Cross Cultural Communication
Understanding Human Communication in the Context of Culture
Sep 25, 2009
During the final weeks of September, 2009, representatives of the United Nations’ 192 member states convened in New York City. This event, where world leaders meet, make speeches, assert their vested interests, rouse emotions, and invite either agreement or hostility, is a prime example of the problems inherent in cross cultural communication.
A constantly changing world of interdependent economies, diminished natural resources, multicultural and multinational organizations, and threats to global security, necessitate collaborative interaction between divergent cultures and groups. Human communication across, and even within cultures, poses many challenges, especially if there is little tolerance for anyone that looks, speaks, believes, or acts differently.
Yet, cross cultural communication is not only a reality, it is also a necessity for the continued survival of the human species. In order to successfully communicate and cooperate with others on the world stage, even with those who do not share a common cultural heritage or common world view, it is imperative to develop a better understanding of the distinctions inherent in communicating within and across cultures.
Cultural Context of Human Communication
When most people consider the meaning of “cultural identity,” they more often than not associate the term with specific and identifiable qualities that are shared by members within groups. These qualities, which serve to differentiate members within the culturally cohesive group from those outside of it, may include a common history or heritage, a unique set of language paradigms, similar physical attributes, and/or collective traditions, customs, and beliefs.
Aspects of differentiation can be as basic as ethnicity or race, or as complex as politics and religion. Commonalities might be as transient as a particular style of dress, or preferences in music and art. No matter the classifications a group may use to identify its members, and regardless of any difficulty people may have in relating to others outside their group, culture is a pervasive component of human interaction and socialization. Understanding some of the distinctions of cultural communication can improve relations within common cultures, and outside them as well.
Communication Within Common Cultures
Communication within a common culture, or intercultural communication, covers communication between people who share a commonality of experience, knowledge, and values. Intercultural relations are founded on such factors as shared heritage, gender association, religious affiliation, class distinction, and the like. People in this group may see the world in highly similar ways and may share a common value system. Within the confines of a shared, general culture, communication has the greatest probability for success, if success is defined as a message being understood in the manner in which it was intended.
Communication Across Divergent Cultures
Transmitting a message to an individual, or to group, that does not share a common ancestry, language, or tradition with the deliverer of the message, usually makes successful communication more difficult to achieve. This is what is on display so very often at the U.N. But, if the communicator understands and appreciates the fact that the audience, or recipient of the communication, may have a different value system and a different socio-historical perspective, there is a greater opportunity for success.
Communication Facilitators
Communication across cultures can be facilitated through knowledge and respect for diversity. International businesses are increasingly aware of this fact and assist their employees with learning, adopting, and adapting to cultural norms when doing business in other countries.
An example of this is understanding what behaviors are acceptable, and which are unacceptable, during a business dinner, or a visit to a client’s home. Some cultures indulge in non-verbal communication to indicate levels of respect and compliance (bowing, using hand gestures, leaving food on the plate, for instance), whereas other cultures rely on strictly verbal cues (tone of voice, or specific word choices). Knowing and utilizing the precise social rules for engagement in a foreign country can only lead to better cross cultural communication.
At no other time in human history have divergent cultures interacted as much as they do today. Humans interact in a world that is essentially instantaneous thanks to technical innovations in communication and the ease with which people now migrate across the globe to study, work, play and live within different cultures.
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