INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

Nodding means “yes” in the Indian subcontinent, Iran, most of Europe, Latin America and North
America. However, in Greece, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Turkey, Macedonia, Bulgaria and
Albania, nodding indicates “disagreement”.

Therefore, it is important for us to acknowledge and understand the many communication

patterns present in other cultures.

Definition and Nature of Intercultural Communication

● Intercultural communication happens when individuals interact, negotiate, and create
meanings while bringing in their varied cultural backgrounds
(Ting-Toomey, 1999).

● It pertains to communication among people from different nationalities (Gudykunst,

2003). It is influenced by different ethnicities, religions and sexual orientations.

● It takes place when people draw from their cultural identity to understand values,
prejudices, language, attitudes and relationships (Gudykunst & Kim, 2003).

● It can also be seen as bargained understanding of human experiences across diverse

societies.

● Simply put, intercultural communication is the sending and receiving of messages across
languages and cultures.

The Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS)

(Bennett and Bennett, 2004)

Stage 1: DENIAL

● “All cities are the same; they all have tall buildings, fast food chains and coffee shops.”

● In this stage, the individual does not recognize cultural differences.

Stage 2: DEFENSE

● “This culture does not view life the way we do; our culture is certainly better.”

● “Their ways are better than my own; I wish I were one of them.”

● In this stage, the individual starts to recognize cultural differences and is intimidated by
them, resulting in either a superior view on their own culture or an unjustified high regard
for the new one.
Stage 3: MINIMIZATION

● “Once we see through the cultural differences, we really are just the same!”

● In this stage, although individuals see cultural differences, they bank more on the
UNIVERSALITY of ideas rather than cultural differences.

Stage 4: ACCEPTANCE

● “These people and I have different values and experiences, and I think we can learn
from one another.”

● In this stage, the individual begins to appreciate important cultural differences in

behaviors and eventually in values.

Stage 5: ADAPTATION

● “To address our issue, I have to adjust my approach to consider both my own and my
counterpart’s background.”

● In this stage, the individual is very open to world views when accepting new
perspectives.

Stage 6: INTEGRATION

● “I can look at things from the perspectives of various cultures.”

● In this stage, the individuals start to go beyond their own cultures and see themselves
and their actions based on multifarious cultural viewpoints.

Intercultural Barriers
Ethnocentrism
- The belief that one’s own culture is superior and better than the others.
- A person brings with him or her biases of his or her own culture during a conversation
with a person from a different cultural background.

Intercultural Communication Apprehension/ Anxiety

- “the fear or anxiety associated with real or anticipated communication with people from
different groups, esp. cultural and/ or ethnic groups.” (Neuliep & McCroskey, 1997)
- These impede effective interpersonal communication
Stereotyping

- The generalizations or assumptions that people make about a group of people who
share the same characteristics
- These impede effective interpersonal communication

Prejudice
- A preconceived dislike or feeling for a person or group because of the difference in
cultural background

Characteristics of Competent Intercultural Communicators (World Bank, 2010)

● flexibility and ability to tolerate high levels of uncertainty
● reflectiveness or mindfulness
● open-mindedness
● sensitivity
● adaptability
● 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).
● politeness

Avoiding Intercultural Barriers

● Be aware of language differences.
● Avoid stereotypes or discriminations.
● Challenge gender norms; avoid using “he” and “man” to refer to a general group of
people. Use plural pronouns or rewrite a sentence to avoid using pronouns. The use of
“his/ her” is also acceptable.
● Do not talk down to younger people and the elderly.
● Be sensitive to the religious practices of others.
● Improve listening and observation skills.
● Be polite at all times; do not belittle people you perceive to be on a lower class than you.
Respect and do not judge other cultures.

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.