Communicating with
people who are different from you is something you likely do every day (Beebe,
Beebe, & Redmond, 2011, pg. 86).
Even our family and friends are dissimilar in things we may know nothing
about. There are things I talk about
with my friends that I do not speak about with say a family member. Things we share amongst each other come about
differently depending on the setting or group of people we are with. Being motivated to establish positive
relationships with others who are different from us is a key aspect of
communicating in interculturally competent ways (Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond,
2011, pg. 107). There are always going
to be communicating differences, even amongst our friends and families. On settings when I am just hanging out with
the fellows, we communicate about sports, our relationship with the girlfriend
or wife, and just silly things that we can all sit back and laugh about.
Three good strategies
to help us communicate more effectively with people would be for starts to
create an atmosphere of openness. When
speaking with an individual or in a group setting, avoid objects that create
barriers such as desks or cubicle walls.
Try to sit in an open area, and elude loud places. We should also find places where the
conversation is doubtful to be disturbed.
Another great strategy is to be an active listener. A great communicator never tries to dominate
the conversation. As communicators we
should allow our listener to provide their thoughts and listen courteously. A third good strategy could be to actively engage
in conversation. When we are
communicating with someone else they can tell when our minds are in another stratosphere. We must express honest concern for the
subject matter and show complete attention.
The person or people we are communicating with need to know that we are involved
in the discussion. There needs to be good
eye contact shown and good non-verbal signals such as shacking your head as if
agreeing with the person or just showing great posture.
Reference
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)
Hello Carlos
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog post. I especially liked your strategies that you would use to help you communicate more effectively with other people or groups. I think it is always good to get to know people and always have eye contact, this way they know that you are interested in what they are saying. Having good communication skills can get you far personally and professionally.
Carlos,
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with your statement that other people can tell when you are not giving them your full attention. Truth be told that is one of my Pet P's. I would rather for a person to excuse themselves or say can we talk about this later than for them to not pat attention to what I am taking about. Express honest concern and complete attention when someone is communicating with you is a sign of disrespect.