Communication with my immediate family is typically done in a relaxed fashion, with my professional peers depending how well I know them I am usually more formal, and my style varies as I interact with students and/or their families depending on how firm our relationship is. As I engage in relationships with such groups, there is one attribute recommended by O’Hair and Wiemann (2009) that I must nurture which is making sure I am always mindful of who I am talking to and what I am saying.
Being aware of my own culture is another item with which I must be familiar. Such mindfulness is an obvious action that will help me become accepting and respectful of others cultures (O’Hair & Wiemann, 2009). Developing appropriate and lasting relationships is based on being culturally aware and mindful of ourselves and others (Gonzalez-Mena, 2010).
For me, the pinnacle of communication is being an effective listener. Such a skill needs to be tied into being mindful. I feel that is important to be able to understand that our own perceptions may impede our ability to understand a speaker’s intentions (O’Hair, Friedrich, & Dixon, 2011).
The following expressions about mindfulness helps me to understand how such a quality is essential to being a better communicator. These and other such quotes are contributed by the Guided Meditation Site (n.d.):
The practice of mindfulness begins in the small, remote cave of your unconscious mind and blossoms with the sunlight of your conscious life, reaching far beyond the people and places you can see. (Earon Davis)
Some people do not know the difference between mindfulness and concentration. They concentrate on what they're doing, thinking that is being mindful. . . . We can concentrate on what we are doing, but if we are not mindful at the same time, with the ability to reflect on the moment, then if somebody interferes with our concentration, we may blow up, get carried away by anger at being frustrated. If we are mindful, we are aware of the tendency to first concentrate and then to feel anger when something interferes with that concentration. With mindfulness we can concentrate when it is appropriate to do so and not concentrate when it is appropriate not to do so. (Ajahn Sumedho)
References
Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2010). 50 strategies for communicating and working with diverse families. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Guided Meditation Site. (n.d.). Retrieved from the Guided Meditation Site @ http://www.the-guided-meditation-site.com/mindful-quotes.html
O'Hair, D., Friedrich, G. W., & Dixon, L. D. (2011). Strategic communication in business and the professions. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication: An introduction. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's
2 comments:
Hi Sally,
I agree we must be mindful and respectful of others opinions and feelings.I think that we have to be well educated on culturaly diverse families that we serve and how to communicate with them in a sensitive way.Good blog, I enjoyed reading it.
Hi Sally
In agreement with your post, we as adults, and professionals must be aware of others feeling and show respect to all. When communicating we must make sure that we are not giving out the wrong impressions as sometimes that is the case. I enjoying reading your post and learning about resources. I like the guided meditation site.
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