Similarities and Differences in Communication

I am a very straight forward communicator that does not like to get interrupted. I was very surprised by the reaction that I got from how others evaluated me. A few similarities that was discovered were the fact that I have to get my point across in the conversation. The differences were the fact that I was told that I can cut someone off in a second, if the conversation is not going the way I want it too. I was so shocked because I didn’t think that I did that. My aunt gave me an example of when we were having a discussion with a family friend about President Obama. He was discussing the presidential debate and how Obama was not coving the basis, and I disagreed. She went on to explain that I was cutting him off and rolling the eyes at his responses. It was very interesting to hear about how I was reacting. I was also told that I don’t let people finish their sentences. Now I knew I could have a strong opinion, but I never knew just how bad I could be.

 The self-concept has incredible power to shape your communication with others (O’Hair and Wiemann, 2012). With that in mind, I gained some insight about my communication. Other people gain a lot of their impression of me through my self-concept. We develop a self-concept by thinking about your strengths and weakness, observing your behavior in a wide variety of situations, witnessing your own reactions to situations, and watching others reactions to you (O’Hair and Wiemann, 2012). I also gained that I have to be willing to listen to what other people say and not think that I am the opinion that matters. The third insight I will discuss is how critical we can be with ourselves. We assess our communication whether it is for our weakness or our strengths; some examples are self-actualization or self-denigration.

 

Reference

O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication: An introduction. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.

Communication and Culture

Cultural diversity occurs everywhere like in our neighborhood, school, workplace, shopping center, and just about anywhere. Many things make up culture like race, religion, gender, age, and etc. I communicate with every culture, but at times I do find it difficult to communicate with people from another culture. Strangers, people different from us, stir up fear, discomfort, suspicion, and hostility (Beebe, Beebe, and Redmond, 2011). It can sometimes make me feel a little funny. I always thought that because I was from another culture living in the United States that it would be easy to understand all the cultures, but I was wrong. It is easier for me to communicate and understand cultures from the dominant culture and the islands because my family is from Trinidad. Over the years I realized that if I couldn’t understand someone I would smile and pretend that I knew exactly what they was talking about, even when I didn’t.

 Over the past three weeks I learned that I could communicate with people from another culture through nonverbal communication like facial expression or sign language.  Facial expression can tell a lot about where the conversation is headed and how well I understand, so I have to be very mindful of that. I will also ask more questions, so that I have a better understanding on what the individual is saying. It would help to clarify meaning and interpretation of messages (Beebe, Beebe, and Redmond, 2011). The third strategy that I could do is “small talk” to help build a relationship. When a relationship is formed it helps everyone involved in the conversation feel better and it can lessen the tension that could arise.

 Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (2011). Interpersonal communication: Relating to others (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Television show with/without sound

 

The show that I watched was the Jamie Foxx show with my husband. He always watches this show and I decided it would be the perfect show to use for this blog assignment. With the sound off it was very interesting to only watch the expression of the actors. At first glance I thought that the main character’s which was Jamie and Fancy was in a relationship. The reason I got that conclusion was because they was hugging and touching a lot. The other characters was all looking at them and saying things to them. At one point in the show she started rolling her eyes and walking off on him so I assumed that they must of got into a argument of some sort. When I cut the music on, my husband was eager to catch up on what he missed with the sound off, because he loves that show. I was pretty much right when it came to the whole set up of the show. Fancy and Jamie had hooked up but he didn’t make it clear that he was the girlfriend. She got mad about it, that’s when I saw her doing all the hand motions and walking off on him. In the end they made up. I think it wouldn’t of mattered if I was watching a show that I know well, because nonverbal communication can tell a lot about what it going on.

competent communication

I work as a Pre-K teacher at a small Christian school that goes up to the 6^th grade.  The 5^th grade teacher is the head teacher of the center and has been for the past five years. She is the most effective communicator with parents and teachers that I know. If any teacher has a problem and approaches her with it she is mutual on all sides and keeps everything private. She keeps drama out of her life. I remember one time I was so mad because my check was short and she was able to calm me down with a few words and a smile. She makes the parents feel like they could come to her for anything. I wish I could communicate with the other teachers the way she does. For example if we are mad at something it shows, if she is mad about anything she smiles and nods her head in acceptance. I can’t do that if I don’t agree with something my nonverbal communication behavior shows very negatively.