Communicating with others

         

           I have spent this week analyzing the ways that I communicate and how I am affected by the way different people communicate with me and I realize that I do communicate with different people differently. I noticed that while working with a woman who has less of an education than I do that I tend to speak to her differently. It isn’t that I treat her as uneducated but she doesn’t always understand terms or concepts because she lives a simpler life so I will usually simplify my thoughts so that she will easily understand them. I never realized that I did this until this week and I do not mean to behave this way but my friend does not seem to mind. I truly believe that changing the way that I speak with her would be harmful to our relationship because she is always making negative comments about people who use words that are too big for her and them trying to make her feel stupid.

            This coworker and friend is not the only person that I treat this way. When I am working with people who I know have the same or a similar education as I do I will speak with them as an equal. Throughout the week I noticed that the way I communicated with a person depended on who the person was and what the context of the communication was. I catered to the other person’s needs while having a conversation with them which would be similar to the Platinum Rule of treating others the way that they would like to be treated. While my intention is not to treat some people as unintelligent I believe that it is important to not make myself appear to be better than or smarter than them either.

            When speaking with others I think it is important o consider where they come from and how they will get the most out of your communication efforts. I also believe that it is important to make them feel like they are an equal in the conversation and have value to add to what is being discussed. And finally, I believe that no matter who the person is and what they have to say it is important to listen to what the other person has to say and validate that person’s opinion. Doing these things will allow the other person to feel like they are an important part of the communication process and help them to open up and communicate more effectively.