Saturday, November 19, 2011

Blog Assignment Week 3

  • Do you find yourself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures?
I do believe that I communicate differently with people from different groups and cultures. As an immigrant it is part of my life because I am not a part of the dominant culture of my hosting country. Even though I am a citizen of the United States, for the eyes of most people in the society, I am an immigrant, so for that they have certain expectations. To communicate effectively and appropriately in today’s world, you must possess an understanding of and appreciation for people who perceive differently than you do (O'Hair & Wiemann, 2009). So it started as a part of my daily survival in a place away from home.


  • If yes, in what ways do you communicate differently?
A central goal of your study of interpersonal communication is to learn how better to relate to others. Some of the differences that contribute to diversity and may interfere with developing relationships include differences in age, learning style, gender, religion, race, and ethnicity, sexual orientation, social class, and culture  (Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond, 2011). I personally believe that my beliefs, culture and background have a huge influence on how I interact in a diverse society as well.
  • I believe the first is to remember that every human being is proud of their culture, believes, and values. Because I am not a part someone else’s culture does not mean that I have the right to not honor and respect the person. Your cultural worldview shapes your thoughts, language, and actions; it permeates all aspects of how you interact with society. (Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond, 2011).
  • I always remember that I am not on earth to judge another person. I would not tolerate harm to a child or another human being but I still I would try my best to understand another person’s perspective before my re-actions. Try to withhold judgment long enough to gain a deeper understanding than the first impressions allow (Gonzalez-Mena, 2010).
  • Having an open mind, awareness of differences, ability to ask questions without offending an individual or a family are also few strategies that I keep in mind.

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. Boston, MA, United States of America: Bedford/St. Martins.
·         Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2010). 50 strategies for communicating and working with diverse families. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

3 comments:

  1. Do you think your life experiences have made you a better communicator because you have had to struggle with understanding and expressing yourself in a different culture? This seems to be an asset for you now. I always appreciate your perspectives!

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  2. Venuri,

    I like your statement about not judging people. I was recently talking with a friend of mine who is a first time mother of a beautiful 4 month old baby boy and we were discussing a friend of ours who just became a mom one month ago and how she does things differently with her baby. We both then agreed that the statement 'each to his own' was appropriate because there are many ways to parent and we are not experts or there to judge others practices.

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  3. Venuri,
    As an immigrant myself I remember individuals making comments like; "I am not understanding her because she talks too fast." In my opinion it was not because I was talking too fast but it was my accent. They did not use their listening skills once they heard my accent they just got turned off. Having said this as professionals we have to be very careful when communicating with people from different cultures. Instead of making assumptions and stereotyping we should instead keep an open mind and treat others with respect, listen attentively, and critique objectively.
    Thanks for posting!

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