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Intersection of culture and personal communication

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Intersection of culture and personal communication

1. Discuss the intersection of culture and interpersonal communication. More

specifically, how does culture impact the way you communicate with individuals

from diverse communities.

Culture encompasses a broad set of rules or norms and behavioral standards in every

community. Aspects such as beliefs, knowledge, laws, customs, and even habits make culture.

Therefore, culture is a predominant scheme of standards that people from every community

follow more simply. It means that culture determines the proper way people communicate,

making interpersonal communication intersect with culture when people from different cultures

share with another. There is a variation in body language, linguistic, and behavioral cues from

one culture to another. For example, Middle-Eastern conversation is characterized with

enthusiasm, while British exchange requires communication to be formal and mellow. The

difference and parity in cultural understanding can influence how people from different cultures

communicate and impact the effectiveness to which information can be relayed or received.

In communication, culture plays a vital role as one has to adjust to the acceptable practices

and cues from another culture to avoid being offensive or committing acts that can be considered

disrespectful in other cultures when interacting. Therefore, how effective you communicate

depends on your awareness of other people’s cultures. For example, western culture is regarded

as low-context communicators, meaning that they rely so much on the message than other

aspects of communication. Asians are considered high-context individuals, which implies that

they also rely on non-verbal cues that the person presents while communicating. It is important

to know these cultural communication contexts to avoid encountering situations that will be

misinterpreted as poor communication.

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2. What is the biggest contributing factor in your perception of cultural groups which

are different from yours (family, upbringing, and media)?

The major contributing factor in an individual’s perception regarding cultural groups is the

stark differences in customs and practices. The parity by which other cultures act and behave in

the society influences my perception towards such groups and establishes a point of comparison

to my family and cultural upbringing. For example, Asian parenting styles make me regard them

as highly disciplined individuals who always respect and recognize authority, unlike American

families who adopt liberal parenting practices. It makes me understand how my upbringing in the

Asian community makes me realize authority and see such individuals as high-status people.

Another difference in perception is how Eastern culture is characterized by close family ties and

collectivism, while Western culture is more focused on autonomy and individuality. It explains

why Asians are regarded as collective workers as they come from a diverse and tightly-knit

culture (Busse, 2014). Furthermore, Eastern media are always fundamental and conservatives

when it comes to media, which explains how a culture sees sexuality, politics, and crime as

different from how Western press seems to be very liberal in sexuality, politics, and crime

coverage. Understanding the cultural difference and diversity and their understanding makes it

seem natural to me, making me work so properly in a diverse society.

3. What steps can be taken to communicate more effectively and personally with these

groups?

Inter-cultural communication best practices apply three principles; awareness,

acknowledgment, and respect.

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Awareness: By practicing personal communication in your own culture, you should be aware of

your subconscious actions. One needs to be mindful of what body language they present when

talking, how they talk, how loud they talk, your tone, and the manners you present when talking.

It all helps convey the message and needs to be thought through and constantly observed when

one interacts. You should also be aware of the same from another party during communication.

Therefore, awareness enables you to adjust your etiquette and manners as you communicate with

others.

Acknowledgment: You should acknowledge ones’ position in your culture and you in theirs and

how different your cultures are from another. Just like the common saying, “When you go to

Rome, do as the Romans do.” You have to follow the customs within that culture and adapt to

changes set in front of you. In the same way, you would wish someone to acknowledge your

cultural difference, and you also need to recognize theirs to yours

(Busse, 2014). By understanding the difference, you will be able to work your way around the

communication obstacles by being genuine and honest in communication. When most people

think English is the most common language, they are wrong. The most common language in the

world is genuineness and authenticity in communication. To improve communication skills, one

should mindfully practice such behavior of sincerity.

Respect: Respect goes both ways; you don’t expect one to respect your cultural norms and

practices if you don’t respect theirs. One must be able to respect other people’s cultural customs,

practices, and laws to establish a good relationship and communication line. That means you

have to follow such customs and traditions to develop a sincere interpersonal relationship,

essential ineffective communication. For example, when engaging in a conversation with Nordic

people who come from a culture of polite and mellow speaking, one must control their tone and
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speaking since loud communication might seem offensive. However, one needs to be very keen

not just to follow the customs but also to understand what they are or ask politely for the

meaning of such customs and how to act properly in certain contexts.

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Reference

Busse, V. (2014). Intercultural competence. Interpersonal communication across culture (7th

edition). Language And Intercultural Communication, 14(2), 262-264.

https://doi.org/10.1080/14708477.2013.856575