Communication Concepts from “Bones”

Communication concepts appear in virtually every realm of life. When you watch your favorite movie, you are constantly observing different communications concepts all the way through your most beloved scenes and adventures. One of my favorite television series; FOX’s Bones, has an abundance of different communication concepts. I have chosen five examples, the first is the fifth step within the process of emotional expression; “Ask for what you want”. The second and third are two examples of channels of nonverbal communication; Silence, and Eye Communication, and finally, Message Meanings Are in People and Emotional Responding. These examples are out of season twelves episode “The Grief and the Girl”. …show more content…
In this episode, a previous character named Sully is reintroduced into the life of Bones. Sully was a previous lover of Dr. Brennans and also close friend to both Booth and Brennan. His presence created a slight tension between Booth and Brennan. This tension was magnified when both Sully and Brennan used eye communication across a room at one another, after he asked her to dinner later that night. This use of eye communication could have been used to communicate two things. One; to signal the nature of the relationship, or two; to compensate for physical …show more content…
This example is seen when Dr. Brennan and Sully go out to dinner. Dr. Brennan in her grief confesses her feelings to Sully about her father's death, and tells him of her confusion about the reasons for her creating distance between her Booth. Sully takes this as an opportunity to use effective emotional communication. First he observes her non verbal cues such as her crying. Then he looks for clues about how Dr. Brennan wants him to respond. He also uses active listening techniques such as eye contact and touch. And finally, in his response he empathizes with her and assures her that grief is a strange thing, and that all people cope in different ways. He also takes the time to reassure her that Booth isn't going anywhere. During his whole response he also focused on her the whole time. Never once drawing the focus onto himself, even while empathizing. The result of this emotional response was the most positive out of all the responses in this episode. It gave Dr. Brennan a new perspective on her relationship with Booth, and about her father's death. Leading her out of her grief, with a new positive outlook on her