A concept that resonated with me in Chapter 16 was adaptability on page 506. Communicative adaptability can be defined as being able to adjust behaviors and goals under different conditions.
I found this concept meaningful because it relates to when I babysit my four year old nephew. When taking care of him I have to have the ability to change my behavior around him. I cannot just simply yell at my nephew or demand orders from him, I have to keep my social composure and act rationally around him. I basically have to keep calm in situations where he doesn’t want to sleep for a nap. I definitely would not cuss around him. I basically want my nephew to know that he is cared about, so whenever he goes down for a nap I make sure he knows that once he wakes up we'll be able to play again.
I always try to use wit around my nephew because he is at the age where anything is funny to him. I remember a few times when he fell down from running around on the grass and the playground, but to alleviate his embarrassment I would just clap my hands and say “its ok” and not draw attention to the bruise, but just act happy around him so he wouldn’t cry.
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3 comments:
Hi :-)
I think it's so true that in order to be effective communicators, we must adapt to some extent to the people we are communicating with, particularly when dealing with children. It wouldn't make sense or be effective if you were to communicate with your 4 year old nephew the same way you communicate with your sibling. We must adjust our communication habits so that the receivers of our messages aren't confused.
-jdmINT
Yes i believe we need to be able to adapt our forms of communication to better suit the environment we are in. If we were to talk like grown ups to children they wouldn't understand us well, or vice versa, if we spoke to adults like they were 4 yr olds we would insult their intelligence and we would look like an idiot to that person. So yes, we need to adjust our means of communication to our audience to be effective communicators.
Just as situations ask for us to adapt our communication behaviors to different ones, so does different people. You don't talk to your boss the way you talk to your boy/girlfriend, unless your boy/girlfriend is your boss. (Haha!)
Also, in order to survive life (effective livers of life), we have to be versatile. We have to adapt and be flexible, especially to changes. Afterall, change is the only constant thing in life. Adaptability is a skill that all of us should master--bbehaviors and just the way we live.
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