Saturday, January 25, 2014

My Communication With Others From Different Cultures


WK3 Blog Assignment: My Communication With Others From Different Cultures
            I do find myself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures because I want to be culturally sensitive and do not wish to do anything that may offend them.  I feel I treat all people respectfully and with equal consideration, but my language and behavior may be different depending on whom I am talking to.  For example, in my religion, we have a lot of cultural words (jargon) and behaviors that may not be understood by others of different religions.  I try to be sensitive to others when explaining things about my religion, because they may not understand this jargon.  Likewise, I am much more casual in my relationships with my family and friends (joking, teasing, being sarcastic) than I am in my professional life. 
            I do not believe people can communicate with every person the same way because both culture and communication are multi-faceted and dynamic.  Communication depends on situational and relationship contexts.  It has different functions and perspectives, and relies on participants having some sort of a shared code of understanding.  O’Hair & Wiemann (2012) teach, “A successful communicator needs to develop the ability to determine what is appropriate and what is not in a variety of cultures and situations” (p. 17), and “adjust their behavior to suit particular individuals and situations” (p. 16).
            There are several strategies that I have learned this week to help me communicate more effectively with people of diverse groups and cultures:
1. Acknowledge that every person has a different reality than I do.  My way may not always be the “right” or only way to do something.  Just because someone does something differently than I do, doesn’t mean they don’t have their cultural reasons for doing so (Gonzalez-Mena, 2010).
2.  One should try to withhold judgment of others based on first impressions long enough to gain a deeper understanding of who they are (Gonzalez-Mena, 2010).
3.  “Don’t expect that just because you know a person’s culture you can predict his or her behavior.  Few cultural patterns are rigid or apply to all members of a culture” (Gonzalez-Mena, 2010, p. 81). 
4.  Above all, being mindful of our own attitudes, behaviors and biases so we do not unconsciously or consciously offend others (O’Hair & Wiemann, 2012, p.88).

Resources
Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2010). 50 strategies for communicating and working with diverse
families. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
O’Hair, D. & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication: An introduction. Boston, MA:
Bedford/St. Martin’s.

7 comments:

  1. Hi Collett, I love the strategies that you learned to help you become an effective communicator. I really love the one about how you said that we shouldn't just expect that just because we know a person's culture that we can predict his or her behavior. People's behaviors change everyday and I agree also that being mindful of our own attitudes, behaviors and biases is something that we most definitely need to make sure we thing about in order to be an effective communicator. Good job.

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  2. Collett,

    You summed up this week's study very nicely. I especially appreciated your third and fourth strategies for being an effective communicator. It's is so easy to put someone into a general category when they are a part of a certain culture. I have experienced that from others on my end, and I know if it's frustrating for me, it must be for them. Ask before assume, right? Also, although I wouldn't intend to offend someone, my communication may be offensive if unconsciously my attitude or bias is negative. I'm afraid I have done this before. It's important to be open-minded to others and check our biases, too. Thanks for your post!

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  3. Hi Collett,

    You chose some great communication strategies for this week's assignment. I especially appreciate the second strategy of withholding judgment. Culture is so diverse that we cannot assume that we know everything about every culture we encounter. Reading through the resources has shown me how little I know about some cultures. For example I didn't realise that it is usual for a Chinese mother to stay at home for 40 days after giving birth to give her the best chance at producing milk for her baby. I am looking forward to reading more from your learning.

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  4. Collett,
    I agree with your communication strategies. I agree that it is important to withhold judgment. I feel that this is easier said than done. I agree with you when you say that communication depends on situational and relationship contexts. I have a very good friend who is Filipino. Thinking about our relationship, I feel that I communicate with her the same I would a friend who is American! It was not originally like that, as we had to get to know each other, but the respect for each others culture was always there.

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  5. Collette,
    I understand where you are comeing from per your staements regarding cultural, communication and understanding. Like you, I too try to pride myself in fair treatment to every group of persons, but as you said it may come off different to some groups of people. Learning the person and learning about their culture also helps us to understand more about the families and children for which we serve in our early childhood centers.

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  6. I love the first strategy you learned about this week Collett. I think it is amazing that you acknowledge that everyone has a different reality than you do. Sometimes people think that their way is the best way and it is not true at all because we are all different and look at things different. I enjoy reading your post and I think you did a good job. I look forward to reading more.

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  7. Collette,
    Your mention of being mindful struck a chord with me. I think mindfulness is important in so many areas of our lives; communication being one of the most important areas. If we are mindful while we communicate we will be aware of others' perspectives, feelings, and needs, our own attitudes and behaviors, and the consequences of our verbal and non-verbal communication.
    Lisa

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