Personal Reflection on a Communication Difficulty
Recently while going for my practice, I came across a young girl just sited alone while filming her surroundings. I decided to check on her to cheer her up or offer any assistance if she needed it. I opened the conservation.
Me: Hey, what’s up, are you okay. You are alone.
Her: Thanks for asking. I am fine. Thank you. What’s your name?
Me: (I gave her my name looking uneasy)
Her: I am Gia (smiling confidently). Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
Me: Beautiful name!
Her: Are you are a badass photographer because I need to show my OOTD, but
I am at home alone. (Silence as she seeks my eyes curiously). This is my best place. I don wanna miss it.
My chin dropped because I could not figure out what OOTD was, and secondly, badass was way crude coming from a 10-year-old. I went blank for almost a minute until she interrupted the silence.
Her: Sorry, did I say something wrong? I want to be an avid social media influencer for teens, so I have to show a cute simple outfit every day to keep my crowd.
Me: (I came back to my senses). Oh, that’s what you meant, but what does OOTD have to do with it?
Her: It is the Outfit of the day with an amused grin.
Me: I am so sorry for the misunderstanding. Okay, pose. Smile
Despite both of us speaking in English, I misunderstood Gia. I think there was difficult because I am not up-to-date with current fashion slangs or copywriting language used for social media copywriting. This difficulty is caused by other underlying factors such as the age difference between Gia and I. another factor could be my expectations towards Gia. I had formed a bias that she would be shy or fearful and ‘polite.’ I also had a realistic expectation that she would express herself like I do without considering that we are from different age cohorts and backgrounds as she was a native speaker while English is an acquired language for me. I was so embarrassed that I did not initiate the conversation with proper greetings and introduction. Perhaps, this would have removed awkwardness in our chat. It would also have allowed her to express herself better.
I noticed that changes in technology also affect communication and development of language. If Gia were not naturally confident, she would have coiled away from our conversation. I learned that when communicating with a person, you just met, be open-minded, observe their demographic characteristics and, do not be judgmental.