Improving Relationships and Communication through Understanding One Another

Abstract

Have you ever heard these statements? "They're not like us." "They don't have our values." "We invited them, but they're not interested, so they don't come." "They just don't care about doing better." You may recognize these comparisons as judgment statements. Why are such statements made? Is there a lack of understanding? Do you recognize fear in any of the statements? Perhaps we fear what we do not understand. Do we interact with those we fear or do not understand? How do we break down barriers of fear and misunderstanding? First of all, a genuine desire to learn has to be come from within each individual. No one can demand, require, or force you to be interested in interacting with someone from different origins than your own. What if you wanted to reach out to someone from a different culture with educational materials or in a business prospect? With rapid population changes in the United States, as well as around the world, we have seen the importance of breaking down cultural barriers that impede interpersonal communication and trusting relationships. Yes, it seems easy enough to simply avoid anyone whom you think to be different, but it is not practical in education, service, business arenas, or in any cohesive community setting. Humans do not function in isolation. Isolation is rarely beneficial to healthful or peaceful outcomes. Since countries grow daily in ethnic and cultural diversity, now may be the time to learn some steps towards 'cultural pluralism'. Often called integration or multi-culturalism, cultural pluralism reflects individuals who are highly acculturated (adaptive) to more than one culture. Research and best practice suggest some preliminary actions for reaching families and individuals not living in mainstream cultures. Primarily, there must be an understanding of one's own cultural patterns and personal bias. This begins the steps toward the comprehension of other cultural customs and paves the way for cross-cultural communication. The purpose of this workshop is to bring participants closer to clearly defining and understanding cultural patterns, learning how cultural patterns can impede the communication process, and introducing ways to improve comfort levels in building cross-cultural relationships. Keywords: cross-cultural communication, cultural patterns, pluralism, integration, acculturation