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.