Processing Non-Verbal Communication

Post Reply New Topic

I was thinking about this the other day as to why I could communicate well in writing here, or by just vocally replying to text in chat, yet seem to have difficulty while talking in person or on a phone. I was wondering if there was a part of the brain that subconsciously processes and decodes non-verbal messages such as body language and vocal intonations. that this part of the brain sends this decoded information to conscious mind in an NT and enables to understand these things and respond accordingly.

But in an asperger/autistic person, this part of the brain doesn't work right. It's still there but it gets stuck processing and slows down other functions of the mind. Like when you have a faulty program in your computer that runs in the background, but gets stuck and uses up all your processor ability and makes everything else slow to a crawl. I find the analogy a bit interesting because that's how I feel sometimes in a social communication situation in person. That my mental processes slow to a crawl and i never really manage to say what should be said because I can't think of it quick enough because something in my brain's processing is slowing everything down. It's only later when people aren't around that I can think about the social situation clearly and understand what I should have been saying.
I now I'm intelligent, but social communication in person always seems to knock my IQ down into near stupid levels and then it's fine again later.

I suppose I'm just trying to understand why I can seem to communicate clearly in some situations versus others.

Does this make sense to anyone?

Yes, it makes sense.

Think about it this way. To respond to something that comes from sensory information:
1. The information has to reach one or more sensory organs, in this case eyes, ears, and sometimes pressure sensors in the skin.
2. The sensory organ has to be functional.
3. The path from the sensory organ to the brain has to be intact.
4. The brain has to be able to find out which information is important to interpret, and discard the rest. If you can't filter it, you can't figure out what's important.
5. You have to be able to keep your attention on that data, rather than on other data from your own mind or new data from your surroundings.
6. You have to hold it in working memory long enough to manipulate the data.
7. You have to have background information with which to connect the new data and make sense of it.
8. You have to be able to connect the new data to the old, which you have to be able to retrieve (without also retrieving too much irrelevant information) from long-term memory if you're going to use it.
9. You have to be able to reason from the data to determine an appropriate response.
10. You have to be able to initiate the response
11. You have to be able to inhibit responses you do not wish to display.
12. You have to be able to connect the response with the physical movements you'll need to activate.
13. You have to be able to send the "I want to do thus-and-such" information to the part of the brain that triggers those physical movements, and then that part of the brain has to be able to coherently send instructions to your body.
14. The path from the brain to whatever muscles, etc., you want to move has to be intact.
15. Whatever part of your body you want to move has to be capable of movement.

And you have to do all of that while thinking of your own verbal response, paying attention to your environment, and understanding what the other person is saying to you.

Of course we find it difficult!

snap!

this was a brilliant analogy, Zara, I feel just the same.

Sometimes it makes me wonder whether contact via e-mail, forum post or chat is so much easier, because it is "visual", one actually can "see", what is said, rather than having to take it in through hearing.

So it is not only the social awkwardness that makes it so much harder for me to communicate via the spoken word opposed to the written.

When I talk to people, some of them think I am not answering. They want to fast, while I am still busy processing the information and compiling my answer.

But now I learned some pre-fabricated answers and now I know the answer can be partly incorrect, as long as I indicate the uncertainty.

It seems that the process in my brain of processing all information from a talk is taking longer compared to just text.

I do the same. I have a lot of rote responses to people in person. For instance, when i use the phone at work, I have a memorized process of statements that i always use and can use without difficulty. It's only when I deviate from that that I start to suffer a slow down. (people on the other end aren't always receptive to moments of silence while I try to think of responses on the fly... )

My sentiments exactly:


Processor/Nonverbal Signal Analogy < Previous Thread

I like this, but are you sure we are not using the same amount of time processing? Written communications is much slower than vocalizing.

I can relate to this but I have just as much difficulty (if not more) with online chat as chat irl. In real life during a chat there may be a natural pause when you might see something to comment about. I'm pretty much lost without a topic. PMs are a little easier because you're not expected to respond as quickly.

I understand this! When I have to go into a new situation, I ask my mother or husband to spend some time with me practicing so I know what to say. I do extremely well in scripted situations...I used to work for a company where I took surveys. I did extremely well at it. I always won the "Who can get the most respondents" competitions we held during the last days of any survey. Why? Because I had a script. I didn't need to take time to think of what to say. I felt so comfortable and relaxed reading from my script. I guess that came through in my voice and people responded well to me. It's just too bad most of life doesn't come with a script!

I find non-verbal communication utterly impenetrable, BTW.

I try as far as possible to write my own. Its most of the reason that I talk to myself so much - I'm rehearsing for whatever might come up.