Cultural Communication

Cultural Communication

The three strategies that I would use to help me communicate effectively with people or groups are: 

1) The Platinum Rule-Do to others as they would like to be treated (Beebe, Beebe, & Redmund, 2011).

2) Don't expect that just because you know a person's culture you can predict his/her behavior (Gonzalez-Mena, 2010).

3) Put the culture and the person first.

I have been practicing these strategies in communication with different cultures before I knew they existed. There are two hispanic children in my classroom and their parents both speak english, but not very well. This is why I communicate with them differently than I do my parents who are American born. I let the Hispanic parents initiate anything they want to ask or any remarks in general, so that I can know how to follow up their questions with an answer in which they can understand. One of the parents have an older daughter who is able to ask things that she may not know how to word, which makes it easier for us to communicate with her and her family. I listen to all of my parents and their concerns, but I pay closer attention to my Hispanic family and their concerns and issues because I do not want them to feel like they are being treated any differently than any other family. I also want them to know that I am here for them and their child. 

GGonzalez-Mena, J. (2010). 50 strategies for communicating and working with diverse families. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc."Looking at Nonverbal Communication Across Cultures" (pp. 80–81)

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

Chapter 4, "Interpersonal Communication and Diversity: Adapting to Others" (pp. 85–114)

Communication Assumptions

Communication Assumptions-Grey's Anatomy

The TV show that I chose to watch was Grey's Anatomy. I have heard a lot of people on my social media speak about how great the show is and the excitement that goes on in the episodes, so I decided to take a look. I watched the first minute of the show in silence and thought that the characters were all friends and happy with one another. I also thought that they all got along, and crying to one another due to a case or patient that might have affected them. During the nonverbal behavior, I could see that there was some anger between characters as well as sadness in the conversations that were being discussed. 

After turning on the volume, I could see that my assumptions were somewhat right. There was anger and sadness, but not how I imagined it. One of the doctors was yelling at another doctor that I thought was a student, but she was actually a doctor, and the doctor who was overly emotional with her friend was actually overemotional with her lover. These both took me by surprise because I knew once I turned up the volume, I would be right. If I was watching a show that I watch on a regular, I would have definitely had all the answers because I am familiar with the show and know all about it. 

Competent Communication

Competent Communication

There are a lot of people that I engage with on a daily basis that I have look up to for effective communication techniques, but the two that stand out to me the most are my mom and my dad. When communicating, my mom gets her point across and means what she says. She does not let anything back her down and she will fight to the end for her cause. She is also constantly asking questions to assure that everything aligns with what you said and how you said it. This is why I want to model the behaviors of my mom because she says what she has to say with meaning and pride. She also lets nothing detour her from her believes and what is right. My dad on the other hand is humble and willing to listen. Sometimes, he do not even put up a fight for some causes and just let bygones be bygones. I want this same mentality to a certain extent. I want to remain humble during communication while still getting my point across. When you are humble people are more open to respecting you and listening to what you say. This is why I would love to have a mixture of both mother and father.