Objectives

1. Define intercultural
communication;
2. Demonstrate effective
intercultural communication skills
in a speech situation;
3. Explain how the following
factors affect the communication
process: culture, age, gender,
social status, & religion;
4. Practice effective intercultural
communication.
Create a fictional country.
Discuss for three minutes the general
description of your country using the
following guide questions.
a. What is the name of the country?
What are its citizens called?
b. What is its tourist attraction?
c. What is your country famous for?
d. What are its citizens known for?
Describe the way these
citizens use language, as well
as their general traits.
Behaviour (Are they reserved?
Loud?
Generally humorous? Do they
smile a lot?)
Language use (Are they
talkative? Soft-spoken? Do
they rarely use polite words?)
Nonverbal cues (Do they
think shaking hands is
distasteful?)

Values (What do they find

offensive? What positive
traits are they known for?)
Create a list of 2 Dos and 2
Don’ts which your fictional
citizens adhere to when
they attend a casual dinner
party with friends.

You have five minutes to

come up with the rules.
You are a citizen of your
fictional country, and you
are attending a dinner party
with other nationalities.
Your goal is to mingle with
and introduce yourself and
your fictional country to
others.
a. Was there a difference
between your group’s
behaviour and others’?

b. How did you handle the

differences between your
behaviours?
What is intercultural
communication?
 Intercultural
communication happens
when individuals interact,
negotiate, and create
meanings while bringing in
their varied cultural
backgrounds (Ting-
Toomey, 1999).
For some scholars, intercultural
communication pertains to
communication among people
from different nationalities
(Gudykunst, 2003).
Still, others look at
intercultural
communication as
communication that is
influenced by different
ethnicities, religions, and
sexual orientations.
DO’s and DON’T’s of intercultural
communication
DO’S of intercultural communication
-Avoid assumptions jokes which are
misunderstood
-Use symbols, diagrams and pictures
-Avoid using slang and idioms
DON’T’S of intercultural
communication
-Using the same approach worldwide
-Letting cultural differences become
a source of conflict
Short quiz
Explain how the following
factors affect the
communication process:

culture, age, gender,

social status, & religion
Characteristics of Competent
Intercultural Communicators
World Bank (2010) identifies
the following traits that
define a competent
intercultural communicator.
1. flexibility and the ability to
tolerate high levels of
uncertainty
2. reflectiveness or
mindfulness
3. open-mindedness
4. Sensitivity
5. adaptability
6. ability to engage in
divergent thinking (or
thinking creatively) and
systems-level thinking (or
thinking how each one in a
system or organization
influences each other)
7. politeness
Refrain from showing bias when
talking to someone by following the
tips below.
1. Avoid stereotypes, i.e.,
generalizations about a certain group.
2. Challenge gender norms; avoid
using “he” and “man” to refer to a
general group of people. To remedy
this, you may use plural pronouns or
rewrite a sentence to avoid using
pronouns. The use of his/her is also
acceptable.
3. Do not talk down on
younger people and the
elderly.
4. Be sensitive to the religious
practices of others.
5. Be polite at all times; do
not belittle people you
perceive to be on a lower
social class than you.
FIVE FUNCTIONS OF ORAL
COMMUNICATION
1.Regulation/Control- functions to
control one’s behavior
Examples:
Doctors’ Prescription
“Take your medicine 3 times a day.”
Parents’ Instruction to their child
“Wash the dishes now, or else I won’t
allow you to go to the party later.”
3. Motivation- functions to motivate or
to encourage people to live better.
4. Information- functions to convey
information.
“Did you know that there’s a secret
apartment at the top of the Eiffel
tower?”
5. Emotional Expression- facilitates
people’s expression of their feelings and
emotions.