NTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

Definition And Nature Of Intercultural Communication

-Intercultural communication happens when interact, negotiate, and create meanings
while bringing in their varied cultural backgrounds.
-For some scholars, intercultural communication pertains to communication among
people from different nationalities.
-Intercultural communication as communication that is influenced by different
ethnicities, religions, and sexual orientations.
-Both interpretations show that intercultural communicationtakes place when people
draw from their cultural identity to understand values, prejudices, language,
attitudes, and relationships.
-Moreover, this facet of communication can also be seen as a bargained
understanding of human experiences across diverse societies. Simply put,
intercultural communication is the sending and receiving of messages across
languages and cultures.
-Sometimes, intercultural communication can flow smoothly and become very
interesting for a cross-cultural group.However, things may not go as planned when
communication is disrupted by cultural collisions.
-When you speak, your speech is continuously accompanied by gestures, facial
expressions and other body movements that add to what you are saying in different
ways.
-For example, nodding means "yes" in the Indian subcontinent, Iran, most of Europe,
Latin America, and North America. However, in Greece, Lebanon, Syria, Palesine,
Turkey, Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Albania, nodding indicates disagreement.
-Moreover, in the case of Japanese culture, silence as a form of communication is
more integrated in their customs than in Western languages.

The Development Model Of Intercultural Sensitivity

-The DMIS offers a structure that explores how people experience cultural
differences. It has 6 stages:
1. Stage 1: Denial
>the individual does not recognize cultural differences
2. Stage 2: Defense
>the individual starts to recognize cultural differences and is intimidated by
them, resulting in either a superior view on his/her own culture or an unjustified
high regard for the new one.
3. Stage 3: Minimization
>although individuals see cultural differences, they bank more on the
universality of ideas rather than on cultural differences.
4. Stage 4: Acceptance
>the individual begins to appreciate important cultural differences in behaviors
and eventually in values.
5. Stage 5: Adaptation
>the indiviual is very open to world views when accepting new perspectives.
6. Stage 6: Integration
>individuals start to go beyond their own cultures and see themselves and their
actions based on multifarious cultural viewpoints.

Characteristics Of Competent Intercultural Communicators

-Traits that define a competent intercultural communicator:
1. flexibility and the ability to tolerate high levels of uncertainty
2. reflectiveness or mindfulness
3. open-mindedness
4. sensitivity
5. adaptability
6. ability to engage in divergent thinking (or thinking creatively) and systems-
level thinking (or thinking how each one in a system or organization influences
each other)
 7. politeness
-Note that in addition to culture, other elements such as gender, age, social
status, and religion must also be taken into consideration when communicating with
others. Refrain from showing a bias when talking to someone by following thses
tips:
1. avoid sterotypes / generlaizaion about a certain group
2. challenge gender norms; avoid using "he" and "man" to refer to a general group
of people. Use plural pronouns.
3. do not talk down on younger people and the elderly.
4. be sensitive to the religious practices of others.
5. be polite at all times; do not belittle people you may perceive to be on a
lower social class than you.