Communicating in a Diverse World.

 Living in a society that is different from mine in every aspect is tough; communicating with people that co-exist with me is even more difficult because, most time I don’t know the actual words to use in other not to upset an individual.

Knowing that diversity is all about different cultures, sexual orientation, age, race religion, political affiliation, social statue and varying abilities is something I just learnt. Prior to my enrollment in Walden University I have always known diversity to be people of different cultures, race and religion co-existing. But recently my knowledge about diversity has improved.

I come from a culture that has zero tolerance for people that are not heterosexuals LGBTS and other groups that fall under this category, and as such don’t recognize them in every aspect of life in my country Nigeria. People with disabilities are seen as liabilities and non-contributors to the society.

My various courses in Walden has taught me the unique nature of diversity, abilities in disability, the beauty about inclusion and being responsive to everybody irrespective of who they are, what they are or where they belong as per their social economic statue.

Nigerians are known to be loud in every aspect of our lives, the way we worship tells much about us, the way we speak at times people mistake it to be an argument. I came across an Ethiopian once in Dubai and he asked me why we Nigerians are so loud and it looks like we are about to fight whenever we are having a discussion.

But I have learnt the differences in culture, how people communicate, verbal, nonverbal cues and body gestures has different meaning in different cultures. I am still in the process of becoming a competent communicator, so I try as much as possible to be “Other oriented”.

I definitely communicate differently with people from different groups and culture. Being a competent communicator requires me to put peoples culture, believes into perspective for me to be able to communicate effectively, relate and to accept others as they are. So the way I communicate with my Nigerian brothers and sisters is different from the way I communicate with people from other groups and culture. Freeing myself from biases, inculcating the  Platinum Rule into me and stripping myself off of cultural myopia is the way towards communicating effectively with a diverse community.