EDUC - 6165 Week 3 Differences in Communication

Robin C. Miller                                                                                              EDUC – 6165

Blog Assignment – Week 3

            Do I find myself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures? Yes! Sometimes, I tend to slow my verbal communication down so the opposite party can clearly hear what I am saying. Not realizing that I might be offending them because they are not deaf or incapable of understanding. Another bad habit of mine, and I see this with my coworkers as well is the unintentional behavior of trying to sound and verbal communicate with the same accent as the person with whom we are talking with. Yes, sitting back watching my co-workers try and sound African, Puerto Rican, or Asian every time a parent would communicate was funny at first. But, I realized two things. One, it could be offensive to the other person and two, it can either make ourselves look like a fool or have the opposite effect and help parents view us as active and effective listeners and communicators.

Another thing that I noticed in my communication skills is that I easily get frustrated when I don’t understand different behaviors that do not coincide with my culture and the society norms in which I live and try to get the parent to understand the norms of the society in which they now live. For example, I had an African mother who always carries her child on her back. I was culturally sensitive to this when they child was very young and not of walking age. But, when the child was supposed to hit the milestone of gross motor movement the child was unable to because she was always carried and had also formed a severe bowed legged appearance that also made it more difficult for the child to try and walk. I explained my concerns to the mother in a culturally sensitive, non-emotional, and professional way.

Three strategies that I can use in the future to help in the process of communicating effectively with people of a different culture are…

·       When something about a family’s practices really bothers me, I will try to look at what they are doing through their eyes instead of my own (Gonzalez-Mena, J., 2010).

·       I will try to withhold judgment long enough to gain a deeper understanding than first impressions allow (Gonzalez-Mena, J., 2010).

·       I will also try not to assume that doing things for children will make them grow up helpless and forever dependent (Gonzalez-Mena, J., 2010).

References

Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2010). 50 strategies for communicating and working with diverse families.            Upper Saddle  River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. "Understanding and Appreciating Cultural           Differences" (pp. 36 - 38)