Nonverbal Communication

In this commercial for Lysol Power and Free the main focus is put on the mother. A few of the artifacts presented in this commercial are things such as the conservative way she dresses, her fresh makeup (not to heavy), her wedding band, how she interacts with her family in a playful and loving way, her home is appears spotless and very tidy, she is also smiling all the time. She is showing the audience that she is not only well put together and happy, but also a responsible, loving mother and wife.
I believe that the creators of this commercial are trying to convey, through the use of these artifacts, that if you have a family and want to keep them healthy and happy you should in turn use their products to do so. They are showing you this happy, respectable looking woman who is not only cleaning up any mess left behind, but doing so with a smile on her face. She appears to be a loving mother who is keeping her home clean and germ free with the help of Lysol products, like any good mother would want to do. She shows you that she is happy not only with the grace and ease in how she moves her body, but also with her smile. I don't know any woman who smiles this much while she is cleaning!
I believe that the way the commercial presents the mother is suppose to make you feel confident in buying Lysol products, and make you feel that they are safe and needed when you are looking after your family. The target audience of this commercial would be women in their late 20's to late 30's with families, especially those with small children since they typically make the biggest messes! Being in what I believe to be the target audience I would say that their commercials are effective. With two kids who love to make a mess and bring home all the nasty cold germs I use Lysol products all the time!

The Truth About Change...

I based my choice of article to read off of the title. The Truth About Change was a catchy title, something that I thought would be an interesting read and hold my attention. I think it was a good choice and I did find it interesting.
In reading the article I learned a few interesting facts about language, such as how changes in language typically starts with the middle class, not the media or upper class like I would have assumed. Also that women are usually the ones who start a change in language. I guess that shouldn't be too much of a surprise considering how women tend to talk a lot more than men do. They also talked about how in different regions such as in the south, the language and words that are spoken differ from place to place. Along with how some groups of people resist the changes that eventually happen within any given language.
The most fascinating thing for me in the article was how they said that the only language that does not change is a dead language. This is kind of an obvious thing if I think about it but, it isn't something that I've personally ever spent a lot of time thinking about. It never really occurred to me how much the English language has changed over the years and is continuing to change and evolve. I have read Shakespeare and can see how our language and way of speaking has changed since his time, but I never gave it much thought on how even in the past ten years or so how much our language has changed. It will be interesting to see how much more it changes and grows.
For me, the information I took from reading this article will help me to be more aware of the changes that are continuing to occur in our language today and in the future. I can see how language has changed from 100 years ago; this new information will help me see how our language is changing now and is an ever changing thing. It may also help me determine where a person is from based on how they tend to pronounce certain words or phrases. I think having a good understanding of your own language is an important skill to have, one that can only help you in communicating effectively with other people from around the world.

Stereotype

To me the word stereotype means to make a judgment about a person or group of people based on what you think you know about them, as opposed to actually getting to know them. Whether, you base those assumptions on a person's sex, race, heritage, or social status. I think most people stereotype others to some degree or another.
I think people who didn't know me would stereotype me as stuck up or unsocial. I tend to be shy and quiet until I get to know others and am comfortable with them. I think a lot of people assume that by me not being outgoing or outspoken that I am stuck up and think I'm better than other people. In reality I am very friendly once I warm up to people; I am also not the type of person who thinks they are better than others. On the other hand if I do get to know someone and I don't think they are a nice person then I do not go out of my way to speak to them, or be overly friendly. Which in my opinion is not being stuck up or thinking I'm better than someone else, it is not being fake person. A quality I rather like in myself and other people. I can at times be unsocial, I don't enjoy large groups and tend to stick to my small circle of people who I trust rather than going out and meeting new people so I guess in some ways I could be considered unsocial.
For the most part I think people tend to make snap judgments about other people, not necessarily meant in a harmful way, but I think it's just human nature. It can make actually getting to know someone and changing your opinion of them a real eye opening experience. There are people who I think stereotype other people to make themselves feel better about their own lives and that to me is very unfortunate.
Stereotyping can be very harmful, if that person is in a position of power such as at a place of employment or school setting. If a person's views are skewed one way or another it will make them treat that other person differently. Possibly pass over for a raise or promotion at work or not being hired at all. A teacher grading a student or group of students differently than others based on what they think of them. Another way of looking at being stereotyped would be on a positive note. If a person or group of people is stereotyped often enough for long enough it can make them stronger and work harder to get what it is that they want. Sometimes all a person needs is enough people telling them that they cannot achieve something for them to prove everyone wrong by doing it better than anyone else had done before.