How can our understanding of perception help us become more effective communicators?

Perception

How can our understanding of perception help us become more effective communicators?

Our understanding of perception helps us determine how different people perceive the same message (Watts & Lombardo, 2022). Looking at different people’s perspective you will be able to keep the person interests in mind during a conversation so your opinion will not impact on how you see the person or treat the person. This could also help you not judge a book by it’s cover. Perception could help you understand the world around you and not just your world you are living in. According to McLean (2018), there are many factors that affect the influence a message has on others like style of speech, word choice, and tone.

Example

Think of a time when you interacted with someone from a different culture. Using the communication model, how did your conversation evolve? Was there a miscommunication?

There was a time when I had a interacted with a classmate in middle school. She was bilingual but was Spanish and had a different culture than mines. We were having a conversation on how our house holds were ran and how we eat at home. In my household my parents were strict and since I lived in the country I did not have many friends around the proximity of our land to just go to their house. In her household they have multiple family members around so she would not have to worry about being lonely playing at home. I could remember her saying “Wow that must be miserable I could not imagine living like that not having anyone to play with after a long day at school.” The choice of words and her tone could have been a little more understanding of my situation and that is where I think the miscommunication was placed. With me taking what and how she said it the wrong way I got mad but she noticed my reaction and kind of gave me space for the rest of the day. The next day we rekindled and became mutual.

Change

What could you have done differently?

I believe I could have explained what happened in the situation that angered me. I could have also explained to her that my parents were very strict because of maybe something happening in their childhood. Also explained how I literally stay miles away from other people and their kids goes by their family after school. I could have also told her that is why I typically try to engage in after school activities so I would not be lonely at home.

References

McLean, S. (2018). Exploring Interpersonal Communication. Boston, MA: FlatWorld.

Watts, T., & Lombardo, J. (2022, June 15). What is Perception in Communication? Study.com| Take Online Courses. Earn College Credit. Research Schools, Degrees & Careers. Retrieved March 7, 2023, from https://study.com/learn/lesson/perception-role-influences-communication.htmlLinks to an external site.