As a child, I grew
up in a very rural community which had little diversity. It wasn't until I reached college that I was
exposed to different cultures and a world of diversity I had never
experienced. As an adult, I wanted to
live in an area where my children wouldn't be sheltered from the world around
them. I moved to a suburb a few minutes
outside of Baltimore , Maryland
I tend to be a bit
of an introvert and do not find communicating with anyone unfamiliar to be an
easy task. When I am communicating with
people from different groups and cultures, I do sometimes get a sense of uneasiness. I’m not sure if this comes from my feelings
of feeling uncomfortable with conversing with others, whom I’m not completely
comfortable with, in general or because the people are from a different group
or culture. I think I communicate
differently by being more aware of what I am saying; I am hoping that I don’t
say anything that might be offensive to someone unintentionally.
To communicate
more effectively, I could use Beebee, Beebee, and Redmond ’s
(2010) idea of self talk; thinking through what I am going to say before saying
it. I can also apply Bennett’s idea of
the Platinum Rule; thinking about how others want to be treated (Beebee,
Beebee, and Redmond, 2010). Finally, I
think I could spend time asking questions and trying to understand other
cultures and groups in an effort to feel more comfortable communicating.
I hope that my own
children will not experience these feelings of uneasiness when communicating
with others of different groups or cultures because they have been around so
much diversity while growing up.
References
Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (2011). Interpersonal communication:
Relating to others (6th ed.). Boston , MA
Ashli,
ReplyDeleteI have the same hope for my children, however, cultures change and so do people's perceptions so the best thing we can do is truly understand how we as individuals can be more effective at communicating and being inclusive of people different from ourselves. I believe empathy will best assist us in understanding how others hope to be treated and if we communicate our own wants, needs, values, and beliefs effectively we help those we communicate with to better understand how we hope to be treated. I agree with you that asking questions will assist us with this process. Thank you for your strategies!
Ashli,
ReplyDeleteI am a firm believer in self talk and it works for children as well as adults. I tend to tell my students that stutter to think about what they say first. I even made a chat out of that statement and the children in my classroom are very cognizant of what they are saying. You should always be yourself and no matter the culture remember that we all eat, bleed, sleep and defecate! No one is going to bark at you or bite you! I say that because growing up that's how my mom taught me and my siblings. As a matter of fact we were singers and it was an horrificexperience singing in front of hundreds of people so communicating is just as easy!
Ashli,
ReplyDeleteI like the self talk strategy you mentioned. I tend to use that quite a bit especially when I am preparing for a meeting with a person I am unfamiliar with. I find it useful because it gives me to opportunity to play out different scenarios of what could happen.
Ashli, I can relate with you on being an introvert. Taking online classes is helpful and allows introverts like us the ability to communicate our feelings and experiences without putting ourselves out there. I really enjoyed your post the strategies you included.
ReplyDelete