Communication is an important aspect as individuals and being a part of a community.

Perspective and attitude can have an immense effect on the way that you interact with
other people. How we view ourselves and other people affect how we communicate with
them. Words carry weight and meaning so how we express ourselves through
communication is important. Being part of a community, we learn our own cultures
within so we know how important it is for our own culture to be respected by others as
well. As social beings, we also like interacting with others and this includes people from
different cultural background. Cross cultural communication refers to communication
between individuals or groups of different cultures. We may differ from each other in our
beliefs, religion, culture, mentalities and perception. Everything from language,
mannerisms, customs, systems, gestures can differ between cultures. To quote Edward
Hall, “The essence of effective cross-cultural communication has more to do with
releasing the right responses than with sending the ‘right message’”. Understanding the
culture of the person you’re talking to is a way of being respectful towards them.
Because cultures differ from gestures to ethics, all communication within our own
culture is refined and because we want our own culture to be respected by others, more
care must be taken not to hurt the other person’s sensibilities.
Good communication is all about getting the right response. Giving a message to an
individual or group you’re not familiar with can be risky because there are underlying
biases in the message. Giving importance on the right response, means focusing on
what the person/people you’re talking with needs to hear as opposed to only what you
need to say. Releasing the right response is more critical than sending the right
message. This is in respect of one’s culture and beliefs. Giving a right response comes
with adjusting one’s behavior and having an open mind to avoid problems with
communication. It also indicates that you were actively listening and making an effort
which can make real communication so much easier and this will foster trust between
people where a great message can’t necessarily do that.