According to the article entitled “Interpersonal Communication and Diversity: Adapting to Others”, a good first step to becoming an effective intercultural communicator is to identify its causes or barriers. Researchers note that some of the barriers to effective intercultural communication may be influenced by biological predisposition, economical and/or social category or by personal preference within gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, age and/or social class. My intercultural communication goal however, is to honor and respect others by focusing more on and relating to what we may all have in common, rather than on our differences and as an early childhood educator/residential teacher of life skills, I find I enjoy understanding, building, cultivating, supporting and maintaining relationships with my colleagues, children and families from other cultures such as Caucasian, Latino, African and Asian,  based on my own African American cultural upbringing, my own life experiences and personal preference to value individuals and groups from other cultures (Beebe, 2011 ).

After reflecting on this week’s materials, the three strategies I would choose to help me effectively communicate with others from different cultures are:  1) increasing my knowledge of other cultures through seeking information about their cultural life and situations which in turn may help me discover my role in a new/strange place and help me feel more comfortable. 2) asking questions, effectively listening to the answers and creating a “third culture”  by letting go of old ways and experimenting with developing a basis for forming a new relationship based on talking, dialoguing, negotiating, conversing, and/or interacting together for the purpose of constructing a new relationship that is a more mutually beneficial interactive environment when two experiences collide;

another strategy for helping me strengthen my intercultural communication is by accepting others, being patient, being more mindful of what I am doing, thinking and sensing and tolerating uncertainty through avoiding negative judgments about others with other worldviews;  and lastly, 3) observing, responding to, paying close attention to others verbal and nonverbal cues and putting into action all of what I know and want to achieve for building and strengthening a more creative and flexible multitasking skills base that will ultimately bridge established cultural patterns (Beebe, 2011).

One lesson learned is the importance of having and being able to use strategies that will help build effective intercultural communication, especially when a difference in worldviews or established patterns of cultural experiences arises. Another lesson learned are the barriers that can negatively affect intercultural communication and as an educator, I am thrilled to have gained a deeper, more meaningful level of understanding into how the process of communication can work when a serious clash occurs between two individuals or groups of people from other cultures (Beebe, 2011).

Reference

Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (2011). Interpersonal communication: Relating to others (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.