This week we are tasked to think about the
cultural diversity we see in our colleagues at school, in our neighborhood, in our
workplace, and also, possibly, within our family. We are to consider all the aspects that make
up culture, including race, religion, political affiliation, sexual
orientation, varying abilities, and so on.
The question we are to ask is;
Do you find yourself communicating differently with people from
different groups and cultures?
To answer this honestly, I would say yes, I do
communicate differently with different groups. I can eliminate political
affiliations and sexual orientation as those are not groups that I have
awareness of, therefore I don’t respond to those groups differently.
When having conversations with those of
religions different than my own, I try to remember the cultural norms of that
group. I try to be respectful of their cultural beliefs surrounding their
religion, and mirror the family’s method of communication.
Three strategies you could use to help you
communicate more effectively with the people or groups you have identified:
1. Don’t assume that helping children is makes
them too dependent! Modeling is a strong strategy! (Gonzalez-Mena, 2010).
2. Consider asking more questions than you
normally would, in order to clarify meaning and messages (Beebe, Beebe,& Redmond,
2011).
3. We must remember that self-reflection and consideration
of the contextual nature of the communication event is mandatory (Vuckovic, 2008).
Reference
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.
