Cultural Diversity

I think that I do communicate differently with people from other cultures depending on the occasion. I enjoy being around people of different cultures because I can learn from them. However, there have been times where I have become irritated with being around people from other cultures. One experience I remember is when I was in undergrad. I had a foreign teacher whom I couldn’t understand at all. The verbal communication between the two of us was horrible. The way I passed this course was from notes. Luckily, he issued out notes that were typed up to all students.

It is hard communicating with someone who doesn’t share the same culture of you. You all have nothing in common which makes it harder to communicate. It is possible to communicate with people of different cultures, but it may take a few adjustments. When communicating with someone of another culture you must be careful of their language, know what’s considered offensive to their culture, and be aware of any hand gestures and body language they use. The main concern is being open-minded!      

Nonverbal & Verbal Communications

I watched the television show Love That Girl. The show I watched wasn't that hard for me to understand without sound. During the beginning of the show a group of people were sitting around socializing and laughing. It was obvious they were friends. Throughout the show they would gather together having drinks and playing cards. Appearing to be an old male friend came back into the picture bringing a woman with him. During a party an agrument took place. Later in the show that woman no longer appeared. Obviously, it was related to the party because she wasn't seen after that and that old male friend was spending more time with one of the other women from the party. I assumed they used to date and wanted to pick back up on their relationship.
After re watching in sound I learned that everyone was friends. The party they threw was for the guy and his fiancee coming into town. Things went sour at the party because of the comments made about the soon to be groom and his old love. The fiancee was confused of their past and got angry. I was right when I assumed the dude did want to have a relationship with his old friend girl.

I believe this show was easy for me to understand because I read the body language. I paid attention to the characters and their behavior as well as observing their facial expressions.

Competency in Communication

The one person that I feel shows competency in their communication is my grandfather/pastor. When he speaks he is very clear and uses appropriate tone. His messages are always easy to follow along with because he relates his Christ messages to everyday life. Always giving examples of how the two are linked. He makes eye contact with the audience, has a great posture(not slouching), very presentable in clothing. He is very neat and well groomed. His passion for ministering to others about God has opened opportunities for him to speak at other churches, funerals and other events.
My grandfather apperance resembles his character. I would love to model his style. I have learned a lot from him. I've become inspired by his communication skills and the way he represents his self.