The first strategy to use to be a more effective communicator is to become more culturally sensitive with different groups that I will be working and communicating with. To me this means knowing enough about certain groups to not use streotypes or assuming they are a certain way based on the group they are a part of. If I know about the group I am working with, I feel like I will be a better communicator because I won't use generalizations, but will instead get to know the person on an individual basis.
The second way to be a better communicator is to withhold judgement about people I am working with. I think this is especially true at work when dealing with parents that have different viewpoints than I do. Until I have "walked in their shoes" I really can't understand what they are going through, so I should not judge them. This can affect people's communication because if you are judging people, this is usually obvious in your body language and voice tone. Having an open mind about a situtation or person will make you a less judgemental person and a better communicator.
The last way to be a better communicator is through the saying "Knowledge is power". It kind of goes back to my first strategy, but I think it goes even deeper than that too. For example, if I am going on vacation to a country I am unfamiliar with, doing some research on their customs and knowing a few phrases in their language will get you a lot farther than going in knowing nothing. It shows people you respect them enough to learn about their culture because you are being proactive in helping yourself be a better communicator. If you have knowledge upfront, it makes communication a lot easier and helps alleviate any problems or potential for offending different individuals.
I really feel like there is so much more I need to learn to be a much better communicator, but I do feel like I am on the right track.
References
Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2010).
Understanding and appreciating cultural differences. In 50
strategies for communicating and working with diverse families. (pp.
36-38). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.
Amber I agree with you that having an open mind about a situation or a person will make you a less judgemental person and a better person. So many times people are quick to judge a person without actually time to better understand what is going on. Great Blog.
ReplyDeleteAmber,
ReplyDeleteI like how you fund the power in the gotten knowledge. I consider the best way to learn about diverse family cultures is by approaching family members, because they may have different practices that the ones we can read or have found about their religion, nationality, or parent rearing patterns. Families provide us first hand information.
Thanks for sharing!
Amber, I like how you stated that we should judge a person because we do not understand what the person may be going through. We need to be mindful of others. Everyone share a different view on things and we should be open minded to others. Overall, it is important to get to know the person as you said. Learning about their customs, cultures, values, beliefs and so forth helps up grasp a better understanding of who they are and how they communicate.
ReplyDeleteAmber,
ReplyDeleteWe never know what a person may be going through. We often hear this statement alot but we hardly apply it to situations because we tend to act and speak so quickly.Judging someone can quickly alter lines of communication. Once they are ruined, it is hard to get them back to where they should be.
Amber,
ReplyDeletewe came up with the same way to be a effective commincator by knowledge of the group in which we are talking i think that we can get only so much from research that we really need to experenice the culture to have a full understanding of the culture.