I think you have to talk differently to different
groups of people. There are ways to bridge the gap and there are strategies to
improve interpersonal relationships. Cultural differences can interfere with
the development of positive relationships (Beebe, Beebe &Redmond, 2011). I
work with many different people every day. We are all women. We are different
races, ethnicities, religions, languages and different ages. I also work with
families that speak different languages and come from different home cultures.
When I am
communicating with the parents of the children in my classroom, I am
professional and show empathy. When I am communicating with families that speak
other languages/from other cultures, I speak slowly. I watch my verbal, my
nonverbal cues and I watch theirs. When I speak with people that are
individually different than me, I look for common ground. I keep the
conversation to what we have in common. I pay attention to the relationship
that I have with the person that I am talking to, the situation and the context
of our communication. I try to adapt my
behaviors and speech to the person that I am talking to.
There are three
strategies that I use in order to communicate more effectively. First, I will
gain knowledge by seeking information about the person and/or culture. I must
ask questions and listen effectively. If the person is from a completely
different culture, I must try to understand the nuances of their culture. I
like the idea of creating a third culture. A brand new culture created between
me and my communication partner consisting of shared meanings and common ground
(Beebe, Beebe &Redmond, 2011).
Second, I must have motivation to be other-oriented.
I should not ignore our differences. I must not think that my culture and my
perspective is the only right perspective. I do not let my own experiences
cloud my perception of another’s reality. I would avoid cultural myopia. My
reality is not everyone’s reality (Beebe, Beebe &Redmond, 2011). I try to
remember the Platinum Rule. I treat others that I am speaking with respect and
treat them as they want to be treated (O’hair, Wiemann, Mullin &Teven,
2015).
Third, I must continue to develop skill in the
conversation. I must learn in the moment of interaction. I should be able to
adjust my behavior to meet the needs of the person that I am having a
conversation with. This means being able to read verbal and nonverbal cues. I
should be able to be creative and flexible. I must be empathetic and try to
figure out how the person that I am speaking with is feeling (Beebe, Beebe
&Redmond, 2011).
If I can employ these strategies, I would hope to be
a more effective and competent communicator.
Reference
Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (2011). Interpersonal communication:
Relating to others (6th ed.).
Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Chapter 4, "Interpersonal Communication and Diversity: Adapting to
Others" (pp.
85–114)
O'Hair, D., Wiemann, M., Mullin,
D. I., & Teven, J. (2015). Real communication (3rd. ed). New York: Bedford/St.
Martin's. Chapter 2, "Perceiving the
Self and Others" (pp. 41-45)
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I like how you mention that it is important to understand a person's cultural norms when communicating with them. For instance, what if we think we're being polite, but to someone of another culture, we are not? We must always be conscious of our verbal and nonverbal cues to avoid offending the person/people we are talking to. As we learned in the last class, micro-aggressions can also affect our communication with others, because we may be unconsciously stereotyping someone. Thus, in order to be effective communicators, we must learn about those around us and, like you said, be aware of certain verbal and nonverbal cues that we and others may exhibit.
Lisa
ReplyDeleteThe communication that you have with your parents is what I am striving to have with my parents this year in preschool. I feel that by being more aware of how I am reacting and how parents are reacting is going to help build the positive productive relationships that I would like to have with the parents that I serve. Great post!!
Hi Lisa,
ReplyDeleteGreat post by the way. I like the communication styles you have with your parents. One thing I really need to work on is speaking slowly with my co workers and with some families. Some of my coworkers has Spanish as their primary language, they speak English but sometimes it is hard to understand and sometimes they can't understand me. Another thing is my non verbal gestures. I need to be more conscious of it because it can come of as rude to my parents.