COM 263 assignment # 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

COM 263 assignment # 3 - Essay Example By understanding this, she could choose her words to convey the intellectual meaning without the cultural identity becoming an obstacle. This would extend to her non-verbal communications such as attire, stance, and demeanor. Cross culture communications requires that we look at ourselves and reach beyond our limitations in an effort to fit ourselves into the situational context and become more universal (Fitzgerald, 197). Understanding our own cultural identities is the building block that intellectual communication is based on. Being a woman and returning to school as an older student has influenced my ability to communicate effectively between cultures. As a woman, I must be aware that my communication may become genderized. When speaking to a male or mixed audience, it is imperative that I understand the communication methods I have acquired as a female as well as the perception of the audience. If I am speaking to a diverse audience that has various ethnic groups or races, it is important that I understand how my identity is viewed by their culture. If I were speaking about the right of a woman to equal pay for equal work, my vocabulary and presentation would vary depending on if I am speaking to a black woman or a Muslim man. As an older student, I can be caught mistakenly thinking that I know more than lifes experience has actually given me. My skills at presenting a case for a viewpoint may be lacking even though I have an emotional understanding of the argument. My identity as older does not directl y coincide with that of being a better student. When communicating with other students, age may garner respect or the opposite may occur. Only by understanding my own identity can I find ways to communicate more clearly and effectively deal with this obstacle. In the situation of working in another department temporarily, there are several identities that are brought to the situation. An important identity is that all the people work for the same company.