Effective Communication Strategies

Effective Communication Strategies. • Do you find yourself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures? I totally see myself communicating with others in different ways according to their group or culture. For example, I talk to professionals such as Church Pastors, Bank Clerks, School officials, and Doctors and Instructors in more professional tone with higher vocabulary than I would a child or someone I just met off the street. I think we change our style of communication to meet the needs of our audience. Another example would be when I am communicating with a non- English learner or disabled person. I speak in a slower and more simpler tone in hopes that they would understand what I am communicating. Lastly, I would use more gestures and facial expression for those who are younger, disabled, or language other than English. • Based on what you have learned this week, share at least three strategies you could use to help you communicate more effectively with the people or groups you have identified. I think three strategies that I could use to help me to become an even better communicator is to look into myself and see more of what my perceptions are based on my culture. "...one’s perception patterns are learned as we learn to see the world in a certain way based on our cultural background" (Vuckovic, A. 2008). How we see others and what we choose to hear from them is based on our perceptions. Another strategy I think can be effective in communicating is to use self reflection. It helps to look at others before looking at ourselves in terms of communication. "Hence, self-reflective processes must not exclusively be allocated to the integration of feedback but must also be alert to assess the individual’s success in creating an atmosphere that encourages other people to offer feedback" (Vuckovic, A. 2008).By listening, having eye contact, and not being into ourselves when communicating, we can open doors for others to communicate freely with us. Lastly, I think an effective strategy to adopt when communicating is to be free of bias and have respect towards others cultures. By being culturally sensitive, that means we are being aware. "A worthy goal is for teachers and other early care and education specialists to become culturally sensitive and begin looking for the meaning of parenting behaviors and beliefs they run across in the families they serve" (Gonzalez-Mena, J. 2010). By looking at our own culture, we can be sensitive to the unique contributions that others have to provide for effective communication and parenting styles. References Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2010). 50 strategies for communicating and working with diverse families. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc text excerpt. retrieved from. https://class.waldenu.edu/bbcswebdav/institution/USW1/201340_04/MS_MECS/EDUC_ 6165/Week%203/Resources/Resources/embedded/gonzalez_ch15.pdf. Vuckovic, A. (2008). Inter-cultural communication: A foundation of communicative action. Multicultural Education and Technology Journal, 2(1), 47–59.