Communication Reflection:

Throughout this course, I have learned several invaluable tenets of effective

communication such as the basic theory of human communications, the importance
of using appropriate register and tenor, how to communicate effectively in different
group dynamics, the intricacies of conducting meetings, and how different groups of
people can misunderstand each other because of their backgrounds.
Going through this course and my work term, I always felt that my
communication strengths lie in the field of communications within various group
dynamics. I feel this to be the case as I was well aware of the task roles each
individual played in daily group safety meetings. This was maintained even though
such roles were often dynamic on some days I would be in charge of facilitating
the topic to be presented (within our small team of 8-10 people), while on others I
would be responsible for presenting the safety topic at hand. In each case, I knew
what role each member and I played, (such as a leadership role when presenting,
mover role when in charge of facilitating the discussion, or an anchor role when
called upon to talk about the practical implications, both past and forward, of each
safety topic), and because of this, was able to get the whole group communicating
well with each other.
However, I feel that my misunderstandings due to cultural and other
background differences have crept up often during my work term so far. Working
with people of various backgrounds (and in an unfamiliar environment), there have
been several cases of misunderstandings of each others intentions. One example
was when we had scheduled a meeting with a new employee who was from a
background where showing up late for meetings was normal and not worthy of an
apology. Due to him arriving late, things had to be rushed with negative
consequences and impressions of each other. Had I suspected that something like
that was likely (due to cultural differences in timeliness), I could have let someone
on our team know so said person would be aware of the differences in expected
timeliness and hence less misunderstandings.
I plan to improve my communications and aim to eliminate such
misunderstandings by first and foremost, learning from mistakes such as this one,
and also by talking more with other coworkers about their culture customs. This
way, I would have an idea in advance of possible differences in workplace culture
based on peoples background especially if they come from a similar background.
Overall, I found this course very helpful in enhancing my communication with
supervisors and coworkers alike, and look forward to applying more concepts
throughout my work terms.