My daily interaction at this time brings me in contact with basically two different aspects of culture - political affiliation and ethnicity. I find myself having to use different skill sets to communicate effectively with each.
I will admit that it is harder for me to listen openly and without bias to someone who shares different political views and to not have a "knee-jerk" negative evaluation of someone from another party before they even begin to speak their thoughts as Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond described it (2011, p. 104). I am trying to ask questions so I can better understand their frame of reference and to be mindful of the situation and do some self-talking to help me keep my preconceived ideas and emotions at bay so that I can rationally process information I am taking in and "avoid negative judgments" (Beebe et al., 2011, p. 108).
On the other hand, I am trying to use a different set of communication skills when working with a family of minority ethnicity. I am very motivated to learn about their culture and am trying to develop my skills of observing non-verbal cues and respecting their thoughts on eye contact and touching. I think together we are adapting and since we have had time to dialogue and understand each other's perspectives we have developed a mutual respect. I now understand their very cautious and protective behavior toward their child based on the dangerous circumstances they were brought up in. Additionally, Gonzalez-Mena helped me gain a new perspective on the family's desire to do everything for their child and how that models for the child how to help others (2010). As the author pointed out I still have my frame of reference but it has expanded to include the perspectives of those with a different worldview.
Beebe, S., Beebe, S.& Redmond, M. (2011). Interpersonal communication: Relating to others (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2010). 50 strategies for communication and working with diverse families. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Suzanne,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that it is very hard to effectively listen to someone that does not agree with your beliefs. It hard to listen when someone else is giving their opinion especially if it is way different from your own. I think that we need to do our best to listen effectively, they may have some points that we never thought about, and give our points, possibly agree to disagree.
Luci
Suzanne,
ReplyDeleteI can relate to your example of communicating with those of differing political views. I am working on this as well. I think your suggestions for handling this are excellent!I enjoyed your post!
Kristi
Your point of view is exactly like mine. It is also very hard for me to engage in conversations without being bias when someone feels a certain way and I feel differently. I try and avoid these situations no matter how passionate I am about them. So I do understand exactly what you mean.
ReplyDeleteSuzanne,
ReplyDeleteSounds like this you are learning which strategies work best with the family. Being open to their culture is so important.
I too understand your point when communicating with individuals with varying political views. I too do some self talking when I find that my opinion is different from theirs. Not always reacting but listening is important, I agree.
Millie