Strategies for Communicating with People or Groups

Strategies for communicating with people or groups

            I have been away from work for over three months after surviving a very serious car accident.  These are people that I have been working with for several years.  As a result of this class, I find myself taking more time to listen to what they have to say and being more observant of their nonverbal communication (Nadig, L. A., 2010).  Just today, one staff member came to me in my office to ask about what time the staff could leave since we were expecting several inches of snow.  I could tell because of her tone and body language that she was fearful for her safety.  Because I was able to listen with my eyes and ears, I assured her that I would go and talk with the director and executive director.  Within a few moments, I was able to communicate good news that the staff could leave right away!  While I am not always able to communicate great news, when there is unpopular news, I am able to justify to the staff why a decision is made the way that it is.

            The demographics of the population of children and families we serve in Williamsburg, Virginia are constantly changing.  When I began as education/disabilities coordinator eight years ago, there were eight Latino children in our program.  This year there are 40 Latino children from different cultures as well as students from Morocco, Kenya, Thailand, Vietnam, and India.  Therefore, another strategy I must use is understanding my own culture and the culture of others (Gonzalez-Mena, J., p. 36, 2010).  Even the Latino families have different cultures that I must learn about by having conversations with the families and researching their cultures on the internet.  When using the internet, it is important to use sites that are reputable.

            When I am working with colleagues, community partners, family members or any other people or groups, being objective and avoiding ethnocentrism, stereotypes, and prejudice, will help me to gain respect (Zhou, B. & Cui, F., p. 79, 2007) with whoever I am having conversation.  It will also help the people or groups involved to “achieve mutual benefit” (Zhou, B. & Cui, F., p. 81, 2007).  Everyone will be a winner!

References

Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2010).  50 strategies for communicating and working with diverse families.

            Understanding and Appreciating Cultural Differences (pp. 36-38). Upper Saddle River,

            NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Nadig, L. A. (2010). Tips on effective listening. Retrieved from

             http://www.drnadig.com/listening.htm.

Zhou, B. & Cui, F. (2007). On the promotion of intercultural communication competence. Sino-

            US English Teaching, 4(9), 77-81.  Retrieved from the Walden Library using Education

            Research Complete database.

Communication- Nonverbal, Listening, and Verbal

Communication- Nonverbal, Listening, and Verbal

“When you talk, you are only sharing information you already know.  By listening, you have the potential to learn something new.”  Dr. Jim Robusto (personal communication, July, 1997).

Cast from Sex and the City

            This was an interesting experiment.  I chose to watch an old episode of “Sex and the City”.  No, I have never watched it before!  I did already know that the show was about four young women friends who live in New York City, however, I was unaware of the relationship that they had with other people in their lives.  The title of the episode was “The Cold War”.  Based on what I saw, I thought the cold war was between Carrie and her love interest.  When I watched the show again with the sound on, I learned that the cold war was between Carrie and her three other friends.  She was spending more time with him than with them.   Because I was honing in on nonverbal communication, I was amazed at how much I was able to figure out just by watching the nonverbal cues. Their gestures, body movements, facial expressions, and eye behavior told me a great deal about what was being said (O ‘Hair & Wiemann, 2012,p. 134-137).  In the case of Samantha, I could tell that she was doing something with wigs because in every scene she had a different hair color and style.   Proxemics (O’Hair & Wiemann, 2012, p. 140) also gave me cues about the closeness of each relationship.  For example, in the opening scene, Carrie was with a man in a restaurant sitting very close to each other.  At the dog show, three of the four girls and a gentleman were all sitting very close together, leaning over each other to talk about things related and unrelated to the dog show.  From this exercise I learned that in new situations it is essential to pay attention to nonverbal cues.   The nonverbal cues can tell you a great deal about what people are thinking or feeling.  They can play a major role in any situation, however.

            Had this been a show that I normally watch, I think it would have been easier to figure out what was going on.  Because you learn the relationships between the people in the show, you can predict how they will react with each other and to different situations.  The longer you are in relationship with a person or group of people, the easier it is to gauge their response to a new situation.

References

O’Hair, D. & Wiemann, M., 2012.  Real Communication: An Introduction (2^nd ed.). Boston,

            MA: Bedford/St. Mary’s.

Effective Communicator in Early Childhood Education

Effective Communication in the Work Place

Dr. Whitehead(far left) at our convocation  with our guest speaker  and  Executive Director, Reba Bolden  (far right)

            The person who I have chosen to write about this week is my boss, Dr. Jocelyn Henry-Whitehead.  She is the director of our Head Start program in Williamsburg, VA.  I consider her to be a transformational leader.  Dr. Whitehead is a role model for all of us to follow.  She begins each day by making a connection with each of the members of our staff.  By hugging each individual she breaks down barriers so that people are willing to share opportunities and challenges on a daily basis.  This helps our agency because then challenges can be proactively solved creating a great environment in which to work.

            Dr. Whitehead is willing to stand beside any employee and do the work they are doing.  This is true for teaching assistants, bus drivers, family service workers, teachers, coordinators or human resource staff.  Her willingness to step in boosts the morale of the staff because they know that she knows what they do each day. 

            She solves problems by getting input from all staff members involved.  In this way she is able to get as many solutions as possible and gain consensus about which solution might be the best.  Because the staff has contributed to the solution, they feel more ownership in the solution and are more willing to carry it through to completion.  Dr. Whitehead feels confident in her decision as a result of the input that she has received.

            Dr. Whitehead also uses humor in the way that she presents ideas.  This helps to ease any tension there might be when difficult decisions have to be made.  It allows her to then explain why the difficult decision has to be made and what the advantages are to following this particular path.  Because she initially used humor, it broke down some of the barriers that might have created dissent among the staff.

            Finally, when challenges arise, Dr. Whitehead helps us to use the challenges as opportunities to grow and learn.  She is not punitive if mistakes are made, but asks the staff member what they learned from the challenge and how they plan to respond in future situations that are similar.  This strategy encourages staff members to take risks without the risk of failure.  Better ideas are shared as a result.

            I truly admire my boss.  She has taught me a great deal about being a leader.  I am hoping that when I become a preschool director, I can emulate many of the characteristics that she has modeled for me.  Because of her style, she is able to motivate staff members in a way that allows them to be the most productive.  I hope that, like her, I can recognize and build on people’s strengths to make the agency as strong as it can possibly be.  Unfortunately, I do not have her gift of humor.  I appreciate good humor, but it is comes across as forced when I try to use it.  I will have to find another way to put people at ease.  I am fortunate to have the opportunity to work with and for her.  I know it has made me a better person and leader.

References

O’Hair, D. & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real Communication: An Introduction (2^nd ed.).

Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). (2005). Code of Ethical

            Conduct and Statement of Commitment. Retrieved from   

            http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf.