Communication and Culture

I do find myself communicating differently depending on the individual or group of people I am communicating with. When communicating with friends and family, I tend to be more informal, I speak the Arabic language when I am at home and around my family. But when I am outside the home, I prefer to speak English and I feel that I am more comfortable and not as concerned with the conversation formalities. When communicating as a professional and with people who are not my friends or family, I tend to be more formal and precise. When communicating with professionals, I am serious, formal, and more focused on what to say as well as listening to others.

In many times, I try to stay with people who are not different than me, and I prefer to stay with people who speak the same language as mine, have the same religion, and culture. One strategy I would use to effectively communicate with others is to expand my perspective and to consider talking to diverse people as an opportunity for me to benefit from learning from them. I will also improve my communication by being open minded and mindful of emphasizing the unique qualities of each person (O’Hair & Wiemann, 2009).

References:
O’Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2009). Real communication: An introduction. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, National Association for the Education of Young Children.