Communication and Culture

"Misunderstanding and miscommunication occur between people from different cultures because of different coding rules and cultural norms, which play a major role in shaping patterns of interaction. The greater the difference between the cultures, the more likely it is that they will use different verbal and nonverbal codes" (Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond, 2011).

When communicating with the different groups of people that I work with, I tend to change my language based on who I am speaking with. I always have the same outcome in mind when I am discussing something, but my approach is different based on each individual's personality. I know who I can joke with, who I have to be more matter of fact with, and who needs to hear the reason for my interaction. 

I work with all women, except for one male assistant teacher and our male owner. I can approach the male assistant teacher differently than I would approach our male owner. Although I know that I can be a sarcastic and jovial person, I tend to tone it back with our owner because he is my boss, technically, and is more into business than joking. He can have fun, but it is not a common occurrence. I have a great relationship with the female teachers and I like to think that I have figured out each of their personalities so I know how to approach each of them. It is almost like learning the personalities of each child in your class at the beginning of the school year. There is a learning curve, but once you know how each child learns, you can adapt your teaching style for them to learn best. Same goes with staff members. 

I try to use comic relief when I converse with most people I meet. I find that if I can make someone smile, I can connect with them better. I also try to share similarities with them and relate a situation that I was in with something they are going through. When I can relate to them, we can communicate better and have a better connection. 

Finally, I like to connect with people by asking questions and listening to what the person is actually saying. I try not to read too far into their responses and take them for the words they are providing. This of course goes hand in hand with making a similar connection and relating together. 

Ultimately, I like to listen and actually hear what the other person is saying. When you look too far into it, you end up misinterpreting the end result.

Resource

Beebe, S., Beebe, S., & Redmond, M. (2011). Interpersonal Communication and Diversity: Adapting to Others. In Interpersonal communication: relating to others (pp. 85–114). essay, Pearson.