tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515650669007850760.post8001745134501567602..comments2023-07-14T06:08:07.411-07:00Comments on Angie C. Orlando - Deaf-Blind and Determined: More About the Nod - Guest Blogger 06Angie C. Orlandohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02904609968579683682noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515650669007850760.post-53623366444484105672010-02-23T11:20:57.261-08:002010-02-23T11:20:57.261-08:00I respect Tiara's point, and at the same time,...I respect Tiara's point, and at the same time, I think it's important not to just shame the person who nods when they don't understand. When I do the nod of feigned understanding, it's usually because I've asked for repetition, rephrasing, or retyping (I'm deaf-blind), and the person on the other side of the conversation is unwilling to do that and is instead starting to become frustrated and scold me for not understanding. I nod because I don't feel like being scolded, put on the defensive, or blamed and shamed for not understanding their ineffective communication. So to say "shame on me" for nodding is to imply that the responsibility for a mutually comprehensible conversation falls solely on me, when I may in fact be trying to exit this interaction in order to find a more effective alternative to a conversation that's not going well. It's not that I don't care about learning something or becoming enlightened, as Tiara says; it's that my attempts to do that are not meeting with a respectful response, and a confrontation isn't always the best solution. The shame for nodding is thrown on me, but it really belongs to the person who's not accepting their responsibility for taking me up on the communication techniques I've offered or using them effectively. If communication isn't a two-way street, then it's not communication at all.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17961189213699562105noreply@blogger.com