COM101 Blog Entry #4 - Miss Singapore World Interview

Miss Singapore World 2009 Interview

First things first, yes I know this is so "last season", but all we do when we watch this video is laugh uncontrollably at BOOMS and... you know...? Yah! Ok, jokes aside. My analysis on this interview would definitely not include any personal judgements about her being chosen as Miss Singapore or what she says, but more on the way she communicates. Besides, that's what all the fuss is about, right?

My analysis will focus on Non-verbal Communication and so I wouldn't be analysing so much of what she says, but more of how it is being communicated.

1) Physical Appearance

She is rather well-kempt and presents herself well. Her hair is neatly pulled back with natural make-up to enhance her features. From this we can interpret her as someone who is able to carry herself well, maybe a model, or someone in a profession that requires her to present herself well (maybe the media).

2) Oculesics (Eye Behaviour)

At the start of the interview, she looks directly at the camera, thus projecting confidence. Subsequently, she alternates between looking at the camera and at the interviewer.She tries to keep eye contact with either the interviewer or with the camera (audience), and this can be interpreted as her having a very friendly personality. Occasionally she will look either upwards or away, especially just after being given a question. This may indicate nervousness.

3) Paralinguistics (Vocal Behaviour)

Vocal quality : Her tone and pitch is more on the higher side and it tends to fluctuate often. There are certain words that tend to be higher in volume and thus it is emphasized (such as "red" and "loud"). This emphasis is known as accenting. The sudden increase in pitch and volume shows her excitement and enthusiasm about the topic.

Vocalizations : There are occasional giggles that, I would say, are supressed, and thus might indicate nervousness.

Vocal segregates : There are a few occasions where there are pauses, for instance at the start, when she pauses in between "Currently I'm majoring in my" and "Diploma in Health Science..." This short pause is accompanied by a retraction in eye contact and thus indicates some form of uncertainty or anxiety. In addition, she uses fillers such as "you know" and "yah." The use of fillers allow any speaker more time to think and formulate his or her thoughts. In this case, she is being interviewed and the fillers allow her to have a tad more thinking time whilst sorting out her thoughts. Fillers are very useful when it comes to speaking to an audience or during an interview. However, usage of the same fillers constantly might hamper the overall quality of the speech as it may be interpreted as uncertainty.

4) Kinesic (Body Movement and Gestures)

Throughout the whole interview, the interviewee has used two gestures that come alongside what she is saying. The first would be when she says "BOOMS" which is being accompanied by hand gestures that illustrate an explosion. The second would be when she says "strut down Orchard Road" and makes a hand gesture that illustrates a walk forward. In both cases, the use of hand gestures act as illustrators, which are gestures that accompany speech and add to the meaning of utterances. In addition, illustrators describe an object/event and indicate its size, shape or movement. These illustrators repeat what the communicator is saying.

The above analysis on the interviewee's use of Non-verbal Communication may have deeper implications however that will be up to the interpretation of my readers who are so kind so as to leave comments. =)