CrossCultural Communication

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Cross-Cultural Communication
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Cross-Cultural Communication

• Communication, both verbal and nonverbal, is
  critical to cross-cultural competence.
• Language and culture are inextricably bound.
• Communicating with those from different cultural
  backgrounds is very complex.
• The amount of information that is explicitly
  transmitted through words versus the amount of
  information that is transmitted through
  situational context, relationship, and physical
  cues differs by culture.

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High-Context Cultures

• High-context cultures tend to be more formal,
  more reliant on hierarchies, more deeply rooted
  in the past, and likely to change more slowly.
• High-context cultures rely less on verbal
  communication than on understanding through
  shared experience, history, and implicit
  messages.
• Fewer words are spoken and less emphasis is
  placed upon verbal interactions.

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High-Context Cultures

• Members of high-context cultures, such as those
  from Asian, Native American, Arab, Latino, and
  African American heritages, are more attuned to
  nonverbal cues and messages in which meaning does
  not have to be communicated through words.
• Facial expressions, movements, speed of
  interaction, location of interaction, and other
  subtle vibes are likely to be perceived by and
  have more meaning for high-context cultures.

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High-Context Cultures

• Within the dominant mainstream culture, couples
  who have lived together for many years, families,
  twins, and long-term colleagues often use
  abbreviated forms of communication that are very
  meaningful to them but nearly uninterpretable by
  outsiders.

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Low-Context Cultures

• In contrast, low-context cultures are more
  informal, allow more equality in interaction, and
  have less knowledge about and reverence for the
  past.
• Low-context cultures such as Anglo-European
  American, Swiss, German, and Scandinavian, may be
  more responsive to and comfortable with change.

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Low-Context Cultures

• Individuals from low-context cultures typically
  focus on precise, direct, logical, verbal
  communication and are often impatient with
  communicators and communications that do not get
  to the point quickly.
• They may not process gestures, environmental
  cues, and unarticulated moods that are central to
  effective communication in high-context cultures.

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Differing Contexts

• When families and interventionists differ in the
  level of context that they use in communication,
  there may be misunderstandings.
• For individuals from high-context cultures, lots
  of talking, clearly specified verbal directions,
  and detailed demonstrations by an interventionist
  from a low-context culture may seem insensitive
  and mechanistic.

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Differing Contexts

• The talking may be perceived as proof that the
  interventionist truly does not understand them
  and cannot, therefore, be of help.
• On the other hand, members of low-context
  cultures may be uncomfortable with long pauses
  and silences, cryptic sentences, and indirect
  modes of communication, such as storytelling that
  high-context families may utilize.

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Differing Contexts

• They may feel that these things are time wasters
  or signs of resistance.
• To help bridge this gap, it is the
  interventionists responsibility to become aware
  of the level of context that families use in
  their communication with outsiders and adapt to
  the style that is comfortable for the family.

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Differing Contexts

• It may mean that the interventionist must slow
  down, listen more than talk, observe family
  communication patterns, and consult with cultural
  guides or mediators to pace their interactions to
  the familys communication style.
• Interventionists may also encounter cultural and
  regional differences in nonverbal communication
  behaviors, such as eye contact and facial
  expression, proximity and touching, body language
  and gestures.

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Eye Contact

• In Anglo-European American culture, eye contact
  is valued in interpersonal interactions.
• When one is speaking or being spoken to, eye
  contact is expected with brief glances in the
  others direction throughout the exchange.
• Trustworthiness, sincerity, and directed are
  communicated through this pattern of behavior.

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Eye Contact

• However, among Asian groups, eye contact between
  strangers maybe considered shameful.
• Among African-Americans, making eye contact with
  someone in authority is viewed as disrespectful.
• In contrast, prolonged eye contact may be
  interpreted as disrespectful in Latino cultures.

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Facial Expressions

• Facial expressions are also subject to various
  interpretations across cultures.
• Smiling or laughing is often used to mask other
  emotions in Asian cultures.
• Although it may seem incongruous to an
  interventionist from another culture, it is not
  unlikely that an Asian family member may smile or
  laugh softly when describing something that is
  confusing, embarrassing, or even sad.

