week 11 & 12
Pre session Activity:
(i) YouTube Video: Cultural Diversity Examples Avoid Stereotypes while communicating
Self-Reflections/Takeaways-
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In the video we can find the man who keeps on asking the woman from where she was just because she was not looking like one from America or like him. It is totally okay to ask people about there origin and their native country , but there is a way to do that and that definitely is not known to the man . It appreared more sort of that the mam was making fun of the women, even though he thought he was just being funny. But, I really liked the way women responded, that for sure was the tit for tat moment.We should respect every culture because cultures are what makes human race diverse.
Self-Reflections/Takeaways-
Even the gestures which we consider as the most simple way to communicate , have different meanings over the world . The most simple ‘okay’ sign which we all make have other meanings in places like France and Japan . To my surprise I came to know through this video that even the nodding of head vertically for ‘yes’ and horizontally for ‘no’ is just opposite in Bulgaria, which was really unique.This totally conveys that we are diverse and yet there are things that connect us.
Pre session Activity:
(i) YouTube Video: Intercultural communication and understanding is important
Self-Reflections/Takeaways-
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In the video I came across some shocking cultures of America one of which was using red hot iron on baby cows to brand them with owners name. Being an Indian , it shocked me because cows are considered sacred in India and if someone does this in India , he or she might be critisized to an extent one can’t imagine. But , again its all about the cultural practices which is different all over the world and one can’t do anything about it.
Self-Reflections/Takeaways-
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In the video, I saw three commercials of HSBC Bank all of which depicted that the cultural practises all around the world are different . But, we can still respect all of them without disrespecting ours. Its all about adapting. The more we adapt to different cultures, the more we grow.And in today’s world where we all are required to interact with people worlwide, it becomes really important to understand and adapt to each others cultures.
Self Reflections on Synchronous Sessions Of Week 11 & 12
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These were our final weeks for the course Living Conversations. In this week I came to know about one very important thing and that is : The reasonable person adapts himself to the world, while the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to him.
We also learnt about Cross Cultural Communications. Now, talking about it more ,cross cultural communication refers to the communication between people who have differences in any one of the following: styles of working, age, nationality, ethnicity, race, genderetc. Cross cultural communication can also refer to the attempts that are made to exchange, negotiate and mediate cultural differences by means of language, gestures and body language. It is how people belonging to different cultures communicate with each other.
I learnt about the importance of cross cultural communication that by acquiring cross-cultural communication skills, we’ll be able to express ourself with confidence and understand how to be patient with other people who aren’t from a similar background.It’ll also provide a great opportunity to meet fellow students from other cultures and discuss your differences.
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Thus with this , our Living Conversations journey came to an end for this semester. I must say, that the course was amazingly helpful for me. Our Ma’am Dr. Rekha Verma taught us so wonderfully that how these 12 weeks passed is kind of a surprise for me. The subject has taught me some great ways to become a better communicator . It has also taught me that conversation is not just about speaking , but at the same time listening attentively. I made a group project, which was a really new thing for me. It helped me to interact with my classmates in a better way and at the same time improve my speaking skills. I also did a very new job for me, that was video editing. I am really happy about it.Altogether , this journey of 12 weeks was a beautiful one, all thanks to Rekha Ma’am!
