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Communication in
Multicultural
Setting
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Learning Outcomes
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

• Define Intercultural communication and recognize the

importance of Intercultural Communication in today’s
world;

• Recognize cultural differences among people from

different countries;

• Explain the importance of nonverbal communication

in dealing with people from different cultures

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According to science, each

person is genetically unique.
This uniqueness becomes even
more heightened because of
individual experiences.

This situation- the diversity of people and

cultures- impacts communication. People
interacting with those coming from unfamiliar
cultures may have difficulties in communication.
Most people tend to conclude that
miscommunication results from a speaker’s lack of
proficiency in a language.

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How then do we approach

intercultural
communication?

Intercultural communication refers

to communication between
individuals and groups of different
cultural backgrounds. Language,
gestures, mannerisms, customs,
and systems of power and
authority can be different between
cultures.
Other terms related to
intercultural communication are
multicultural, diversity, and cross-
cultural.
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What are the cultural

differences?
1. Value given to Time
2. Language differences
3. Saying “no”
4. Directness vs. Circumlocution
5. Personal/Friendly language vs. Respectful language

Value given to time

Americans value promptness. They generally make use of

schedules and evaluate each other’s behavior in these
terms. This is the same with the Japanese. Their trains and
people are expected to arrive on schedule.

There is also a ‘politics of time’.

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Language Differences
Language reflects the realities of a given culture and
affects the way its members define their experiences. It
can reflect how concepts such as time, distance, color,
pain, are perceived differently from different cultures.

Philippine English with expressions like blowout (treat),

dirty ice cream (local ice cream bought from street
vendor), jingle (to urinate), or go down (get off a
vehicle) should be used warily. These English
expressions with meanings that are different locally will
not be understood by non-Filipinos.
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Saying ‘No’
In western countries, like the US, clarity is
important. Communicating a refusal has to be brief
and direct. However, in many Asian countries, more
focus is placed on the context of communication
than the communication itself. A direct ‘no’ is
considered harsh and off-putting. Speakers and
writers from these contexts find alternative or
‘indirect’ ways of saying ‘no’.

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Directness vs Circumlocution
Brevity, clarity, and directness of communication
are favored in American and British cultures. This
means that a message, an idea, or a request should
be conveyed to the audience or recipient clearly
and in as few words as mandatory.

To avoid being viewed as ‘brutally frank’, the

American can attempt to clearly convey a rejection
but also ‘soften’ this with buffers, such as an
explanation or good news preceding the outright
“no.” 11

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Personal/Friendly Language
vs Respectful Language
In Western contexts, people use friendly and
personal language in the workplace. Employers and
employees are encouraged to use personal
pronouns such as me, you, me, and we in writing.
The objective of this is the establishment of rapport
between communicator and audience. However, in
Asia, the use of formal titles is a way of showing
respect for someone considered superior in age,
economic status, education, and profession.
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The same with verbal communication, norms for

nonverbal communication
vary from country to country and also among
cultures within a particular
country. Some nonverbal communication
behaviors appear to be somewhat
innate because they are universally recognized.

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The expansion of media, particularly

from the United States and
other Western countries around the
world, is leading to more nonverbal
similarities among cultures, but the
biggest cultural differences in
nonverbal
communication occur within the
categories of eye contact, touch, and
personal space.

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Nonverbal Communication
and Culture
1. Kinesics (gestures)
2. Haptics
3. Vocalics
4. Proxemics
5. Chronemics

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Kinesics
Cultural variations in the way we gesture, use head
movements, and use eye contact fall under the
nonverbal category of kinesics.

Emblems are gestures that correspond to a word and

an agreed-on meaning. When we use our fingers to
count, we are using emblematic gestures, but even our
way of counting varies among cultures. British people
and US Americans could be separated from French,
Greek, and German people based on a simple and
common gesture.
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Kinesics
Head movements. Bowing is a nonverbal greeting ritual
that is more common in Asian cultures than Western
cultures, but the head nod, which is a common form of
acknowledgement in many cultures, is actually an
abbreviated bow.

Noncontact culture refers to cultural groups in which

people stand farther apart while talking, make less eye
contact, and touch less during regular interactions.
Example is Japan.

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Kinesics
Eye Contact. In some cultures, avoiding eye contact is
considered a sign of respect. Such eye contact aversion,
however, could be seen as a sign that the other person
is being deceptive, is bored, or is being rude.

Contact cultures are cultural groups in which people

stand closer together, engage in more eye contact,
touch more frequently, and speak more loudly. Example
is an Italian.

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Haptics
Touch behaviors are important during initial
interactions, and cultural differences in these
nonverbal practices can lead to miscommunication and
misunderstanding. Shaking hands as a typical touch
greeting, for example, varies among cultures.

The squeezes and up-and-down shakes

used during handshakes are often called “pumps,” and
the number of pumps used in a handshake also varies
among cultures.
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Vocalics
The volume at which we speak is influenced by specific
contexts and is more generally influenced by our culture. In
European countries like France, England, Sweden, and
Germany, it is not uncommon to find restaurants that have
small tables very close together.
Most US Americans would consider this a violation of
personal space, and Europeans often perceive US Americans
to be rude in such contexts because they do not control the
volume of their conversations more. Since personal space is
usually more plentiful in the United States, Americans are
used to speaking at a level that is considered loud to many
cultures that are used to less personal space. 20

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Proxemics
Cultural norms for personal space vary much more than
some other nonverbal communication channels such as
facial expressions, which have more universal similarity
and recognizability. Contact and noncontact cultures
differ in their preferences for touch and interpersonal
distance. Countries in South America and southern
Europe exhibit characteristics of contact cultures, while
countries in northern Europe and Southeast Asia
exhibit noncontact cultural characteristics.

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Chronemics
The United States and many northern and western
European countries have a monochronic orientation to time,
meaning time is seen as a commodity that can be budgeted,
saved, spent, and wasted.

Countries like Spain and Mexico have a polychronic

orientation to time. Appointments may be scheduled at
overlapping times, making an “orderly” schedule
impossible. People may also miss appointments or
deadlines without offering an apology, which would be
considered very rude by a person with a monochronic
orientation to time. 22

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Synthesis
For intercultural communication to be
effective, speakers and writers from
Eastern and Western contexts should
be familiar with these conventions.
They may either adjust to the culture
and mode of address of the other or
choose to not take offense because
they understand the culture that
drives the linguistic convention or
difference.

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Assessment/Application
Research and find out the cultural differences among
countries in terms of the following nonverbal behaviors.
Choose three countries and compare.

Nonverbal behaviors Country 1 Country 2 Country 3

Food
Smiling
Expressing sorrow
Showing emotion
Colors
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References
Charlton, Monica. (2018). Five Secrets to Intercultural Communication.
Retrieved from https://www.thepolyglotgroup.com/blog/5-secrets
tomeaningful-intercultural-communication/

Communication in the Real World. (2016). Retrieved from

https://open.lib.umn.edu/communication/

Madrunio, M.R. & Martin, I. P. 2018. Purposive communication: using

English in multilingual contexts. Quezon City: C & E Publishing, Inc.

Suarez, C., Perfecto, M., Canilao, M. & Paez, D.B. (2018). Purposive
Communication in English. Quezon City: Ateneo De Manila University
Press.

University of the People. (2020). What is Intercultural Communication:

Learning New Styles. Retrieved from
https://www.uopeople.edu/blog/whatis-intercultural-communication/ 25

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