Week 3

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

I don’t think that I communicate differently with people from other cultures.  However, I do communicate differently with people from different groups.  I think that a lot of it has to do with my relationship to them.  For instance, I communicate differently with parents and co-workers than I do with my friends and family.

Based on what you learned this week, share at least three strategies you could use to help you communicate more effectively with the people or groups you have identified.

The first strategy that I could use to help me communicate with people from different groups or cultures is to “develop appropriate knowledge” (Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond, 2011, p. 104).  I need to learn more about the cultures that I work with in order to communicate more effectively.  The second strategy that I could use is to understand cultures differences.  For example, I was raised to be independent but some cultures teach their children to be interdependent (Gonzalez-Mena, 2010).  The last strategy that I could use to communicate more effectively is to be mindful when I am communicating with someone from a culture different from my own.  In order to do this, I need to “acknowledge that there is a connection between thoughts and deeds when you interact with a person from a background different from [my] own” (Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond, 2011, p. 108).

Resources

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.