I think that we all make adjustments when we communicate
with people, when I am with family and close friends, I touch a lot and we
laugh a lot, if I am with other’s I don’t use nearly as many nonverbal
skills. Body language is a part of who
we are so that does not change much. If
I am with people who may not use very colorful language I try not to also. I try to consider who I am talking to and how
what I say will affect them and as we say in church, “guide yourselves accordingly”.
When I am with younger people, I may have to speak the language
that they speak, it is like living in another culture (third culture) when
talking to them. Surprisingly to me they
place labels on everything, their music, and the different types of people, the
clothes that people wear, and even the places that they visit on the internet.
In this case I have to adapt to the topic, ask for clarity, and sometimes for a
description of what we are talking about. When I am with family and we have the
whole range of ages, we make sure that everyone is following along with eye
contact and questions, and touch. We
make sure that we are listening and paying attention to each other does not
mean that we are talking one at a time. The last strategy that I try to make
sure that I use with everyone is eye contact; it is important to me that people
feel they are being heard and that what they say is important to me. So I concentrate on what is being said to me
and the body language that goes along with it.
Hello Carmellia,
ReplyDeleteYou definitely hit something when you mentioned using a different language skill when talking to young people. I observed that while doing the assignment for week two where we had to make our observations on the use of communication skills. The young people seem to speak a little faster, and as you say, they have a label for every aspect of their lives from the clothing to the music, even for one another!
Great Post!
I find it interesting that people automatically adapt their way of communicating based on who they are communicating with. You mentioned that young people communicate differently, speaking faster and using label. I imaging those same young people sound very different when speaking with their teachers than they do when speaking with one another.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I considered many things in your post, but continue to come back to the need to be myself. I want to be open to everyones opinions, thoughts and culture all the while preserving who I am. What are your thoughts on this?
ReplyDelete