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Facial Expressions

• Other groups, such as Native Americans and Asians
  may not communicate emotion to the observer
  through facial expressions unless the observer
  has a deep understanding of the person and the
  cultural norm.

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Touch

• Among many Chinese and other Asian groups,
  hugging, back slapping, and handshakes are not
  typical and should be avoided by the
  interventionists.
• In those cultures in which handshaking is used
  upon a first introduction, the handshake is often
  not so hearty as that used in the United States.
• Among Muslims and some non-Muslim Middle
  Easterners, use of the left hand to touch another
  person, to reach for something, or to take or to
  pass food is inappropriate.

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Touch

• Because the left hand is associated with more
  personal bodily functions, it is not used in
  other ways.
• Left-handed interventionists may choose to limit
  the use of their left hand while working with a
  traditional family who holds this belief.
• Shoes and the soles of the feet are also
  considered to be unclean.
• As a result, stretching ones legs causing the
  feet to point to someone or touching someone with
  your feet is not appropriate.

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Touch

• Many Americans show affection to children by
  patting them on the head.
• This is not an acceptable form of touch among
  many Asians who believe that the head is the
  residence of the soul or among East Indians who
  may believe that the head is so fragile that it
  should not be touched.

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Posture and Gesture

• Positions and postures that are taken for granted
  by those that have been socialized in the US may
  have different meanings for those from other
  countries or other cultures.
• Standing with ones hands on ones hips can be
  viewed as extremely hostile by some Asians.
• Sitting on the top of a desk or perching on the
  arm of a chair is seen as rude by many Muslims.

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Posture and Gesture

• Sitting so that ones head is higher than the
  elders or chiefs in the room is interpreted as an
  affront by the Samoans.
• Different cultures use body movements to a
  different extent when communicating.
• Anglo-European Americans tend to use moderate
  gesturing to accompany their talk.

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Posture and Gesture

• Although hand and arm movements are used for
  emphasis, Anglo-European Americans typically do
  not allow their elbows to go above their
  shoulders.
• More expansive gestures are construed as too
  emotional and are carefully avoided by most
  Anglo-European-Americans.

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Posture and Gesture

• In contrast, some Latinos, Middle Easterners, and
  southern Europeans use large gestures with
  considerable arm waving when they communicate.
• Indonesians respect calmness and control in
  verbal communication and are often uncomfortable
  with the arm movement that is the norm for
  Anglo-European-Americans.

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Posture and Gesture

• Nodding the head up and down is taken as a sign
  of understanding and agreement in mainstream
  culture in the U.S.
• The same gesture is interpreted as I hear you
  speaking among Asian, Native American, Middle
  Eastern, and Pacific Island groups.
• It does not signal that the listener understands
  the message nor does it suggest that he or she
  agrees.

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Posture and Gesture

• However, because disagreeing would be impolite,
  head nodding is used.
• Individuals from India signal that they have
  heard what has been said by moving their head in
  a figure-eight pattern.
• Americans tend to beckon people by pointing the
  index finger palm up and curling it toward the
  body.

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Posture and Gesture

• People from other cultures (e.g., Middle Eastern,
  Asian, and East Indian) use this gesture only
  when summoning animals.
• It is never used with children or adults.
• Finally, the ok and thumbs up gesture common
  in the United States are obscene gestures among
  some Latino culture.

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Summary

• Effective cross-cultural communication involves
  the willingness to engage in cross-culture
  interactions that explore differences openly and
  respectfully.
• Such interactions help to dispel myths and open
  doors to understanding.
• Communication effectiveness is also significantly
  improved when one is open to new learning and
  keeps a sense of humor.

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Summary

• Finally, having cross-cultural friends and
  colleagues who are willing to answer questions,
  who are willing to help one practice some basic
  words and phrases in the familys language, and
  who are able to provide feedback can only improve
  the learning experience.
• More fully knowing oneself and the world opens
  doors that can never again be closed.