My most memorable intercultural experience occurred among my coworkers at a New York financial services company. When I first started working there, being Guyanese I continued to follow my passion for cricket. My male coworkers, football enthusiasts, found my passion for cricket funny. I was told, ôCricket could never compare to football.ö Since cricket is the major sport in Guyana but is seldom televised in the U.S., I ordered satellite programming so I could view major cricket matches. As I began to socialize with my friends, I began to find football entertaining. I would invite friends over from work when I knew a major cricket match was being televised. My male coworkers became interested in the game, and seemed to appreciate why I liked it. I was happy enough about this but an even bigger surprise awaited me. My male coworkers secretly organized a cricket game for our annual picnic. When I arrived they all had cricket attire on and had rented cricket equipment from the picnic budget. I was very proud and we enjoyed a fun game. This taught me that things we like or dislike are the product of our experience as much as culture. Once we become familiar with other ways of thinking or believing or enjoying, we seem to widen our appreciation above our own experience and cultural background. This has enhanced my intercultural communications skills because I now refrain from judging others based on my own perspective. I now get to know and understand individuals from other cultures before deciding what I like or dislike. TWO
The strategies involved with active listening have taught me a valuable lesson with respect to interpersonal communication skills: Seek first to understand. The greater the level of understanding during communication, the greater the chance for optimal interpersonal relationships. One has the best chance of achieving this by learning to actively listen. Perkins (1999) defines active listening as ...