Yesterday, I was at the MRT station when I spotted this interesting poster. Coincidentally, at that point of time i was rather troubled as to what should I post on my blog this week. Despite wanting to change my topic from the society to perhaps something more personal, I found myself back to point one- the society because I feel that bringing up social issue would enable readers to relate more and most importantly, it really interest me. No link has been provided to shown the poster but I will snap a shot of the photo and upload it maybe later in the week.
This poster that captures my attention was divided into three parts- the first part, it shows this baby sleeping very soundly and sucking his pacifier. The second part illustrates that this baby was woken up by the ringing tone of a commuter. Irritated, the baby actually threw his milk bottle at this commuter and the crowd was laughing at this humorous sight, which marks the last part of the poster. Within the cartoon, there was no captions or speech printed yet, people who spotted this poster will still be able to grasp the whole idea of the poster. I believed that the poster intend to inform commuters to be considerate to the people around by maybe switching their phone to silent mode (deemed to illustrate here) so that they will not disturb the others who might be resting in the train.
I believed this non-linguistic poster is to highlight to the public in an interesting and exaggerating way of the possible consequences when one's phone disturb the other commuters. Of course, this is only my perception of that poster. The meaning of the poster perceived is rather subjective as it depends on the context and the individual people viewing it. This poster works in a receiver-oriented manner of communication whereby the receiver will attach meaning to the nonverbal cues given in the poster. Viewers of the poster shall interpret the poster according to their perception. The artist of this poster drew the poster in a way where the targeted audience will understand the poster immediately as the hidden message is something that we are familiar with. The poster serves as a substitute for verbal communication because instead of telling the commuters verbally, the train provider actually paste this poster within the station to inform the public to be considerate. In this case, instead of using the loudspeaker to remind the commuters to be considerate by switching their phone to the silent mode, the poster complement it yet was able to convey the idea to the public in an interesting way.
Another interesting, non-verbal communication that took place within the same poster is when the baby threw his milk bottle at the inconsiderate commuter. Babies do not know how to communicate verbally thus their actions serves as a form of communication to the people. In this case, the baby threw his bottle out of frustration for being woken up in his sweet dreams (perceived as seen from the first part that he was smiling while sleeping).
Thus,it is seen that communicating with one another need not necessary be in verbal form. Non-verbal such as this poster will also serve as a communication tool for people. I perceived non-verbal communication as important because it provides us with more options when we want to convey our ideas instead of just talking verbally which might be disruptive at times. No doubt, non-verbal communication leads to miscommunication because the way people interpret message differs. Thus, i believed that it is only advisable to use non-verbal communication when the idea is something that can be easily recognised by the targeted crowd.
7 comments:
I agree very much with what you say, Huishan. This way of using a pictorial message rather than putting it to words can sometimes be more effective. There are too many words around, and people are more likely to dismiss them because they might be too lazy to read/decipher what is being said. A picture is more likely to capture people's attention.
Like my teacher in Theatre Studies had said, we rely too much on words. We should give more attention to non-verbal communication and learn to decipher body language and the actions of others. Words can be deceptive and there is a risk of miscommunication. But, like you have said, there is also a risk of miscommunication by using the poster, for there are people who might misinterpret it. I guess when one wants to convey a message (whether verbal or non-verbal) using means that are slightly ambiguous, one must understand the conventions that the target audience subscribes to.
In the case of this poster, the most basic convention our society subscribes to is that we know the functions of a handphone and the MRT. We also know that a lot of people take a rest when they are in the MRT. We next subscribe to the convention that constantly ringing handphones are deemed to be undesirable by everyone. Thus, we are able to decipher the message the poster is sending out without misinterpretation. A person who does not know what a handphone is, or that the scene depicted in the poster is in a MRT might most probably make a mistake because they do not subscribe to the same conventions that we do in this society.
hey HUishan! interesting advert that u mention there, but i haven come across this advert, i will take more notice next time im on mrt.. haha.. yes a picture says a thousand words, i think there is less misinterpretation for non-verbal language as compared to the spoken language.. words can lie but actions cannot really lie.. Non-verbal communication is powerful.. most of the time, we can really tell how a person thinks or feels just by looking at their non-verbal cues..
A picture paints a thousand words. Since non-verbal cues form bulk of the communication process, people are able to interpret it easily. Humor is injected in to this poster and it is another good method to form an impression in the audience. Because of the combination of such methods, the intended message is transmitted well. But, do rate the success of the ad in transmitting the message intended? Or do we rate it by whether people act on the message?
I like how a picture paints a thousand words, and is subjected to our own interpretation ad imagination.
a picture/ comic strip would capture the audience attention more easily.
who would want to read a poster of long words when you just happen to flicker your eyes across it?
Perhaps the problem with non verbal communication portrayed in print ads is that it is easy to ignore if you don't want to read the message. Personally, I only skim through it when i'm bored. But having said that, it is indeed an effective form of communication whenever my eyes fall on the colourful images beceause thety are very easy to understand and interpret.
I feel its hard to decide whether non-verbal or verbal communications is better . Each have its pros and cons when it comes to different situations . Some people are just really really really really really slow in picking up non verbal cues . So it would be better to tell them straight in the face
I think we hear tonnes of announcements being broadcasted, but how often do we see commuters heeding the advice we hear? During peak hours, how often do you see everyone move into the middle of the cabin on trains or move to the back of the buses to allow more passengers on board?
In this case, it is an interesting, eye-catching and funny way to pass on the reminder of being considerate to the fellow passengers. Most people like pictures with colors, especially comic and this is one way to convey a message without going through the usual announcements that we hear. Refreshing way to subtly remind commuters to be more mindful their behavior on board public transport.
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