Communication and Culture

O’Hair et al. (2018) state that the cultural context is made up of variables that make our perceptions unique: race, ethnicity, religion, politics, gender, sexual orientation, age, education, role, occupation, abilities/disabilities, geography, and even being wealthy or poor. These differences are known as diversity (Loden & Rosener, 1991).

The language reflects, builds on, and determines the situational, relational, cultural, and mediated context (O’Hair et al., 2018). Thus, our language choices should be monitored and appropriate to the relational, cultural, and situational context. Some strategies like code-switching, eye contact, active listening, and paraphrasing could help us communicate effectively in different scenarios.

Thinking about my communication skills and behavior, I found that they change depending on the situational context and the people I talk to. For example, when I communicated with colleagues, coworkers, and families in my previous job, I used to utilize a high language which is more formal, polite, or mainstream language (O’Hair et al., 2018). On the other hand, when I communicate with my family or friends, I utilize a low language that is more informal and often involves slang (O’Hair et al., 2018).

Three strategies that I could use to communicate more effectively with different people or groups are:

        - Become aware of non-verbal behaviors. Bearing in mind that non-verbal behaviors such as posture, movement, facial expressions, eye movements, gestures, and relative distance do not necessarily mean the same in all cultures (Gonzalez-Mena, 2010).

        - Engage in active listening. By participating in active listening, you can look for opportunities to select and attend to nonverbal messages or contextual clues that will help you understand the message a person is encoding and sending (O'Hair et al., 2018). We should not only speak but also pause and listen to the other person's opinion, perspective or idea.

        - Become other-oriented. Considering our partners' thoughts, feelings, backgrounds, perspectives, attitudes, and values and adjusting our interaction with them accordingly. We can adapt our behavior toward others in mindful and ethical ways (Beebe, Beebe & Redmond, 2011).

References

Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (2011). Interpersonal communication: Relating to others (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

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., Mullin, D. I., & Teven, J. (2018). Real communication: An introduction (4th. ed). New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thank you note!

Image
Hello everyone! I am taking this moment to thank all my colleagues for all the support, experiences, resources, and motivational words that we have shared throughout these past eight weeks of the course. I am happy to have taken this course and had the opportunity to work with each of you during this time. We have shared and learned so much together. I wish the best to all of my colleagues during the Master's journey and in the following courses. Let's keep learning and supporting each other along the way. There is little left to complete our goal. I wish you all the success in your studies and your personal and professional life.
Read more

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: National/Federal Level

Image
This week, I explored the web to find three national organizations or federal agencies that work to foster the well-being of children, families, and the early childhood field. I chose them because I like and align with their vision and mission statements. The two last ones also align with the challenge I am addressing in the Capstone Project. They work with policymakers to establish positive changes that include plant-based food in schools and promote healthy eating in children. National Head Start Association The National Head Start Association's mission is to unite, inspire, and support the Head Start field as a leader in early childhood development and education (NHSA, n.d.). NHSA is committed to the belief that every child, regardless of circumstances at birth, has the ability to succeed in life. They are the voice for more than 1 million children, 275,000 staff, and 1,600 grant recipients in the United States. Since 1974, NHSA has worked for policy changes that ensure all ...
Read more

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

Image
  Childhood Education International Childhood Education International has been committed to one primary objective: ensuring children’s access to quality education worldwide since 1892. They create programs and projects that support pre-primary to primary school-age children so they can learn, grow, and develop optimally. They also collaborate with teachers, education leaders, families, community leaders, health professionals, government agencies, the private sector, and civil society organizations. Together they provide innovative solutions that enhance learning and development for all children (Childhood Education International, n.d.) Its mission is to develop and amplify innovative solutions to education challenges that affirm children’s learning and development as the pathway to sustainable futures for all. Their vision is to elevate education and learning as the foundation of all aspects of human development and world progress. Childhood Education International is curre...
Read more