Diversity and Communication

I am a professional Pet/House Sitter. I have a lot of different clients and am constantly meeting new ones. The people I meet are all diverse. If I slow down and take apart my routine interactions, I actually notice that my presentation of self always starts out the same. I am highly professional, friendly, and cheerful. As I take in the new information- their home, their pets, their demeanor, expressions, way of talking, personalities, etc.- I seem to shift a little in response. I wouldn't say I warp myself or portray anything false, but it's kind of like the psychology practice of "mirroring" with a client for their comfort. And I don't do it just for a client's comfort, sometimes it happens in a natural way a friendship is formed. However, yes, sometimes it is a mirror for a client. For example, there's a woman who's older than me, very reserved, and conservative. I stay true to who I am, I'm charismatic and friendly, but I also steer away from an urge to make a loud joke or talk about topics she's not interested in. There's another woman who has two kids around my son's age. She's very laid back and full of gratitude towards me. I am always extra warm towards her and talk about the parenting topics that I can tell she's interested in from being around her home and kids. Another client is a younger couple who are so sweet and super into sports. I can't connect with them about sports at all!:) However, I am more comfortable showing my more boisterous and goofy self with them. It's a shift!
                                                            

Hm... three strategies I could utilize are using the Platinum Rule, paying attention to my perceptions, and listening even harder. The Platinum Rule I could definitely use when caring for pets. These are my clients pets and my clients home. I should care for the home and the animals in the way they wish. (This directly relates to child care as well). It's not about what I want to feed the dogs, it's about what the owner wants. I respect that. As for perceptions, it's so so important to pay attention to first impressions and assumptions. Both from me and towards me. Listening harder needs to happen in every aspect of life.(Like the dog in the picture!) I already thought I was a good listener, but I've been making it a priority to actually pause and be silent way more often and Actively listen as a whole new practice!

Communication Styles and Media

This was a pretty funny assignment. I chose a children's comedic sitcom, Raven's Home. I am a mom, this happened :) I was somewhat familiar with the main characters who were the moms in the show because it was a spinoff from a show when I was younger and the moms were teenagers. Now they're adults with 3 kids between them and they all live together.

As I watched in silence, I thought it was hilarious how expressive everyone was with their body language. They seemed to each do the same sequence: look at the other person like they're crazy, then smile and show that they love them. I could pretty much infer the character's personality from the body language. Perhaps since it was a sitcom, it was pretty straight forward. I could tell when the characters were mad at each other, confused, repentant, etc.

This assignment made me think about what my life would look life in the filtered genre of a sitcom. Would my relationships and feelings be that obvious? I am a pretty expressive person, as far as my face and body language. Or would I be more of a mystery to my viewers because my feelings weren't so displayed? Interesting.......

                                                        

Inspiring Communicator

I'd like to dedicate this entry to Ruth Beaglehole, founder of the non-profit Echo Parenting and Education. I moved to California and took her intensive courses on parenting and then on being a parent educator. Her non-profit is huge and she was actually mentioned in the UnBiased Education book we read for the Perspectives and Diversity class here at Walden. I had a lot of post-partum issues at the time and found their work so healing. Their focus on connection, non-violent communication, relationship, and the developing brain taught me so much about myself, being a parent, and my child.

Specifically as a communicator I admired Ruth from Day One. This is completely beside the point, and purely subjective, but she has the most beautiful New Zealand accent. Apart from that, she possesses an aire of patience, empathy, and confidence. These attributes shone through whenever she spoke and people sat up and listened. She was so self-assured and so passionate about her mission. I felt safe when asking questions, and even when others were confrontational she remained level-headed and kind.

I whole-heartedly hope to acquire these skills one day. I have the persona, but I am terrible at confrontation and extremely shy. I get tongue-tied and frustrated easily. I would love to be able to stand up and teach or give speeches with confidence and not sweat the possibility of others contradicting or confronting me. She is definitely a model to me. A model of practicing what she preaches! A model for self-confidence and standing true in your passions.