Chapter 5 - Lecture notes 5 PDF

Preview

Summary

Idoko...

Description

Chapter 5- Communicating in a Diverse World 





Communication and Culture o Communication- process by which people transfer information, ideas, attitudes, and feelings to each other o Symbol- anything that represents something else o Kinesics- study of body movements as means of communication  Culturally specific- body language throughout the world o Intercultural communication- process in which messages created in one culture must be processed and interpreted in another culture  Miscommunication often results because we attach different meanings to same symbol o Sign language – visual form of communication using hand shapes and movements to talk or to express an idea, not uniform or universal  Deaf people all over the world cannot communicate with each other o Linguistic diversity- refers to many languages spoken in the united states and throughout the world  Bilingual or multilingual people o Linguicism- relatively new term that refers to discrimination based on language Electronic Communication o Electronic communication- imparting or interchange of information through technology o Technology is blurring lines between our working and personal lives o Advantages in technology have improved communication for people with disabilities o An individual can create a new identity or number of different identities from technology o Electronic message may result in misunderstandings, name calling, and hard feelings if people are unfamiliar with certain rules of etiquette and cyber shorthand o Empowerment- internet communication allows a person with little status to be empowered o Inclusiveness- flow of communication online is more evenly distributed and respected, regardless of who occupies what status o Online courses help lifelong learning regardless of age o Allows students and teachers to have more time to ask and respond to questions Diversity Consciousness and Communication o Examining ourselves and our world  Need to be aware of our own communication style and why we communicate the way we do in order to understand outside culture  Material culture- which we create and can see, feel, touch  Ethnographer- person who spends time living with people in order to research their customs o Expanding our knowledge of others and their worlds  Unaware of different patterns of cultural differences and pivotal role they play in communication  Depending on cultural setting- may or may not be appropriate to be frank with emotions, delegate decision making, or to deal directly with conflict in face to face meetings  Different communication styles  People converse with faces a few inches apart  Student or coworker takes long time to answer question  People do not look at you when you talk to them  People talk informally for period of time before getting down to business  People answer a question with yes  You see two people verbally challenging each other





2

o Stepping Outside of Ourselves  Be more open and sensitive to others o Gauging the level of the playing field  Status- one’s position  Power- ability to influence people and bring about change  Differences in power and status can be obstacle to effective communication  Those with less power- often ignored during communication process  Sense lack of power- feel input not important  Everyone should feel they have something important to offer o Checking up on ourselves  Constant practice and self-examination  Open to feedback- people’s responses to us  Misunderstanding will occur  Important to ask constantly for feedback from others  Think through questions:  Am I considering my entire audience?  What is the situation? o What influences outside and within this particular setting might have an impact on communication?  What options are available to me? o What form or forms of communication might I use? o Message might be written, oral, visual, or combination of these  What is specific purpose of communication?  What feedback am I receiving regarding the messages being sent (content) and how they are sent (style)? o Tone of voice, pauses, facial expressions, and gestures can be just as important as words themselves  What might I do differently to communicate more effectively? o What can I do to listen more actively?  Am I using language that might be viewed as offensive? o Offensive terms, phrases, or body language known as macroaggressions, impair communication  Following through  Constant practice enables us to become excellent listeners as well as competent speakers in a wide variety of settings and circumstances Communication Matters o Employers weed out prospective employees by evaluating their verbal and written communication skills o Success in all realms of life depends on your ability to communicate effectively  Each encounter poses a challenge  Effective communication can promote synergy, creativity, and critical thinking among individuals and teams Barriers to Effective Communication o Cultural biases  Dialect- patterns in way people use language  Can trigger negative assumptions about a person’s education, intelligence, or character







3

Patterns which reflect people’s cultural and regional backgrounds, which include pronunciation or accent as well as vocabulary and grammar  Person with accent too often assumed to be less intelligent or less qualified o Lack of awareness of cultural differences  Two of you may interpret the same symbol differently o Language differences  Even when people speak the same language- may find it difficult to communicate o Ethnocentrism o Inactive listening  Poor listening skills can make it much harder to communicate across cultural boundaries Microagressions o Brief, often subtle and unintentional biases that people communicated by virtue of what they say, what they do and environments they crate o Game of political correctness o Using appropriate language is not something we can easily turn on and off o Difficult dialogues are sometimes needed but need to create comfort zone  People rarely do it o We reserve difficult dialogues for friends and family o Student’s do not always agree, but learn to respect each other’s opinions o 8 ground rules for difficult dialogue  be as open and honest as you feel you can be  respect each person’s right to be heard  realize that we are teachers and learners  be an active participant, remember that we participate in different ways  listen even when we do not want to listen  do not judge another person’s feelings  focus on behavior rather than the person  do not ask people to be spokespersons for their groups Communicating Inclusively o Address people when they want to be addressed  Do not judge a person’s preference o Keep an open mind  People can view same thing differently o Listen actively  Active listening skills require practice over time  We Do not carefully listen wo what people are saying and how they are saying it  Effective listening hinges on ability to attune ourselves to other’s feelings  We try to repeat or mirror what was said, attempting to capture the person’s feelings and thoughts  Check understanding  Instead of assuming that someone understand you, assume just the opposite  Do some research  Think through what you are going to say before you say it  Avoid slang  Do not share ethnic joins  Use as many different styles of communication as possible

 Ex. visual aids Do not assume you can or should ignore differences Communication is diversity skill o Learn, develop, and refine throughout course of our lives Articles o Equality  eQuality Project – an interdisciplinary effort at the University of Louisville established to ensure that individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender-nonconforming or born with differences of sex development (DSD) receive the best possible healthcare.  really involved the community in helping to both create and vet curriculum.  LGBT Health Summit to which we’ve invited the community where we’re doing faculty development. We’ve offered people to talk back and forth in small groups about LGBT health.  Yet another crucial piece of the eQuality Project that has been used to create curriculum content is the implementation of sessions the committee calls Speed Meetings. In these sessions, members of the community have an opportunity to sit down with 10 medical students and share their stories of barriers they’ve experienced to healthcare.  Another way we’ve done this is we’ve created a community advisory panel that we call The CAP, and for the last year, they have looked at every single piece of curriculum that we have tweaked or created to give their opinion on it. o CULTURAL COMPETENCE CONTINUUM - CHARACTERISTICS  Cultural destructiveness  “We are all that is important.”  Cultural incapacity  “We take care of our own.”  Cultural denial/ indifference  “All people are the same.”  Culture pre-competence  I realize that my responses to cultural difference are more often than not culturally de- structure and I am trying to understand how to respond culturally competently/proficiently.  Cultural competence  commitment to social and economic justice.  “Foster mutual adaptation to difference to create environments that are useful for all.” 

 



Cultural profiency  hold culture in high esteem and that it is my organizing frames of reference and the foundation by which I understand relationships between individuals, groups, organizations, systems, etc.



4

“Optimal, universal, inclusive and proficient.”...