Differences in communication
By: Marah Rice
Native Americans' communication is different from other cultures in a couple of ways. As Americans we are used to the hustle and bustle, busy everyday life. We are generally very talkative people. Native Americans are quite the opposite.
Listen Before You Speak
The Native American people are a quiet people. Silence is something that has long been embedded in their culture. If they are angry or upset, especially in a social situation, they do not express those emotions. They are simply silent. Some people take this as indifference or just not caring, but it is a part of their culture and something they have been taught since birth. When Native Americans do communicate they put much more of an emphasis and value on listening rather than speaking. They very rarely talk just for the sake of talking. They don't make much small talk except between close friends or family. Native Americans do not find power in words that other cultures may. There is much more emphasis on affective communication, such as expressing their feelings about something, rather than just verbal communication. (nwindian.evergreen.edu)
Story Telling
Listening, observing, and memorizing is something Native Americans are taught from the beginning as important skills to have. While they are a quiet culture, story telling is an oral way of passing their history and stories down from one generation to the next. The tradition of story telling has always been important to the Native American culture. While other cultures may write books about their experiences or learn about their history in school, much of Native American's culture comes from story telling.
Rules for Communication
1. You should know someone well before speaking to them for long periods of time or confiding in them.
2. Children should not display themselves verbally in front of adults.
3. It is inappropriate to express emotions in public or around people you don't know very well, verbally or non-verbally.
4. You shouldn't ask direct questions or expect an immediate response from people you don't know very well.
5. It is inappropriate to verbally discipline or praise a child in public. It should be dealt with in private/quietly.
6. It is inappropriate to speak for someone else, no matter who that person is. Everyone is titled to their own opinion, even a child.
7. "In Indian conversations, it is not the person who speaks first who necessarily controls the topic. This is because an immediate response to what someone has said is not always expected, but may be delayed. The respondent therefore has control over the topic by choosing when to speak and what to say."
Other rules consist of: Do not signal someone out directly, do not compete with answers, no answer can be said it is wrong, and do not gaze directly at someone the entire time they are talking.
These rules and communication aspects of the Native American culture can cause problems between other cultures trying to communicate with the Native American Culture. (Communication Styles of Indian Peoples by Mary Heit -AWASIS Journal)
Listen Before You Speak
The Native American people are a quiet people. Silence is something that has long been embedded in their culture. If they are angry or upset, especially in a social situation, they do not express those emotions. They are simply silent. Some people take this as indifference or just not caring, but it is a part of their culture and something they have been taught since birth. When Native Americans do communicate they put much more of an emphasis and value on listening rather than speaking. They very rarely talk just for the sake of talking. They don't make much small talk except between close friends or family. Native Americans do not find power in words that other cultures may. There is much more emphasis on affective communication, such as expressing their feelings about something, rather than just verbal communication. (nwindian.evergreen.edu)
Story Telling
Listening, observing, and memorizing is something Native Americans are taught from the beginning as important skills to have. While they are a quiet culture, story telling is an oral way of passing their history and stories down from one generation to the next. The tradition of story telling has always been important to the Native American culture. While other cultures may write books about their experiences or learn about their history in school, much of Native American's culture comes from story telling.
Rules for Communication
1. You should know someone well before speaking to them for long periods of time or confiding in them.
2. Children should not display themselves verbally in front of adults.
3. It is inappropriate to express emotions in public or around people you don't know very well, verbally or non-verbally.
4. You shouldn't ask direct questions or expect an immediate response from people you don't know very well.
5. It is inappropriate to verbally discipline or praise a child in public. It should be dealt with in private/quietly.
6. It is inappropriate to speak for someone else, no matter who that person is. Everyone is titled to their own opinion, even a child.
7. "In Indian conversations, it is not the person who speaks first who necessarily controls the topic. This is because an immediate response to what someone has said is not always expected, but may be delayed. The respondent therefore has control over the topic by choosing when to speak and what to say."
Other rules consist of: Do not signal someone out directly, do not compete with answers, no answer can be said it is wrong, and do not gaze directly at someone the entire time they are talking.
These rules and communication aspects of the Native American culture can cause problems between other cultures trying to communicate with the Native American Culture. (Communication Styles of Indian Peoples by Mary Heit -AWASIS Journal)