"DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE WORDS THAT ARE COMING OUT OF MY MOUTH"?

The tittle of my blog comes from the motion picture Rush Hour. There are times when I am speaking to different groups of people that I have to change the way I speak. Sometimes my language is slang. I use that type of language when I am talking with my nephews. They have their own language that they use when they communicate with them and I my self use it when I am talking with them. It makes the atmosphere more agreeable when we are speaking. I have learned that when talking in my culture that you have to use the dominate language of the conversation to fit in. So when I am around my nephews talking with them I use slang, when I am around my family we use what people in big cities call country talk. Which is an informal way of speaking that is not always using correct English, with some occasional verb splitting.



In my neighborhood my family is the only Black family. Our neighbors are all White and we sometimes talk when we meet each other outside. Whenever I speak with them I do not have to change my way of speaking because we all speak on the same level. We have conversations that are long and short at times and we are able to effectively communicate with each other on a level that is understood by all.



3 strategies that I will use to help me communicate effectively.

• Talk on the same level of the person/people that I am communicating with. I have learned that when I talk with the children and families that I serve I have to be like a chameleon, able to switch back and forth with the language that I use. The reason being is that people like to feel comfortable and relaxed when they speak without feeling inadequate or dumb. So when I talk to people I talk on the level that they communicate so that I am not offensive to them.
• I will have an open mind to their point of view and not have the conversation fastened on how I think things should be. I will apply the Platinum Rule principle while engaged in conversation with the families that I serve.
• I will take into consideration the culture and diversity aspect of the people that I am communicating with. I will have to remember that culture determines how people communicate, and I have to respect the various means of communication that is exhibited by the many different cultures in out society.