Exercising the Art of Communication

September 14, 2018
GHELI staff.

The broader notion of communication is usually broken down into a few simple concepts – speaking, tone, volume, enunciation, and voice. But what if we could go one step further – where verbal expression and physical actions could be combined to crystallize new ideas? 

Dr. Eve Wittenberg, a Scholar in Residence at GHELI, brought her colleagues together in the Incubator to experiment how to accomplish just that. Wittenberg is a preceptor for a Harvard College Expository Writing course this fall, a first-year academic writing seminar titled Expos 20: What is Health and How Do We Achieve It? “Writing is an organic process that should be used to cultivate students’ abilities,” remarked Wittenberg. Her goal is for her students be able to verbalize their ideas and speak their arguments aloud, ultimately leading to “crisper and clearer writing.”

In order to reach this goal, Wittenberg knew she’d have to try different exercises that would foster this kind of thinking. The Scholar in Residence organized an hour-long workshop, filled with activities that encouraged team members to be mindful of their speech patterns, shift out of their comfort zones, and become more effective oral and physical communicators. The warm-up activity was for each member of the team to introduce themselves, but in a way that was anything but conventional. Each individual threw the ball calling out their name, and the inflection of their voice was to reflect the curve in the trajectory of the ball. The second activity required everyone to read an excerpt from Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech with their tongue sticking out. By stretching out muscles and being more aware of one’s pronunciation, members found that the next time they read the excerpt out loud without their tongues out, their speech was clearer and better enunciated.

Additionally, GHELI staff “pruned” together and scrunched up the muscles on their faces, then extended their arms, body, and stretched out their facial muscles like a lion. By using their body in ways that didn’t feel natural, staff became more acutely aware of how they were communicating both orally and physically, concentrating more on their posture and breathing – which ultimately affects their verbal communication. It allowed the team to be mindful of how they articulate their ideas, which then get translated into writing, ultimately their own way of projecting themselves.

When asked about Wittenberg’s inspiration for these exercises, she recounted a time she taught an online course and had to explain her ideas in front of a camera. She realized the importance of having her verbal thoughts clear in her head. Being under pressure in a situation where you must articulate your words clearly and accurately “makes you know what you don’t know, really quickly,” commented Wittenberg. Using verbal exercises to teach writing aligns with GHELI’s focus on innovative learning techniques, and the team at the Incubator hopes her students can use these cultivated skills, pedagogical tools, and unconventional techniques in the classroom and beyond.