1. Description of Past Interaction Experience

During the holiday, is served as a waiter in a local restaurant in New York. The food joint often received of diverse backgrounds such as Latino, African-America, Chinese and other racial groups. The manager stressed on the need to have positive communication and interpersonal skills as a way of registering smooth interactions with the customers. Although I a competent in English, being a Russian in New York created some hurdles in communicating due to semantic and cultural barriers. While there are many communications I had with customers, an interaction with an elderly Chinese woman proved to be the most challenging.

Our varying cultural backgrounds created many semantic barriers making it hard to handle her order. I noted that there were differences in the meaning of both names and symbols. The lack of an in-depth understanding of the Chinese way of life meant that I  had a poor grasp of the symbols she used. The communication was further complicated by environmental factors as there was noise from the hooting cars and the loud music in the next stop. Additionally, the day was hot and busy making it hard to concentrate fully. Moreover, I noted that the woman had some preconceptions that my nationality made it hard to handle her request.

2. Types of Noise (Environmental, Physiological and Psychological Factors)

Chapter one refers to ‘noise’ as disruptions to the smooth flow of informationduring communication. It hinders the encoding, transmission, and decoding of the messages.  During an encounter with the Chinese woman, therewere disruptions from environmental factors such as sounds from other people the restaurant.  There were babbles of noise from people, annoying sounds from the hootingvehicles, and hot weather.  The noisemeant that we had to repeat parts of ourcommunication and raise our tones making the interaction uncomfortable.

There were disruptions from physiological factors as the Chinese woman had a hearing disability with one of the ears. Although he had a hearing aid, there were constantdisruptions from other sounds. Additionally, her senior age meant that he had a message comprehension problem and took the time to reply to questions. On the other hand, psychological factors suchas biases, and prejudices disrupted the communication process. She had the preconception that second languagespeakerssuch as Russians had a reduced comprehension of English. The woman at one point became uncontrollable after noting that I was taken too long to write down her order. She felt offended by many questions and summoned another waiter, but I managed to calm her down and equally processed her request.

3. How I was Able/Unable to Communicate

After determining the objective of the intended communication with the Chinese woman, I came up with channels that march goals like speed, richness, and control.  I realizedthatsettling for asynchronous communication such as e-mail would be sluggish and create a barrier.  When I noted that the woman was uneasy and defensive, I changed the tone of my messages and adopted a personal dimension. I was successful in making her feel free to talk to me at her pace.  A consideration of the values and beliefs that are held by the Chinese community also aided me in creating a personal connection with the Chinese customer.  Through showing interest in the traditions of the group, he felt free with me.

I also expressed a positive facial expression such as a happy face that gave the customer the view that I was ready to serve her. On the other hand, I offered her a pictorial list of the foods and beverages in the restaurant.  Our communication was also facilitated by another waiter who had a deeper understanding of the Chinese values. After explaining to the woman, I had minimal knowledge of Chinese values but I was keen on learning them, she realized that I had respects towards her values. Consequently, she stopped being defensive and took us through her order and the way she wanted it prepared.

4. Recommendations for Successful Interactions with Diverse People.

Communication skills are essential in progressing personal career and effective interpersonal interactions. Although communication processes appear effortless, its adherence to principles that ensure the sharing of information is successful.  Communication is strategic and aims at attaining set objectives.  However, environmental factors, channels, physiological, preoccupation, biases, and stereotypes affect communication hence the need to have an open mind while interacting with other people.

Semantic barriers and cultural factors can be managed by using synonyms and allowing respondents to take time to respond.  Environmental factors can be addressed by settling for a location with minimal human traffic and noise. It is also beneficial to have background knowledge of the values, traditions, and practices of the other people. Other considerations include communication channels, elimination of personal barriers and psychological factors like bias and preconceptions.

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