Effective Communication with colleagues, neighbors and family

Considering all the aspects that make up culture, including but not limited to race, religion, political affiliation, sexual orientation, varying abilities, and so on, diversity is all around us. Within my workplace, neighborhood, and even within my family, there is significant cultural diversity. Many of us communicate differently with people from different groups and cultures, according to our comfort level with the person and with their culture. I am also guilty of this. I find myself falling into the trap we learned about in class this week of communicating less with people whose culture differs from ours. For example, I notice that I communicate differently with one member of my family, who is of a much higher socioeconomic status than I am, and portrays herself as better than everyone else because of this; than I do with members of my family whose socioeconomic status is similar to my own. I converse much easier with those of similar socioeconomic status than I do with those whose socioeconomic status is higher than mine. Perhaps this is because I feel I can't relate to them because I feel that I place higher value on relationships while they seem to place higher value on having the latest gadget. Reflecting on ways to help me communicate differently, I have decided to try the following strategies:

1. Apply the Platinum Rule: Treat others they way you think they want to be treated. (Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond, 2011).

2. Develop Appropriate Knowledge. I will make more effort to learn about how others communicate in order to understand their perspective and communicate in a way they prefer. (Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond, 2011).

3. Avoid negative judgments. This one is especially difficult, because we are always developing opinions about someone or something based on our schema. Our prior knowledge shapes our beliefs about a person based on their appearance, demeanor, communication style, etc. By avoiding forming an opinion about someone until you get to know them, you open yourself up to new and different experiences, and develop new understandings. (Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond, 2011 and Gonzalez-Mena, 2010).

Most importantly, I think that bringing this information to colleagues and even supervisors, especially when working with families and children, is essential to creating an environment that is inclusive to all families. All teachers and personnel working in schools should be aware of this.

References

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.