A newborn baby synchronizes
his or her movements to the movements of the mother. We are
born with the ability to tune in rhythmically to others.
In a film of a complex conversation, the people who are
talking to each other move together; their hands rise and fall
with the rhythm of the other speaker; their eyes blink at the
beginnings and ends of words.
Of course, we aren't
conscious of these subtle rhythms. But we can tell if someone
is tuning in to us or not. Conversation is like
improvising jazz. There is a general theme and a rhythm
that we tune in to and improvise our parts. And just
like in jazz, some parts are syncopated. That means that
they don't come in exactly on the beat.
In jazz and in conversation
it is much harder tohear and repeat the syncopated parts than
the ones which fall on the main beats. In listening to
someone else, you will hear well enough anything that falls
'on the beat'. Look for syncope. Look for things
that do not fall on the beat. Those syncopated parts may
be your best clues to what someone else is trying to say to
you.
