Communicating and Cultural Diversity

I find myself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures.  In discussions with people from my own culture, or a culture I am familiar with, I am more comfortable and relaxed during conversations.  This allows for easy two way dialogue.  When communicating with people from other cultures that I am not well educated about, my anxiety level rises and I feel as though I have no similarities to share.  As I write this statement, I am ashamed and now realize there are different approaches to ensuring that I am comfortable in getting to know families with different backgrounds than I. 

In order to communicate more effectively I will continue to ask questions and listen effectively.  When communicating with someone from another background, asking questions and then pausing to listen is a simple technique for gathering information and also for confirming the accuracy of your expectations and assumptions (Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond, 2011).  Doing so will help reduce the uncertainty and bridge our differences in order to have better communication skills.  A second strategy that I will use to communicate more effectively is to continue to seek information about cultures in order to enhance intercultural communication.  Seeking information helps manage the uncertainty and anxiety that we may feel when we interact with people who are different from us (Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond, 2011).  A third strategy is to recognize my intentions.  An intention is a cognitive construct in the sense that it forms a part of our thought process (Vuckovic, 2008).  Misunderstandings can  be encountered during communication due to language difficulties and cultural differences in the expression of intentions.