Mr. Bean!!!!!

Personally, I feel that Mr. Bean can be a classic example of hwo non-verbal cues convery messages. As we are know,Mr. Bean does not speak at all , or his speech is always make to the minimal, but he can be understood! ( okay, I do not deny that half the time is he misunderstood! )



This is one of the many episodes of the animated Mr. Bean.
Firstly, I would like to disclaim that I am not a fan of the animated Mr. Bean, so I am not really sure of when it is showed. However, according to the person who uploaded it, it is 24 Sep 09.

This is a short video about a burglary involving Mr. Bean.
As most of you would have know Mr. Bean is of the classic example of how non-verbal cues can allow communication. Basically, almost all Mr. Bean shows do not require verbal cues.

In this video, example, the character of Mr Bean is being portrayed as a miser. He wears a set of old suit, with patches of cloth stitched on it , showing hat he spends very little, and his car is a very old model car, this supports the fact that he is very thrifty. He is also portrayed as witty, with his invention as a replacement of the actual device right in the front of his car. The baddies in this video are with scars, fierce looking, and masked, these are the prototypes of bad guys.

Next, in the last scene of the videos also proves the famous saying,” a picture speaks a thousand words.” With the neighbor (old lady with face mask), and the two baddies standing near the chest full of gold, they are no doubt the burglars who stole the chest of gold, to the police who just arrived. This is because they are all masked, the police followed the trace of gold coin and seeing them all standing near the chest with Mr. Bean being tied to a chair, they are truly the suspects to the police.

This video has indeed showed us the fact that how powerful non-verbal cues are. Without any words spoken, we are able to understand the whole video correctly (I supposed). The director made use of a few types of non-verbal communications, example:
1 Objectics, through Mr. Bean’s property convey to audience what kind of person he is.
2 Oculesics, through the characters’ eyes to express out the burglar’s anger, Mr. Bean’s anger and neighbor’s irritation.
3 Physical appearances, the way Mr. Bean, the neighbor and the baddies are being portrayed. Even the police, who was being attacked, is showed by having a big plaster on his fore head.

We can see how simple things like our appearance can allow one to interpret us in many ways, mostly positive or negative. Some items like the eye mask can be interpreted as you are concern about how you look or you are up to no good that is why you are wearing a mask. However, most non-verbal cues are very subjective. Although is not necessary that you may get the actual message that the person is trying to send, when in doubt, I feel that one should clarify with the person, especially if the person is someone that you have to work with frequently. In this manner, wrong interpretation can be corrected and also help to reduce possible miscommunications.

So, be careful of your non-verbal cues because it might result in wrong interpretations and misunderstandings.