I do communicate differently with various groups of people. Depending on the relationships and situations in which communication is taking place I interact differently with different groups. When communicating with my family and friends I use both formal and informal language and at times the language is slang. I have a deep knowledge of my family and friends and feel I can be more myself in expressing my thoughts and opinions. When interacting at work I have different relationships with different people therefore my communication will vary depending on those relationships. Many of my co-workers are friends and many co-workers are just co-workers. With my friends that are co-workers the topics of conversation are more in depth and go beyond "shop talk" and may go into personal information. With the co-workers that I have just a professional relationship with the topics are related to "shop talk" and may consist of general small talk but I would not go in depth with personal experiences and such. Typically conversation with co-workers I use more formal language than informal language. With people that I have just met I am more mindful of what to say as I do not have the relationship with them yet and will need to establish boundaries in order not to offend them. With communicating with those that are culturally different than myself it again depends on the relationship. I have friends that are culturally different from me and I interact with them differently than those that are culturally different from me that I do not know as well. For me my communication is different based off of the relationship and environment verses just than being culturally different.
Three strategies I would use to help me communicate more effectively are to put myself in the other person's shoes in order to gain perspective, put aside my own myopia in order to help me gain perspective of others, and last be an active listener.
Rhonda, I enjoyed reading your post and it sounds like you and I have the same style of communication when talking with colleagues, friends, or our family.
ReplyDeleteHi Rhonda
ReplyDeleteGreat insightful post. We seem to share some similarities in our communication styles. like you my method of communication changes according to the individuals and the context/situation. This to me depicts an awareness in cultural diversity and indicated that we are exercising mindfulness in relation to considering others that we communicate with.
I too use different types of communication with different groups of people. I find that my own family is less formal in their speech than say a colleague. I think that this skill is important so that we can meet each person where they are and speak to them, not above them or below them. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI quite often encounter people who are not actively listening (especially in defense mode). They are too busy formulating their responses in the hopes that it will over power that situation. If balance isn't regained, the productive intent of the conversation becomes more of a power-struggle of who will win. I'm sure at that time, all parties involved have lost sight of what the goal was in the first place.
ReplyDeleteI know of people who base their communication style on whatever group they are conversing with at the time. I personally try to communicate the same all the time. I'm sure there are different groups of people that we should try to communicate with on their level but it makes me think that I'm not being myself when I change up how I communicate.
ReplyDeleteI guess after reading the blogpost of my colleagues and the course resources, I think I've been doing this incorrectly. I need to communicate based on the culture of the person I'm communicating with. Thanks for bringing this knowledge to my attention from your blog.
Quintel
Hi Rhonda,
ReplyDeleteIts so amazing how we interact differently when we are amongst various groups of people. I notice that I definitely change the way i carry myself depending on whom or where I am or with. We always must consider peoples feelings even though at times and depending on who the person or place is can affect our nerves committing us to loose patients. I herd the best way is to take deep breaths, count to five and walk away.(it works :) ) Great Post!
-Talisha Ghansiam
ReplyDeleteHello Rhonda! Great blog, I agree that communication is not solely based listening and speaking, but on relationships and environments as well! Great Point!
ReplyDelete