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

Comments

  1. Melinda AbroNovember 21, 2021 at 3:05 PM

    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

    ReplyDelete
  2. Emily NevelsNovember 21, 2021 at 3:36 PM

    Channette,

    Great 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.

    ReplyDelete
  3. LaDedria TaylorNovember 21, 2021 at 7:49 PM

    Channette,

    Can 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

    ReplyDelete

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