Communicating Differently with People from Different Groups and Cultures.

I have noticed that I communicate differently with people from different groups and cultures other than my own. I can remember my mom picking me up one day from school, and like any other parent, she asked me how my day went. As I was telling my mother how my day went my mother stopped me and said, “What are you talking like you are a white person.” I said, “How does a white person talk?” My mother said, “The way you are talking to me right now.” I said, “I just talking proper mother.” My mother said, “Well, you sound funny to me.” I said, “What did you expect when you decided to send me to a school where it is majority white.” I had a few African American friends, but the majority of my friends were white. At that time, I was in the fourth grade. Now, that I am older, I still find myself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures other than my own because around my family, when I talk proper, they think I am trying to act like I am a white person. So, I try to communicate with them in a way that makes them feel comfortable, but even then I revert to my old self because I find myself correcting them when they speak, I know that is wrong, but it bothers me when a person mispronounce a word. Don’t get me wrong, I love my family just the way they are, and I wouldn’t change them for the world. I even encourage them to go back to school, so they can make a better life for them and their family. I think it is working because my sister just told me that she just enrolled in nursing school so she can become an RN, and my brother is also talking about going to school now because he has a daughter he has to help raise. I am so proud of them, and I wish them the best in all their endeavors. I believe I communicate differently with people from different groups and cultures because it allows me to adopt to whatever environment I’m in, whether I’m talking to members of my family, my colleagues, church members, friends, or students.

Strategies that I can use to help me communicate more effectively with the people or groups I have identified are:

Family

·         Learning how to be open, affectionate, emotional and instrumental supportive, mind reading, being polite, discipline, having humor or sarcasm, having regular routine interaction, and structural stability (O’H air & Wiemann, p. 166, 2009).

Friends/Colleagues/Church Members/Students

·         Being available, caring, honest, trustworthy, loyal, and empathic. The extent to which you and your friends share these characteristics helps build the relational contest of your relationship (O’H air & Wiemann, p. 167, 2009).

·         Studies have also revealed that children who form successful friendships with others perform better academically and demonstrate fewer aggressive tendencies than those who do not (O’H air & Wiemann, p. 166, 2009).

Reference

O’Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2009). Real communication: An introduction. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s.