Ways In Which We Communicate With Others

Do you find yourself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures? If yes, in what ways do you communicate differently?

In answer to this question, yes of course you communicate differently with different groups of people and cultures.  For instance when speaking to my immediate family I am much more informal, open, self-disclosing, and affectionate.  However, when communicating with fellow colleagues I am a little more formal, less self-disclosing, and will use professional jargon when discussing child development and early childhood issues and challenges.  When I speak to my clients I would not use professional jargon and would adapt to their communication style to put them at ease.  Then again when I am with my girlfriends I would be again more open, informal, and affectionate. 
We all want others to feel comfortable when communicating with them so we adapt our body language, verbal language, tone, and communication style to ensure that others are at ease.  When individuals are at ease with each other you are more likely to gain a shared understanding when communicating.

Based on what you have learned this week share at least 3 strategies you could use to communicate more effectively with the identified groups.

Three strategies I could use to communicate more effectively with different groups and cultures are:

1. Engage in self-reflection:  By this I mean examining my communication style, my body language, tone of voice, and how I communicate in general with others.
2. Avoid Cultural Myopia:  It is important to avoid the trap that "our way is the only way" or the "correct way".  When we allow ourselves to examine and see other perspectives we can gain a better understanding when communicating with others.
3. Learn more about other cultures, their beliefs, and traditions.  When we learn about the "why" behind behaviors we expand our knowledge of other cultures as well as gain a better understanding of beliefs, traditions, and behaviors that conflict with our own.

I recently came across a quote by Anthony Robbins that I found to be very fitting with this weeks learning.

"To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others!"

Communicating: Nonverbally & Verbally

For this assignment I went onto www.hulu.com to find an episode of something I had not seen or would not normally watch.  The episode I picked was Louie - Season 2, Episode 9.  I first watched this episode without sound.

By watching the body language and actions of the characters I gauged that the main character was obviously a stand-up comic.  He comes off stage and it appears he meets up with someone he is very familiar with because he smiles, hugs, and slaps the other man on the back.   It appears they are close friends.  From the flashbacks to younger version of the men in black and white I assume they have been friends for some time.

From the body language of other people who come into contact with the main character's friend it does not appear they like him very much.  One man gets up close to the friends personal space, his face looks angry and he is waving his arms.  There is another instance in a liquor store where the store clerk is obviously yelling at the friend, waving his arms, pointing at him and pointing at the door.

From their body language it appeared the main character was well liked but that the 'friend' was not.  Even toward the end of the episode it appears that the main character is mad at his friend because his face shows concern, mouth open, looks away from him, waves his arms about, points at him and shakes his head. 

After watching it with the sound on I found out I was right, it was an old friend who came to see the main character, Louie, do his stand-up routine.  They greet each other, the other man does offend others with his language and comments.  I was not really able to determine the "plot" or what was actually occurring by watching with the sound off.  However, with the sound on I learned that the man had come to say "good-bye" to his old friend because he had not been as successful as Louie and felt he had nothing left to live for in his life.  He talks about killing himself in the end which is what makes Louie so mad. 

If I had watched an episode of a show I was familiar with I think my assumptions would have been more correct because I would have had previous knowledge and experience with it, I would have created a schema and would have been familiar with relationships and characters.  My schema, or previous experience, could have given me an idea of what the plot would be and what the relationships were between characters. 

I found this exercise to be very interesting.  I was bored and found it difficult to follow the episode without the sound.  I also found myself looking closer at facial expressions, body language, and the actions and movements of the characters. 

Communicating & Collaborating in the Early Childhood Field: Personal Experience

When asked to think of someone who communicates well in a particular context the first person I thought of was our Mental Health Consultant.  For confidentiality reasons I will just refer to him as Mr. D.  Mr. D meets with us each month to discuss stresses that families on our caseloads are going through and to discusses strategies we can use to better communicate with and to assist these families.  He will also discuss how it affects us personally, especially if staff is becoming "burned out".  From the beginning I noticed that Mr. D. always looks in you the eye while you are talking, he does not interrupt, ad he will ask specific questions.  It is also apparent that he takes a minute to consider what he is going to say before giving feedback on particular situations.  He makes it obvious that he wants the whole picture before he considers what he is going to say in return.  The conversations with Mr. D. are so relaxed and informal that it makes it very easy to speak to him.  Often I find myself coming up with a solution long before he suggests it.  I'm sure this is part of his job but he never makes you feel like he is trying to influence your decisions, but rather just discussing different possibilities and perspectives. 

I definitely try to model my own communication behaviors after Mr. D.  I always try to look at people when they are speaking.  I try to indicate that I am interested in what others have to say by looking at them and responded appropriately as they talk.  My biggest downfall is wanting to jump ahead and think about what I want to say in return before they are even finished.  I don't interrupt but have definitely found myself already thinking of a response before the other person has even finished.  I also like the way that Mr. D. reflects back what the other person has said and try to do this as well to ensure that I have a clear understanding of what they are communicating.  I think that when you reflect back what the other person has said it shows them that you were truly listening and that you have a clear understanding of what they have said.  It sends the message that you respect them and value what they have to say.