My life is full of diversity. There is diversity in my family and friends. There is diversity at work, in my community, and at my childrens school. At work I have to approach diversity very careful. I have to try not offend anyone, but at the same time not lose who I am and what I stand for. There are a lot of my co-workers that have different views from me whether it be reliegon, sex, or politics. The most sensitive one is politics. We all have different views on how things should be done and why things are done a special way. Politics is one of the things we try not to discuss in my office because it usually ends in a heated argument. You can't be mindful unless you listen to what people say(O'Hair & Wieman 2012). Reliegon is also a very sensitive topic in our office. When working in a diversified environment one has to be very careful about the things that he or she speaks out about. Learning about other cultures is a great start to improving intercultural communication, but many scholars believe that we also need to spend time with members of other cultures and co-cultures, virtually and face to face(O'Hair & Weiman 2012). Most times I find myself not joining in on any of the conversations no matter how passionate I am about the topic.
O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.
Hi Katrina,
ReplyDeleteEven if you don’t participate vocally in the conversations, you show your participation by listening. And that’s a start. Relationships depend on good communication. Yes, we need effective and appropriate verbal and nonverbal skills to build a relationship but we also need effective listening to strengthen that relationship.
I enjoy conversations with diverse populations. It helps me to better understand where they are coming from.
ReplyDeleteKatrina,
ReplyDeleteI think that i would respond the same way. as i stated eariler that i like to sit back a watch people interact and communicate, it tells a great deal about the person/group.
Shannon
Politics has been a controversial topic in my social circle. Facebook is a medium in which I am able to read and listen to several different viewpoints without expressing my own beliefs. I have learned a lot from being a silent observer.
ReplyDelete