In reflecting on my interactions with others I've come to realize that I do talk to people differently depending on their age and culture. We have a few older staff members who have been in the field for over 15-20 years. For some of them, English is their second language so I find myself explaining things a little more and taking my time to make sure they understand what I'm tasking them with and so on. It's hard for me to figure out if I'm communicating effectively because they usually just respond with a "yea", "ok" or a head nod. Most of the skills that we are learning about that makes communication effective are not displayed by these colleagues. A few things I could do to improve my communication with others are:
Reflecting on my culture, personality, and identity would allow me to understand how my own behaviors and perspectives affect the way I communicate with others.
Stop trying to predict other's behaviors or reactions when communicating. Gonzalez-Mena noted how we often use a person's culture to predict their reactions however a person's culture is not rigid and does not apple to every individual of that culture.
Work on becoming more knowledgeable in how others communicate motivated to learn about and appreciate those who are different from me skilled at adapting to how other's behave.
Amy,
ReplyDeleteI love each of the goals you listed for communicating effectively!! I think the second one, "stop trying to predict other's behaviors" is essential, and something I am guilty of doing constantly. We have to keep an open mind when talking to others and hope they keep an open mind with us as well. Thank you for sharing!
Tara
Amy
ReplyDeleteGreat Blog as always. the strategy that you stated "stop trying to predict others behaviors or reactions when communicating, is a goal that I feel I should pursue as well. I feel that all educators should pursue that goal in order to build a trusting and repectful relationship with the parents, families and children. Communicating with the older generation is a lot more different in today's society, because the older generation is always straight and to the point, whereas, the generation today usually state around the facts and details of what is being said.
Hi Amy,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that sometimes when communicating with people where English is not their first language, I do pause more to catch myself if they are understanding what I am speaking about. Being more mindful and explaining myself thoroughly is important to understand our own behavior. Your goal about to "use a person's culture to predict their reactions however a person's culture is not rigid and does not apple to every individual of that culture" is important to remember to keep an open-mind and not think that all cultures are similar. Thanks for sharing your reflective post!
Nice post. All I can say is, "Wow". I find it a privilege to have the opportunity to learn from other cultures. I communicate differently with people from different cultures and groups. I normally meet people at their level. It isn't because I am uncomfortable with who I am. I feel as though communicating with others meeting them at their level is similar to being a teacher; you wear different hats.
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