Question: Do you find yourself communicating differently with
people from different groups and cultures?
Explain.
I do find myself communicating differently with people from different
groups and cultures because the world calls for the adjustment of our communication
methods in order to function in society. The Andrea that goes to work each day
to work with children and families is different from the Andrea who is at home
and who is at church. Different forums call for different methods of communication.
I am not going to speak to my Pastor the same way that I speak to my friends.
This is the same for my parents and friends. When I speak to people of a different
culture the main thing on my mind is making sure that I do not offend them or
make myself look disrespectful or ignorant.
Based on the information that I have learned in my
previous course and the past three weeks the strategies that I will use to
communicate are:
1.
Put my viewpoints aside in order to view things
from the perspective of the person I am communicating with.
2.
Don’t be so quick to judge and make assumptions.
3.
Education myself on other cultures beyond the
surface and learn deep cultural facts and information.
4.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions when I am
unclear of what is being communicated in order to prevent misunderstanding.
Hi Andrea,
ReplyDeleteI think it is important to have cultural competence when speaking with others. It is appropriate to know your audience, so to speak, in order to be an effective communicator with various groups/individuals. I also think your ways of becoming a better communicator are very effective, too. I especially believe we should have ongoing education of others and ask questions in order to learn well. Thanks for your post.
Andrea,
ReplyDeleteI also communicate different depending on who I am speaking to. At work I am very professional in my dialogue. I don't bring my personal business and feelings to work either. I am "Lon" to my friends and Ms. Hodges at church. My title along with my communication changes. Some say this is being fake, but I think this is being effective!
Andrea, thank you for sharing. I think you have powerful strategies that would definitively enhance your communication skills. Respecting what you said, I do agree that we communicate differently with different groups and cultures. But does this really mean that we are different people when we communicate with each? I personally believe we are still the same person, we simply adapt our speech, the amount of information we share, the topics we discus, etc.
ReplyDelete