Who Am I as a Communicator?

      This week I had the opportunity of seeing if my sister and my friend of 30 years really know about me and how I communicate ,I scored very high as a communicator, which didn’t surprise me at all, because  I don’t like talking in any type of group setting. My sister and friend score were elevated, but not quite as high as I rated myself. When it comes to my listening skills, all three of our scores were similar, which wasn’t no big surprised. I’ve been told I am a very good listener, I am definitely someone you can confide in and Verbally, I rated myself a little higher, the score said that I am very respectful of others viewpoints, again this doesn’t surprise me. I am not the type of person to say or do anything  hurt people’s feelings, no matter how much they hurt mine.

I think the thing that surprised me the most was that although I have always known I was not a public speaking type of person,taking this questionnaire just solidifies it.

Effective Communication & Cultural Diversity

Do you find yourself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures? As I thought about culture diversity that I see in my colleagues, neighborhood, workplace and my family I would definitely have to say yes,  I do find myself communicating differently with the various groups and cultures.

If yes, in what ways do you communicate differently?Well, my family is culturally diverse in the following way: there’s Panamanian, Puerto Rican, Korean, Black, White, therefore communication between the various cultures tend to vary. My sister in law who is Puerto Rican and me(Panamanian)may speak Spanish to each other, I communicate with my niece’s son in sign language although he can talk, because his language was delayed, his first language was sign language. I communicate with the others in 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.

The three strategies that I could use to help me communicate more effectively with my family members are: 1) first and foremost would be an effective listener. When we all get together it can be quite chaotic ,with everyone talking ,yet no one is actually just sitting and listening to what is being said by the other family members .I have found out that listening is  something we as a family need to practice more. 2) Adaptibility-. I try to show respect to my other family members cultures. Our family get together usually involve a variety of foods from all  the cultures, we are encouraged to try the various foods and at times some family members tend to make negative comments about the food, not considering the person who made the food feelings The older family members are set in their ways and like their food cook a certain way with certain seasoning,.3) Flexibility- There is a time and place to talk about issues and concerns, family gatherings is not a time to air out family dirty laundry.  

Assumptions in Communication

     I watched an s how called Dance Moms. This is what I observed with the sound turned down. The following are my notes. Moms and their daughters are at a dance competition. It’s the last practice before a big dance competition. The relationship is between parents versus children. There was a scene where one of the moms was yelling at another mom, their mouths were moving real fast. The one parent got up and walked out of the room. The same parent can be seen crying, the other parents seemed to be consoling her. The relationship seems good between parents and children, however, there seem to be animosity between one of the parents and the dance instructor.

Some feelings I expressed in the show are: Love, Frustration, anger sarcasm, hugging and smiles, there were  clapping of  hands /moving of  lips.

I then turned the volume up and watched the show again, and the following are my notes of what I heard. I did not make any assumptions about the characters and plot. I was right on point. I used my eyes more so than if I was initially watching it with sound. I had to have patience, because I had to carefully watch their facial expressions and body language. I also tried to read their lips.

It does not matter if I have seen the show before or not, if I am using my nonverbal skills I should be able to tell others about the actors/actresses and the show and be as close as I can on what the plot maybe in the show.

I feel that all my communication skills are important however, there are times I have to depend on my nonverbal skills to understand a child or adult. The difference between the two is having patience .We sometimes are in a hurry and just do not want to take the time to hear what is being said. There are also times when we may have a language barrier and have no choice but to depend on these skills.

Competent Communicator

 When it comes to competent communication, I can only say that my sister fits the description. She is such an awesome communicator. She will get on the phone and talk to just about anyone about anything .She knows that there are times when the situation deems necessary to speak to a supervisor or manager, usually she gets to this point after trying to deal with the employee that has answered the phone. Because of my accent and people having a hard time understanding me, I usually ask her to talk for me. When talking to a supervisor /manager, she keeps her cool and lets the person know that if  it were not for her patronage, they would not have a job. I have seen firsthand how her way of communicating gets her the service she is entitled to. I admire her technique and wish I was as competent in communicating as she is.