Communicating and Cultural Diversity

July 21, 2013

http://kidgreen-donna/blogspot.com

I see cultural diversity frequently in my career, especially when I make home visits to families who have recently moved to the United States, mostly from Mexico. Also, I encounter religious diversity when I visit the church my husband was raised in. In many ways it is different than the church I was raised in. In addition, I have several very close friends whose sexual orientation is different than my own. 

When I am with others that may have different values, beliefs or practices than myself, sometimes I find myself acting differently than I would if I was with people that shared the same values and beliefs as myself. For instance, when I am around my friend who is gay, I act the same way as I always do. However, when when are around some of her friends that I do not know very well, I tend to become more subdued and make more of an effort to not say or do something that might offend them. In turn, I think I may come across as "snotty", when I am not like that at all.

Also, when I attend church services with my husband's family, many times I feel out of place because I don't do some of the things they are doing during the service. It makes me feel like I am an outsider and should not be there, even though I know I believe in the same things that they do. 

Becoming an effective and strong interpersonal communicator can help others communicate more effectively with those that are different than what you are used to (Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond, 2011). As a strong interpersonal communicator, one becomes aware of and sensitive to issues and attitudes of those that may be different than yourself (2011).

Also, developing skills on how others communicate can be very effective in learning how to appropriately communicate with each other (2011). In addition, making efforts to learn more about other cultures and embrace the differences can be very beneficial in opening the barriers that may have previously existed.

Finally, first find things that you have in common with others. Once you have established some commonalities, began building a relationship where each gains new insights and knowledge about each other. You would be surprised, how this can become enlightening and life changing for all involved.

References

Beebe, S.A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (2011). Interpersonal communication: Relating to others (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.