M3: Failure to Communicate Film Clips Table

Instructions: Complete this table for each film clip you choose to analyze. Remember to complete each section of the
table for all three clips you view.

Film Clip
Title

12 Angry Men

Character(s)

Jury Panel,
Foreman?
Kid on trial
being
discussed

What Happened?

Determining a guilty
or innocent verdict

Communication
Problem(s)

The man in the clip is doing all

of the talking which mainly
consists of his personal biases,
assumptions, and stereotypes.
A single question was asked,
but even that was accusatory
in nature such as where are
you going?; Whats going on
here, and Whats happening
here? has nothing to do with
the task this man was assigned
to do.

Suggestions or Solutions for

Resolving the Communication
Difficulties
Stick with the facts, learn to engage in
dialogue with the listeners and this
means omitting personal views.
The other jurors could ask that the
gentlemen leave out his personal
views and share what they know about
the facts about the case. Out of all of
the characters involved, only one
finally stood up to the gentleman by
asking him to sit down and be quiet.
However, no one in the clip pointed out
that this man was way out of line in his
personal views.
Use of an inverted funnel approach
could be used to sequence events and
force the man in the clip to think about
vital information that he would not
have considered otherwise.

M3: Failure to Communicate Film Clips Table

Film Clip
Title

Character(s)

Modern
Family

Phi, Rob, Kim,

Claire

Dallas

JR, Dad,
Bobby,
Friends/Busine
ss Partners

What Happened?

Dryer that was

delivered was wrong
color. Perception of
white is the problem.

Bobby is upset that

Dad did not inform
him that 10 million
dollars was pulled
from Ewing Oil.

Communication
Problem(s)

Suggestions or Solutions for

Resolving the Communication
Difficulties

Phil appears to be a very

closed minded individual and
must have things his way no
matter what.

The use of a questioning technique

that involves the use of I. first before
asking the questions. For instance,
the question could be presented like I
was hoping that you could explain in
detail why.. or I really need you to
provide more detail on..

Bobby perceives that his

brother J.R. had knowledge but
he was left out of the decision
even though his dad had given
him power to run Ewing Oil in
writing.

First Bobby could have taken J.Rs

offer to sit down to join the discussion
He could have asked his questions in
non-threatening manner and the
pausing strategy to look for body cues
of other individuals to see if they have
anything to add. Also, he also used
the technique of using a prefatory
statement to remind his father of
previous discussions where he in fact
agreed to allow him to run Ewing Oil.
He could have shaped his questioning
technique in such a way to avoid the
hostility and the confrontation

Bobby and his father are not in

agreement about what
constitutes real power.
Bobbys father makes a
statement in the clip that real
power is something that is
taken and not given and
therefore, Bobbys power is
worthless

M3: Failure to Communicate Film Clips Table

Film Clip
Title

Character(s)

What Happened?

Communication
Problem(s)

Suggestions or Solutions for

Resolving the Communication
Difficulties