Communication Across Different Cultures

I interact daily with families from cultures different from mine.  Some families have come to the United States in recent years and others are born and raised here, but their backgrounds and experiences are different than mine.  When I talk to families or colleagues that are naturally born citizens of the United States I do find myself talking to them differently than I do families that came here from another country.  I tend to find myself listening more to families from other countries, mostly because I find it interesting to learn about their cultures and experiences. 

I believe one of the most effective forms of communication is being aware of the nonverbal cues you display.  Each culture is different in how they perceive certain body cues.  I read a quote recently that was along the lines of we have many different languages across our globe but the one common denominator between all cultures is a smile.  

A New Perspective on Communication

I took the time to watch ABC's TV show "Once Upon A Time".  I do not typically watch a lot of fantasy shows, but decided to give this one a chance.  In this episode, the characters appeared to be in a close relationship with each other.  They appeared to be lost or stranded together.  This episode proved to have a lot of emotion, there was (perceived) anger, sadness, hopelessness, relief, and confusion.  At first, I was distracted by the lack of sound.  I was playing on my iPad and occasionally speaking to my husband.  But after a few minutes, I treated the show like I was people watching (a guilty pleasure of mine).  I was able to read lips and make my own assumed dialogue which was quite entertaining and comical.  Even though the situations the characters were involved in were clearly meant to be dramatic and appeal to a "darker" view, the only way that I could stay focused was to make things up as I watched. 
When I finally got to watching the show with the sound on, I realized that my perceptions and the assumed dialogue I had created were completely off. Where I thought the characters were a close group of people, with dialogue I saw they were a divided group with smaller individual problems.  This assignment helped to reinforce not to assume or place my own personal perceptions on others without the proper dialogue to go along with it.  I do enjoy silent movies, which are meant to be seen not heard; they tell their story through more traumatic and increased body language. But I did not enjoy watching a TV show that is meant to be heard and seen with minimal body language that I could use as cues.  Now I am hooked on the TV show!

Competent Communicators

I feel like I write a lot about my parents, particularly my father.  My father is a competent communicator so it works for this assignment. 

My father is extremely articulate, often well versed in the topics he is discussing, and is quite persuasive in his points.  He gestures as needed throughout his conversation which allows for less distraction for the listener and often times backs up what he is saying with pinpoint evidence from credible sources (which is quite impressive).  Now that technology allows us to have information at our fingertips, this has allowed for even more validation in his conversation.  It doesn't help that he is always, I mean always, right.  My father is straight to the point when communicating, using real world examples, almost like a well written essay.  I also think that the reason my father is such an effective communicator is because everyone respects him and values what he has to say.  He worked hard throughout my life to prepare my brother and I to also be competent and effective communicators.