she gets a little red on the face and neck. Before the show takes commerial breaks, I notice that they leave for break all smiling and happy.

After watching the show with sound, I noticed that Joy talks with her hands a good bit trying to be funny and add humor to the show, where as Elizabeth uses her hands and talks louder when talking about a topic that she knowledgeable about such as politics. Sherri gets upset when talking about a racial issue in public schools. She doesn't like a comment made by Whoopi about not understanding why African Americans are so upset about it. She rolls her eyes as if to disagree without saying anymore. Barbara Walters is a well-known news anchor who seems to just deliver the facts with very little emotion or opinion.

I assumed that they were all talking about topics that they were knowledgeable about or things that they were interested in after watching them. However, many times they were just mentioning items that are in the news or entertainment topics. I do think that assumptions would be easier if I watched the show regularly. I have seen the show a few times before, but it has been awhile. I was familiar with the format of the show which helped me understand it a little more; however, not hearing what they were saying made it hard to determine the meaning of the nonverbal communication.