CCC Lecture

Overview of Culture and Intercultural Communication

What is Culture?
The way people

live, think, feel, believe, and strive for what is proper in their communities.

What is Culture?
Culture is
in your head. in your talk. in your behavior. deeply felt.

Culture is a system of resources for understanding the world around you.

Culture (cont)
Culture is a need of a share of Perceptions and Identification Once something is shared it becomes cultural. The more broadly shared a perception, the more of a culture it is.

Convergence & Intercultural Communication

Life is a whole process of converging with people to get a task done, and then diverging with them with the task is completed. Convergence is A process whereby people come closer together to get the task finished. People need not converge on everything rather only on those things that are required to complete the task. To get the work done is a very basic human process. When you are converging with some people, you are also diverging with other people whom with you are not involved with. Then one moves on to converge with other people to get the next task done.

Convergence & Intercultural Communication

The role of communication is to facilitate convergence.
In order to get the task done you have to communicate. It is especially important to do a lot of communicating up front in new jobs, classes, tasks, relationships, etc.

Culture is like an Iceberg

Part of an iceberg is above the water and part is below the water.
Surface culture: part we can see
visible and tangible

Deep culture: part we cant see

hidden and not tangible

Artifacts

Values and Beliefs

Underlying Assumptions

Communicating Interculturally
Imagine you are communicating with someone from a different culture.
Surface cultures: parts similar and parts different Deep cultures: more than likely different

The more different the deep cultures, the more chance there is for misunderstandings. Increased contact with other cultures has brought about the need to communicate more efficiently and effectively.

Communicating Interculturally
In our shrinking world, it is important to become interculturally aware in order to overcome and reduce the chance for misunderstanding. More than ever before Opportunities to live, work, study, travel abroad. People from other cultures are living in our communities. Because most people have little intercultural awareness, their communication is not as effective as it could be. When interacting with someone from another culture, you have to know where they are from

Communicating Interculturally
When interacting with someone from another culture, you have to know where they are coming from (figuratively). You must ask yourself
What is their mindset? Why are they acting or behaving in that manner?

Perceived Intercultural Differences

PIDs
Areas where diversity can be present between people from two cultures. World by differences in: Language usage IllustratedView
Values and Beliefs Thought Process Customs Expectations Communicator Style Verbal & Non-verbal behavior Rules of social interaction Roles & Relationships Business interactions Concepts and ideologies