Effective Communication

To communicate more effectively I have to first know and understand what areas of communication I may lack in. We often think that our way is the right way. That is definitely not true. We all have some areas that we need to improve and there are some things about communication we were not aware of. We have to make sure we truly understand what it means to communicate effectively. The second thing I can do is to not be so grounded in thinking that my cultural ways are what’s appropriate. This is called cultural myopia. Cultural myopia is especially dangerous when members of the dominant group in a society are unaware of or insensitive toward the needs and values of members of others in the same society. Third I can apply the platinum rule when I am communicating with others. The platinum rule states, “Do to others as they themselves would like to be treated." Which goes hand in hand with valuing and respecting others. As it relates to effective communication, if we are aware of and are knowledgeable of the different cultures we can then communicate with them in a way that does not suggest we don’t appreciate who they are.