Communication
in today’s modern world runs my life. From the moment I awake, to the second I
fall asleep I am communicating in some form or another. In order to be an
effective communicator there are a few skills that I have had to learn along
the way.
Since
the birth of my son, I have had to learn ways to communicate nonverbally. This
means allowing my son to know something is wrong without saying a word. For instance,
my signature stare lets my almost two year old son, Noah, understand that he
should quickly rethink his choice of action and make a new choice. This type of
communication works even better with people who have been communicating for
years. My son does not fully understand the cues his body tells me, but other
peers and coworkers of mine, do. When I am having a verbal conversation with
someone, my body begins a second conversation with nonverbal communication. I
look at the way a person moves their eyes, or perhaps uses their hands to
communication. Someone’s body language can tell me things that they themselves,
may not consciously want me to know. When having a conversation online it can
be difficult to trust someone because you lack the nonverbal part of the
communication.
Through
meeting new people, I have learned that I should not assume things about them. Not
everyone thinks in the same ways that I do. Everyone is brought up differently
and taught different things. It is because of their unique qualities, that I
should assume differences, before assuming similarities. There are many
characteristics that may change the way a person thinks. I often find that
gender, age, education level and cultural background, changes a person’s
values, beliefs and thought process. I take into consideration all of these
factors when I am talking to someone. Any of these characteristics can affect
the outcome of our conversation and can alter what we are talking about.
To
delve a little deeper in one’s cultural background, one needs to know their
cultural context. Whether a person is from a high-context or low-context
culture will make a difference in your conversation together. “In high-context
cultures, communication relies less on the explicit content of a message than on
the context of the message” (Bovée, 2010) . For instance, Japan
is a high context culture. Because children are raised knowing that different tones
in one’s voice has different meaning, they do not have to rely fully on verbal
communication to convey their message. Whereas “In low-context cultures, communication
relies more on message content than on message context” (Bovée, 2010) . The United States
is a low-context culture. People must rely on exact directions to understand a
message’s full context. Children are usually taught step by step in order to
understand how to do something, and because of this, they rely on instruction
in conversation as well.
There
are of course many other skills that need to be used when communicating with
others, however these are the three that I use and improve upon the most. Many
people have strengths within their communication skills, and by communicating
with vast amounts of people, one is able to draw on others abilities to improve
upon their own.
Bovée, C. L. (2010). Business Communication
Essentials: A Skills-Based Approach to Vital Business English. Prentice
Hall.
