Blog Assignment - Week 3 EDUC 6165
Everyone does not communicate the
same. When I communicate with different people, I try to keep in mind the
differences we have and the things we share in common. I find myself communicating
differently with people from different groups and cultures. I have come to
realize that I communicate differently with colleagues, family, and Italian
friends.
I currently live in a small community
in Italy. I take Italian language lessons once a week to better communicate
with the Italians. In order to meet local Italian people and create friendship
with them I must learn the Italian language. When I attempt to practice speaking
the Italian language with my Italian friends I speak very slowly. I speak
slowly because I am attempting to pronouncing the language correctly. In
addition, I pay attention to my body language and my facial expressions. According to Interpersonal Communication Relating to
Others, “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.” (Beebe, Beebe,
& Redmond, 2011, pg. 98) It is vital to the success of my communicating
with local Italians that I pay attention to my body language and facial
expressions to avoid any misunderstandings. Italians have different body
language gestures than Americans.
When I am communicating with my work
colleagues, I try my best to remain professional with my communication. I try
not to speak about my personal life and remain clear with my expectations. When
providing an assignment or a task to my colleagues I provide clear details and
step by step instructions. However, when I communicate with my family members,
I have a much more relaxed approach. I never curse around my family member, but
I will behave in a sillier manner. In addition, I know my family members better
than my colleagues. I am more familiar with their feelings and opinions about
subject matters. With my family members I can have indirect conversations and my
family members will know exactly what I am attempting to say.
Based on what I have learned this
week, three strategies that I can use to help me communicate more effectively
with the people or groups I have identified with would be to increase my knowledge,
motivation, and skills. According to Interpersonal Communication Relating to
Others, “ One of the barriers to effective intercultural communication is having
different communication codes.” (Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond, 2011, pg. 104). During
my time here in Italy I will actively attempt to learn more about the culture. I
look forward to opportunities to communicate with the Italian people. By
seeking opportunities to learn the communication codes of this culture I will
be able to communicate positively with the people of the Italian culture. According
to Interpersonal Communication Relating to Others, “A competent communicator
wants to learn and improve.” (Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond, 2011, pg. 104). I
find it difficult to create friendships with my colleagues.
Therefore, I desperately want to learn the Italian language to meet people outside
of my colleagues. I am very motivated to speak to Italian people and socialize
outside of my workspace. Finally, I must create a goal for myself to increase
my skill level. A skill that I must continue to develop is becoming other-oriented.
It is vital that I be open-minded to their interpretations of my body language and
my attempts to communicate with others. I need to be open-minded to the idea
that the stereotypes I have about Italians is incorrect.
References
Beebe, S.A., Beebe, S.J., & Redmond, M.V. (2011).
Interpersonal Communication Relating to Others (6th ed.). Boston, MA
Ally & Bacon
I think it is awesome that you live in Italy and taking a class in America, You are correct that some culture have different body language and facial expression. If you don't understand what is being express it can cause confusion or misunderstanding and not always in a negative way. I hope you learn to speak Italian at a quick pace so you can make friends and socialize with the Italian community. I agree with you it will be hard to communicate with your school colleagues because we are all over the place. I did once exchange number with on colleagues then we became face book friends. Good Luck but I know you will accomplish your Italian
ReplyDeleteChannette,
ReplyDeleteGreat blog post! I love the photos you chose to use. Using the resources this week I too found that I had plenty of room to increase my knowledge on how to communicate effectively and the motivation to want to learn those new ways and strategies.
Channette,
ReplyDeleteCan you share any body language or decoding cues you have learned while in Italy that is different from our here in the United States?
LaDedria