I do communicate differently when I am talking with people at work opposed to talking with my family or husband. When I am at work I am more reserved and try to use appropriate language and English when talking to families and colleagues. When I am communicating with family I am more relaxed, I might even use slang while talking with family and or husband. These two situations are different and require me to adjust myself and my communication style. Situational context determines the rules of behavior and the roles people must play under different conditions. Competent communicators will always consider the appropriateness and effectiveness of nonverbal communication in a given context (O’Hair &Wiemann, 2009).
When I communicate with groups of people that are from different culture than I am I become very sensitive to how these people respond to what I am saying. I look very closely for non-verbal cues such as a nod that they understand what I am saying or might even agree with what I am saying. There is a population of people at my church who are from Miramar they are refugees in this country. I don’t have many occasions to speak to them, but when I do I pay close attention to their body language and facial expressions to determine if they understand what I am communicating to them. I always try to speak slowly and I may use hand gestures to help in their understanding me.
I think effective strategies to communicating with different groups of people would be to learn more about this group of people. Learning what people’s points of view and perspectives is always helpful when you need to communicate with them. Being an active listener is also helpful when communicating with others. Another valuable approach would be other-oriented when communicating. Taking an other-oriented approach to communication means considering the thoughts, feelings, background, perspectives, attitudes and values of your partners and adjusting your interaction with them accordingly (Beebe, Beebe & Redmond, 2011). It is so important to consider the other person when trying to be an effective communicator.
Reference:
Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (2011). Interpersonal communication: Relating to others (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
O’Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2009). Real communication: An introduction. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s.
Fawn,
ReplyDeleteLearning as much as possible about different groups of people is certainly effective communication. We can learn a lot of new and valuable lessons from others if we are willing to take the time and listen.
Thanks for sharing.
Fawn,
ReplyDeleteOther-oriented communication sounds similar to the Platinum Rule that we discussed this week. It appears to be a wonderful strategy for effective communication as does active listening. I too felt active listening would be a valuable strategy for communication. I have found myself employing it more often when speaking with other teachers. It has helped my communication efforts. You have made a very thought-provoking post here. Thank you for making my wheels turn.
Fawn,
ReplyDeleteI think it is amazing how so many different cultures can have different languages and meanings to everything, yet there is one universal gesture that means the same thing all across the world--a simple nod of the head to show agreement or acknowledge understanding. Isn't that amazing! I think that we all do that when dealing with people who are different--we look for a subtle cue or nonverbal that signifies understanding. Who would have thought there'd be so much power in the simple nod of a head :)
Great post!
CCWhite