Communication and Culture

Communication and Culture

I will say I do communicate differently with people. When I communicate with my friends and family it is different from communicating with families I work with, coworkers, colleagues or strangers that I meet for the first time.  I am from a different culture so I like to communicate with everyone the same way that I will want some else to communicate with me. I work with a lot of Hispanic families and strategies used to communicate effectively is ensuring that there is a translator present at all time to ensure that families with limited English are getting the same information as everyone else. 

When I am around my family and friends, I feel free and relax to speak my mind but when working with families we have make sure we are sensitive and respectful in order for them to gain our trust and work together in the best interest of the child.

When communicating with the populations of families I work with, some strategies use are:

Listening carefully to be sure they are understood and validate what they say.

Follow up on any questions/concerns to ensure that their needs are met.

Pay attention to nonverbal cues and make sure that respect is prevailed at all times.

 

 For this assignment, I chose to watch a show called “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” this is a show that I would not normally watch but chose it because I hear a lot about it and it appears to be very popular.  Watching the show with no sound was actually quite entertaining because that family was all over the place.  They had so many different things going on that I enjoyed figuring out what they were saying and meaning with their body language.   They are a very affectionate family so they were very touchy feely.  They use an enormous amount of facial and hand gestures.  They also use eye contact a lot as well.  When I watched the show again with sound I was surprised that I was pretty much dead on with their discussions and remarks just off of body language. I could tell when they were angry, arguing, happy sad, confused, and etc.  I could tell when they were having serious conversations or being sarcastic with each other.  They are very hands on and allow a lot of room for play in their theory and ideas.  I enjoyed the show will probably continue to watch it.

When I think of an effective communicator the first person I think of is President Obama.  President Obama has a commanding demeanor about himself that makes you want to listen to him.  I have watched several of his speeches and he looks into his audience giving eye contact which I believe to be very important in getting someone to actually hear and believe in what you are saying.  He speaks with authority and yet talks at a moderate tone which gives listeners a chance to listen as well as comprehend what he is saying. Yes, I would want to model some of his communication skills because I feel he is effective.  I would like to be able to speak in front of large groups without a quiver in my voice and be effective in making my words heartfelt and informative.