Communicating
in Groups
I’ve always believe to keep my personal life
and professional life separate. I believe you have to a level of standards of
professionalism when interacting with colleagues. In my currently position, I’m
a part of a management team which I’m the minority. During meetings, my
communication is always professional using high language (formal) and gestures.
In my home environment around my friends and family, my guard is down, and I’m
more relaxed. I use more low language (slang) when talking to friends and
family. Also, when I work with families in the early childhood profession, I
try to avoid speaking to families use words that could be intimidating. For
example, “YOU NEED TO……!” Using a phrase like that with families can set the
tone of the relationship and hinder building a quality relationship with the
family. Also, it gives the impression that I’m tell them what to do. In my
family culture, I may tell my children, “You need to clean your room",
which is acceptable in my family culture. So I believe communicating should be
different based on the situation.
Your post is indeed timely. I was wondering if you might consider some exceptions to the rule for professional conduct.
ReplyDeleteJust yesterday, I participated in the first meeting of the Los Angeles County Male Engagement Collaborative.
The various presentations, including mine, were quite informal. Several of us let slip a couple of "potty words" (yep, I was one of them). Most of the guys in attendance were dressed down, wearing either agency T-shirts or business casual attire. A few of us (including me again) wore shorts. Only one person out of about 30 in attendance sported a tie.
Afterwards, the comments from everyone were very positive. They stated that they loved the energy. A few stated how our meeting was very different than the usual meetings they attend.
Is it possible that letting ourselves relax more in our professional lives might sometimes be a good thing?
Andrea,
ReplyDeleteI could not agree with you more. I am a strong believer of keeping my personal life and professional life separate. I feel that in a professional setting, people are quicker to judge you for how you look and act. However family accepts you for who you are and they truly know you.
Arica