INTRODUCTION TO

COMMUNICATION
Chapter 6: Adapting to others: Diversity and
Communication
 DIVERSITY
Understand the difference
GENDER SEXUAL ORIENTATION

AGE ETHNICITY
 GENDER
Stereotyping others on the basis of
their sex or gender

Men tend to approach

communication from a content
orientation

Women, research suggests, tend to

use communication for the purpose of
relating or connecting to others
SEXUAL ORIENTATION
Sexual orientation has become a
source of pride for some people but
remains socially stigmatized for
others

Creating a climate of openness and

acceptance is important for any
human relationship
AGE
 ETHNICITY
Is a social classification based on a
variety of factors, such as nationality,
religion, and language, as well as
biological ancestral heritage (race), that
are shared by a group of people with a
common geographic origin
CULTURE
 DEFINITION

Culture is a way of life- a system of

ideas, values, beliefs, customs, and
language that is passed from one
generation to the next and that
sustains a particular way of life.
 CROSS CULTURE COMMUNICATION
Intercultural Communication (Cross cultural communication)
is the process of sending and receiving messages
between people whose cultural background could lead
them to interpret verbal and non- verbal signs differently.
is a symbolic process in which people from different
cultures create shared meaning
involves a comparison of interactions among people
from the same culture to those from another culture
WHY CROSS
CULTURE
COMMUNICATION
IS IMPORTANT?
In each of the following situations, identify one or more ways that
cultural differences may be leading to miscommunication
 Alan Caldwell is a U.S. sales representative in Mexico City. He makes
appointments with Senõr Lopez and is careful to be on time, but his
host is frequently late. To save time, Alan tries to get right to business,
his host wants to talk about sightseeing and about Alan’s family. Even
worse, the meetings are interrupted constantly with phone calls, long
conversations with other people, and even customers’ children who
come into the office. Alan’s first report to his home office is very
negative. He hasn’t yet made a sale. Perhaps Mexico just isn’t the right
place to do business.
 To help her American Company establish a presence in Japan, Mrs.
Torres wants to hire a local interpreter who can advise her on business
customs. Ms.Tomari has superb qualifications on paper, but when Mrs.
Torres tries to probe about her experience, Ms. Tomari just says, “I will
do my best. I will try very hard.” She never gives details about any of
the previous positions she has held. Mrs. Torres begins to wonder if
Ms. Tamari's résumé is inflated.
Stan Williams wants to negotiate a joint venture between his American
firm and a Beijing-based company. He asks Tung-Sen Lee if the
Chinese people have enough discretionary income to afford his
product. Mr. Lee is silent for a time, and then says, “Your product is
good. People in the West must like it.” Stan smiles, pleased that Mr.
Lee recognizes the quality of his product, and he leaves a contract for
Mr. Lee to sign. Weeks later, Stan still hasn’t heard anything. If China is
going to be so inefficient, he wonders if his company should try to do
business there.
 Gloria Johnson is proud of her participatory management style.
Assigned in Bombay on behalf of her U.S.-based company, she is
careful not to give orders but to ask for suggestions. But the
employees rarely suggest anything. Even a formal suggestion system
she established does not work. Worse still, she doesn’t sense the
respect and camaraderie that she felt at the plant she managed in
Texas. Perhaps the people in India just are not ready for a woman
boss.
IMPORTANCE OF CROSS CULTURE COMMUNICATION
Globalization: Cross border movement of people, goods and
data brings more and more cultures into contact with one another
and increases the potential of cross culture communication.

Business Opportunities
Job Opportunities
Improves the contribution of employees in a diverse workforce
Sharing of views and ideas
Talent improvisation
An understanding of diverse market
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CULTURE & COMMUNICATION

We learn culture in the process of communicating

Communication is a primary indicator of culture

Communication expresses and sustains cultures

Communication is a source of cultural change

HIGH & LOW-CONTEXT CULTURES
Challenges facing non-native speakers
Culture and communication: A model
Cultural logic and cross-cultural communication
BARRIERS
Adapting communication to diverse cultures
Aim for Intercultural Communication
Competence
STAGE ONE:
DENIAL

STAGE TWO: STAGE FOUR:

DEFENSE ACCEPTANCE

STAGE THREE: STAGE FIVE:

MINIMIZATION ADAPTATION

STAGE SIX:
INTEGRATION
Thank you!