Communications – Perception, Culture, and The Self

The role of communication is vital when it comes to the perception of yourself to others and to you. The way we communicate with others is one of the first things people are going to make assumptions upon. If we speak to someone in a polite and dignified way, they may interpret us in a better way rather than if we were to speak to them in a rude manner, interupting them, and not paying attention to what they have to say. I hate to say it, but aside from communication, I think the only thing people make more assumptions of you is based on your appearance. However, I believe this to be very unfair, as people have different styles, ways of living, and wealth. The way we communicate with others can show what kind of person we are to them, it can also show your tendencies. When we speak in a polite way, we may perceive ourselves as respectful. When we lose our cool in a conversation, we may think ourselves as angry, rude, or disrespectful and regret it the moment after it’s done.

Not only does communication play a role in the way we are perceived, but as does our culture. Growing up in different generations, we were taught different tendencies, behaviors, and even communication skills. Current generations may speak in a certain way that older generations find disrespectful and vice versa. Times have changed and things that were not normalized back in our grandparents time are now accepted. This is something that makes it difficult to interact with one another. They were taught differently than what we were taught was acceptable and it causes communication amongst each other to be difficult. In one aspect we may want to tell them they are wrong and they can’t behave or think like that anymore. At the same time, we are taught to respect our elders. Even if we made an attempt to change their beliefs/behaviors, I’ve come to find out that most have acted in this manner for so long, they view it as the only correct way. Situations like these can really hinder our interactions between one another, but they will still occur so we must find a medium ground.