unit 3

the way people speak

*cultures influence communication styles

*cultural styles can and do create misunderstandings in conversations among people
from different cultures

conversation involvement
*“high involvement” conversation patterns: enjoying arguments and might even think
that others are not interested if they are not ready to engage in a heated discussion

*“high considerateness” conservation patterns: participating in a hesitant manner

*“high involvement” conversation patterns:

*talk more
*interrupt more
*expect to be interrupted
*talk more loudly at times
*talk more quickly

*“high considerateness” conversation patterns:

*speak one at a time

*use polite listening sounds
*refrain from interrupting
*give plenty of positive and respectful responses to conversation partners.

“high involvement” vs. “high considerateness”

*russian
*italian
*greek
*spanish
*south american
*arab
*african
*asian countries:
*chinese
*japanese
*korea
*vietnam
 *…

*mainstream american
incorrect judgments of character
*e.g. new yorkers tend to talk faster and respond more quickly (“high involvement”) than
californians (“high considerateness”)
*to some new yorkers, californians seem slower, less intelligent and not as responsive
*to some californians, new yorkers seem pushy and domineering

incorrect judgments of character (cont.)

*the people interacting are forgetting that their respective cultural styles are responsible,
in parts, for their mannerisms and habits of communication.
*the important differences in communication create problems of stereotyping and
incorrect judgments among members of diverse groups
intercultural low-context and high-context communication framework
1. low-context communication (lcc): intention or meaning is best expressed through
explicit verbal messages
a. communication patterns of direct verbal mode
b. speaker is responsible for clear message decoded easily
example: lcc: speakers say everything on their minds with no restraints

2. high-context communication (hcc): intention or meaning is best conveyed through

the context and nonverbal channels
a. communication patterns of indirect verbal mode
b. receiver assumes the responsibility to infer the hidden or contextual meanings of the
message
c. may be understated to emotionally animated in tone
example: hcc: indirect hints, nonverbal signals to preserve face and relationship
directness and indirectness
*cultural beliefs differ as to whether directness or indirectness is considered positive.
*one way to determine whether a culture favors a direct or indirect style in
communication is to find out how the people in that culture express disagreement or
how they say, “no.”
*in japan, there are at least 15 ways of saying “no,” without actually saying the word.
similarly, in japan, it would be considered rude to say directly, “i disagree with
you,” or “you’re wrong.”
*many americans believe that “honesty is the best policy,” and their communication
style reflects this.

*honesty and directness in communication are strongly related. it is not a surprise, then,
to find out that cultural groups misjudge each other based on different beliefs about
directness and honesty in communication
american male-female differences in directness
*there are gender differences in communication styles.
*american women have traditionally been less direct than men in making requests,
expressing criticism, and offering opinions.
*when talking about emotional issues and feelings, women tend to be more direct than
men.
*in the workplace, women have learned that in order to compete and communicate with
men, they have to be more direct when making suggestions, giving criticism and
expressing ideas.
*in the mid-1980s, “assertiveness training” courses were designed to help women
communicate more directly, especially in the business world.
*in the 1990s, however, there is more recognition of the “feminine” contribution to work
relationships (e.g., nurturing, interpersonal sensitivity, etc.)
“ping-pong” and “bowling” conversation styles
*some foreigners have observed that when americans hold a conversation, it seems like
they are having a ping-pong game. one person has the ball and then hits it to the other
side of the table. the other player hits the ball back and the game continues.
*formal conversation among the japanese has been compared to bowling. each participant
in a japanese conversation waits politely for a turn and knows exactly when the time is
right to speak. one’s turn depends on status, age and the relationship to the other
person. then it is time to take a turn, the person bowls carefully. the others watch
politely, and do not leave their places in line or take a turn out of order. no one else
speaks until the ball has reached the bowling pins.
complementary, animated, and understated verbal styles

*complementary: matter-of-fact tone in delivering verbal message

informal and formal verbal styles

2. formal: status-based, formal interaction reflects large power distance

beliefs expressed in talk and silence
*high-context cultures: silence (ma) can make understanding possible

2. western rhetorical model: silence viewed as empty pauses

self-disclosure: verbal revealment versus concealment
*self-disclosure: deliberate revealing of significant information about oneself that would
not normally be known

johari window: information about oneself is depicted as a window with four panels:
linear-logic versus spiral-logic persuasion
*linear persuasion style has two forms:

a. factual-inductive form emphasizes the importance of

presenting facts, evidence, eyewitness accounts, testimonials, and proofs, and from
these facts proceeding to draw conclusions or generalizations. (the u.s. follows this
form.)

b. axiomatic-deductive form emphasizes the importance of

starting from general principles or “axioms,” and then moving forward to fill in
 specific details. (russians follow this form.)
2. spiral persuasion style ranges from the dramatic to the subtle.

a. dramatic style, such as in arab, italian, and jewish cultures,

uses effusive metaphors, stories, and a wide range of flowery adjectives.

b. subtle style, such as in asian and native american cultures,

may resort to hints, implicit analogies, zen sayings, and subtle nonverbal gestures to
convey an intended meaning.
incident 1
incident 2
ethnocentric judgments
*the judgments that people make about each other are often ethnocentric. that is they
interpret, judge and behave in a way that they assume to be normal, correct, and,
therefore, universal.
*there may be a gap between what a person is communicating and how people are
understanding the message.
*people cannot assume that their way of communicating is universal.
*if one can anticipate differences in communication styles, his or her judgments about
people will be more accurate, and he or she will have fewer cross-cultural
misunderstandings