Communicating With Others Who Are Different From Ourselves

I would like to believe that I communicate with everyone the same across the board but I would be lying to myself if I stated that. I think that I do treat other people who are of a different culture in a different way but I may not be fully aware of it. I have a difficult time communicating with individuals who are deaf because I have a fear that they will misunderstand me and I do not know sign language and I do not want to offend them. There has been occasions where I could have taken a sign language class but always made an excuse of being too busy or feared that if I did learn then someone would call upon for assistance and I would still mess things up. I find myself shying away from these individuals not because of discrimination but the fear of not knowing what to do. Three ways I can overcome this is by simply just taking the sign language class, finding resources to help me communicate with them better, and finally working with other professionals on what ways I can better serve and talking to them about their experiences.

First Impressions

For this assignment I decided to log into my Netflix account and find a TV series that I never viewed before but always heard about and I chose the TV series "The Walking Dead". I never was a person for movies about weird people or zombies but decided to give it a try. In the beginning of one episode a man in a police uniform was riding through an abandoned city on horse in an effort to get somewhere important I assume. When he turned the corner on one of the streets h was greeted by a large amount zombies running towards him. He was soon overrun and knocked off of his horse where he ran to hide underneath an armored tank. As he was shooting at the zombies he had the look of uncertainty on his face and place the gun to his own head. Before he pulled the trigger he found an opening in the armored tank and slipped inside. Inside, he had the look of panic on his face as if he was trying to figure out his next move. At one point he looked at a speaker in the distance with a confused look on his face but I couldn't understand why. On the next episode he escaped the tank and ran towards a building where he was greeted by normal people and he found refuge in side of that building. I decided to stop at this point and go back to the beginning of the show to watch it with sound to see what I could understand.

The man riding on the horse name was Rick and he was a cop in the city of Atlanta before the apocalypse took place. He was in search of his family, who he had been separated from during the apocalypse and decided to ride a horse through Atlanta to find him. The zombies caught up with him and he ran under the armored tank. As he was shooting the zombies he realized that he wasn't going to make it so he said, "Lori and Carl I'm sorry" and almost pulled the trigger before realizing there was a way inside of the tank. Inside of the tank he heard the voice of a man coming from the speaker and that is why he looked so surprised. The man on the speaker name is Glenn and he was assisting Rick with the route to get to the building they were in for safety.

My first impression of this show without the sound was a bit confusing and I felt like the TV series wouldn't be worth watching what so ever but after watching it again and listening it peaked my interest to want to watch more. In the text (OHair & Wiemann,2012) it states, "that just because we place more stock in nonverbal communication doesn't mean that we are always right." This statement was true when I first viewed the show without sound. I made a assumption because of the nonverbal cues that the show would not be interesting because of focused on the body language of the characters. I decided to watch a few more episodes and I think I am hooked, well let's just say that I will be watching once the series starts again in February.

Effective Communication

I am very excited to begin this semester with each of you and being able to have the opportunity to learn something about you as well as something new about myself. Communication is extremely important in everyday life and it is key when working with young children and their families. The one person in my life that I believe has excellent communication skills is my mother. My mother hold a Master's degree in counseling as well as being a LPC. Although she is now retired she still amazes me on how in tune she is with her environment and communicating with other around her. She offers great insight, advice, eye contact, and overall positive feedback when speaking with her. She makes a point to repeat what you have told her in order to make sure that she is understanding you correctly before she begins her response. I believe that she obtained these skills not only through her studies but through her years of experience as an educator before becoming a counselor.