One of my assignments at work is to work with high school
foster youth. I have to meet with them and finds ways to communicate with them
so that they can openly discuss their passions, questions, or dreams about
attending college. One strategy that I have found effective when dealing with
students that are from another generation is that I listen to what their interest
are and I try to find something that we would have in common to gain their
trust. For example, if a student is interested in a particular television show,
I will try to watch a few episodes to get an idea of the characters. Then I
would have found a commonality when talking to that student during the
following meeting session. If they are not talking, a second strategy that I
use is my sight. I look for any logos, sayings, or designs on their clothing to
find something to say in relation to it. Just last week I meet with a girl who
has a tattoo of a music symbol. I am a musician myself so I decided to
introduce myself like I usually do when I meet a new student, but this time I
added that I am a musician. As I talked about my musical experiences, I saw her
nonverbal gestures. Her eyes widened and she began to smile more. That broke
the ice between us. My third strategy is to focus on not just verbal gestures
but also on the non verbal. Whether a person is no talking due to their
religion, gender, age or whatever, I learn a lot about a person based on how
they physically act around me.
I think you make a very good point. Often, we do communicate differently with other cultures. However, it doesn't necessarily mean that it is done in a negative way. trying to relate to the youth you work with will only help in your communication with them. Thanks for sharing!
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