Mehrabian and 'The Room'

"Good actors are good not only because they can deliver lines but also because they can sell the body language; being decent at making people believe you as a character is at least as dependent on body language as your ability to repeat what you've read from a script. In fact, the prof of my History of Theatre I class said roughly 90% of acting is body language--the remaining 10% is line delivery and blocking, and you could even say that blocking is in itself an aspect of nonverbal communication."

On sitcoms, bad acting is characterized by the inability to remember lines. If only that were the issue with The Room ⚠️ ↗. :)

"It is a generally accepted number with a lot of different studies behind it that 80% or more of communication is nonverbal. For example, A. Barbour breaks down the percentages like this: 7% verbal, 38% vocal (paralanguage is still considered a form of nonverbal communication) and 55% body movements."

Yes, oft cited. But the father of the "7%/38%/55%" ⚠️ ↗ rule is Mehrabian, so his arguments about misinterpretations derived from it might shed some light. Going back to sources often does. I would hope that those who differ from Mehrabian could also do enough original work to come up with a breakdown not dependent upon him. Because doing otherwise certainly gives the appearance of misinterpreting his work.

"Were you not the one who agreed with me that verbal consent isn't explicitly required for sexual consent to take place and not be considered rape? Or do you suppose we should disregard the girl's smile, ease and opening herself up to us as unreliable, since body language isn't an exact science? Easy to accept such considerations when in service of your needs, but otherwise unreliable or irrelevant when considering the possibility of harm?"

I've never argued that nonverbal cues override expressed consent. Nor do I believe I've ever argued that consent can be judged by a photograph. And it would be absurd to suggest that consent to perform be judged from a photograph of a performer performing.

And yes, its better in personal relationships to not presume upon body language alone. This is why we can ask girls what they think. So that they can answer.

Such questions become very problematic regarding the preverbal and interspecies. But with the verbal its a no-brainer to ask. ( Though caution ought to err towards a personal presumption that she doesn't consent unless explicitly so. )

Dante