Communication is an essential aspect of building and maintaining relationships
Communication is an essential aspect of building and maintaining relationships. It is a broad subject that takes in both the verbal and non-verbal cues. Cultural norms, languages, and values play a vital role in communication. In the wake of globalization, understanding and appreciating different cultures go a long way in flattening platforms of misunderstandings. Communicators should adhere to key concepts such as courtesy, attentive listening, and an excellent understanding of cultural socialization, among other aspects, to meet the interests of diverse audiences.
During our weekly meetings at the hospital, an Indian colleague was presenting a report, and a heavy ascent punctuated his English. He could miss some pronunciations, and people out of their willingness to assist could offer corrections though some mumbled in low tones. The actions of the audience took away his self-esteem, and in the end, he became nervous to the point of fidgeting and showing signs of shaking. The audience started becoming disinterested in the content and focused on the presenter. His heavy accent had significantly affected his credibility. Floyd defines credibility as the extent to which an individual is perceived as proficient and trustworthy to speak about a subject (95). This overwhelmed him that he requested to defer the presentation to a later date. After the meeting, he became withdrawn and worked in isolation. As an Immigrant, I understood his predicaments, and over the lunch hour, I sought to reassure him that all could be well with time. After sharing my own experiences, he was much at ease, but he revealed to me that it would take time to build his confidence again.
The language was the most prominent communication challenge we faced during the presentation. With globalization, cross-cultural conflicts brought about by language conflicts are common. Most people migrating to the US from India often face ascent challenges and deficiency of vocabulary to package their messages appropriately. The audience complicated matters as they focused on the presenter more than the content. We suggested correct pronunciations on where the presenter went wrong, not knowing that this was taking away his self-esteem. This was a form of criticism that made the presenter feel unappreciated and incompetent. Floyd defines criticism as judging someone based on their perceived errors in pronunciation (99). Consequently, the member was bold in deciding to end the presentation prematurely. This saved him face and gave him another chance to right the wrongs. It might have saved the situation not to correct the presenter openly. He could have been given his time without interruption. Besides, knowing that the member was struggling with the language, his department should never have picked on him to deliver the message, but somebody else proficient enough to earn the audience’s attention. I believe people who may feel offended by public corrections should communicate through other means such as emails as this can avoid the situation we had with our colleagues. Our listening style should have also focused on the content more than the speaker, thus taking away possible language bias.
Communication is a great tool that brings people together but can also cause divisions if not handled as expected. There are many points of agreement and departure in communication. The concept of courtesy is vital in keeping a conversation going. Politeness and humility are the building blocks of courtesy. In the case study, the audience should have been courteous in their suggestion for corrections. Judging the presenter using the standards of a Native American speaker was insensitive to diversity. In the best interest of his confidence, we could have patiently listened to the presented without interruption upon which we could request if he could send us a copy of the report for harmonization. This brings into question the concept of listening and desirable styles. Listening is an essential aspect of excellent communication (Elizabeth, 10). It is an art that focuses on both verbal and non-verbal cues. Non-verbal cues such as voice intonation and body language are great accompaniments of spoken messages. For this situation, it was essential for us to focus on the content more than the voice of the presenter than sounded indifferent to us. Another concept that played out was that of socialization. Indians are conservative and, in many cases, would value a system where correction is presented conservatively. Their socialization processes encourage a closed unit interaction with family members. On the contrary, American socialization promotes liberty. While we accommodated the presenter as per our cultural setups, his undoing was his conservative background. Thus, observing these critical concepts could erase the misunderstandings that arose.
When communicating, one needs to be courteous, attentive, and understanding to meet the interests of diverse audiences. The incident was an eye-opener that cultural barriers might impede message delivery. It poked holes in my confidence to communicate with people from different backgrounds effectively. My concern was what will happen if I was to give a presentation to a group of Chinese Nationals with little English grasp. As an oral health professional, I expect to serve people from various communities who may not be conversant with the languages I am proficient in. As a remedy, it would help to watch speech documentaries that will prepare me for uncertainties. I can also consider taking some courses in widely spoken languages in the world. Besides, I will focus on improving my English vocabulary by reading at least two novels monthly. Also, I will start practicing public speaking skills to build stamina on unexpected happenings that can take away my stage confidence.
Finally, I will want to work on my persuasion ability, which will be vital in cross-cultural communication arenas.