CROSS CULTURAL COMMUNICATION

“The reasonable person adapts himself

to the world, while the unreasonable
one persists in trying to adapt the world
B519014 Arya Baibhav Jena
to himself” B519036 Puvvuadi Venkat
B319047 Satya Ranjan Sahoo
B319039 Rajendra Bisoi
B519052 Soyam Sai Ram
B519062 Yeshwanth Sai Kumar Reddy
 Today’s Presentation
1) What is Culture ?
2) Fundamental Patterns of Cultural differences
3) Cross-Cultural Communication
4) Why Cross Cultural Communication is Important?
5) High Context & Low Context Culture
6) Examples of Cultural Differences
7) Problems in Cultural Differences
8) Blocks in Cultural Communication
9) Improving Cross Cultural Communication
10) Ten Precautions in Cross Cultural Communication
11) Difference to consider in Cross Cultural Communication
12) Skills to Overcome Cultural Differences
13) Cultural Conflicts in Workplace
14) Need & Purpose of Cross Cultural Communication in Businesses
15) Potential Hotspots in Cross Cultural Communication
16) Outcomes of Cross Cultural Communication Training
17) Conclusion
 What is a culture?
• Culture is the "lens" through which you view the world.
• It is central to what you see,
• How you make sense of what you see
• How you express yourself.
Culture
• Group which shapes a persons values and
identity.
• Culture is formed
 Race
 Ethnicity
 Gender
 Class & Religion
 Country of origin
 Geographic region
Fundamental patterns of cultural differences
• Different Communication Styles
• Different Attitude towards Conflicts
• Different Approaches in Completing
Tasks
• Different Decision Making Styles
• Different Attitudes towards Disclosure
• Different Approaches to Know
 Cross Cultural
Communication

Intercultural communication is the process of sending and receiving

messages between people whose cultural background could lead
them to Interpret the verbal and non-verbal signs differently.
Why Cross Culture
Communication is important ?
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
 High Context and Low Context Cultures

High Context Culture:-

Cultures that rely heavily on non-
verbal and subtle situational cues
in communication.

Low Context Culture:-

Cultures that rely heavily on words
to convey meaning in
communication.
 Examples for Cultural differences

In America, people shake hands

and even hug each other.

But in India we just join hands to

say Namaskar
 Eye Contact

In some cultures, looking people in the eye is assumed to indicate

honesty and straightforwardness; in others it is seen as
challenging and rude.
 Continued…
●
In USA, the cheapest, most
effective way to connect with people is
to look them into the eye.
●
Most people in Arab culture share
a great deal of eye contact and may
regard too little as disrespectful.
●
In English culture, a certain
amount of eye contact is required, but
too much makes many people
uncomfortable.
●
In South Asian and many other
cultures direct eye contact is generally
regarded as aggressive and rude.
Gesture:
•A motion of the hands, head or body to emphasize
an idea or emotion.

USA=OK JAPAN=MONEY

RUSSIA=ZERO BRAZIL=INSULT
How can the same Gestures be treated differently in
different cultures
 The thumbs up sign in America and most of Europe means that
something is good, or that you approve. This sign is considered rude in
many Asian and Islamic countries.

 Raising your hand up means stop in America or England. In some Asian

countries this gesture is used when asking for permission to speak.
Different dining etiquettes of different cultures

 Seating
 Eating
 Home/restaurant
 The food
 Conversation
 Body language
Formal arrangement Chopsticks in China
Problems of Cultural Differences
 People in different countries have different ways to interpret events,

they have different habits, values, and ways of relating to one another.
When they come across, problems pops up.
 People tend to view their cultural practices right while other as wrong or

peculiar. This is called ethnocentrism.

 Gestures and body movements, beliefs and practices related to human

relationships are the two main factors that impacts communication.

Blocks to Cultural Communication
Ethnocentrism : Inability to accept another culture's
1.
world view; "my way is the best."

2. Discrimination : Differential treatment of an individual

due to minority status; actual and perceived;
e.g., "we just aren't equipped to .Serve people like that."

3. Stereotyping : Generalizing about a person while

ignoring presence of individual difference;
e.g., "she's like that because she's Asian – all Asians are
nonverbal."
 Continued…
4. Cultural Blindness: Differences are ignored and one proceedsas
though differences did not exist; e.g., "there's no need to worry about
a person's culture

5. Cultural Imposition: Belief that everyone should conform to the

majority; e.g., "we know what's best for you, if you don't like it you
can go elsewhere."

6. Tone Difference : Formal tone change becomes embarrassing and

off- putting in some cultures.
Improving cross-cultural communication
• Overcome Ethnocentrism
• Recognize Cultural Variation
• Learn about Cultures
• Remove Language Barrier
• Help others adapt to our culture
• Write & speak clearly
• Improve Communication Skill
• Listen Carefully
• Respect Style Preferences
Improving Cross Culture Communication
TEN Pre-cautions in Cultural Communication

• Slow Down
• Separate Questions
• Avoid Negative Questions
• Take Turns
• Write it down
• Be Supportive
• Check Meanings
• Avoid Slangs
• Watch the humor
• Maintain Etiquette
DEVELOPING CROSS CULTURAL
COMMUNICATION SKILLS

"Tact is the ability to describe others as

they see themselves.“
– Abraham Lincoln
 Differences to consider in
Cross-Cultural Communication
 Frequency of eye Contact
 Assertiveness
 Use of Hands While Talking
 Physical Distance Between Communicators
 Speed of Speech
 Use of First Names vs. Titles
 Volume of Speech
 Use of Facial Expressions
Skills To Overcome Differences

Respecting Differences and Working Together

Building Trust Across Cultural Boundaries

Understanding Body Language

Connecting with people

Cultural conflicts in workplace
 Cultural conflicts arise because of the differences in values and
norms of behavior of people from different cultures.
A person acts according to the values and norms of his or her
culture; another person holding a different worldview might
interpret his or her behavior from an opposite standpoint.
 This situation creates misunderstanding and can lead to conflict.
 Need for Cross-cultural
Communication in Business
• Cultural diversity is perceived quite often around the world with
the change in geography, climate, countries, states, religion,
language, race and gender.
• For a business to develop in technically competent and advanced
global village, in terms of communication, travel and transportation,
this cultural diversity must be breached.
Purpose of cross-cultural communication in business

 To create cultural synergy between peoplefrom different cultures

within a Business.
 To avoid problems stemming solely from misinterpretation when
coming across people from different culture and society in the
large expanding business globally.
 Communicating across cultures effectively improves your
productivity and efficiency
Potential Hot Spot in Cross-Culture communication
 Opening and Closing Conversations
 Taking Turns During Conversations
 Interrupting
 Use of Silence
 Appropriate Topics of Conversation
 Knowing How Much to Say
 Sequencing elements during
conversation
 CONCLUSION

Diversity is a challenge as well as an opportunity which

can have positive as well as negative influence.

Acknowledging, understanding, accepting, valuing and

celebrating the differences among people to create equal
employment opportunities.
 REFERENCES
Books Referred:-
International Communications Strategy
Developments in cross-cultural communications,
PR and social media. –Silvia Cambie and Yang-May

Event Tourism and Cross Cultural Communication

-Annamalai Munugan
Links:-
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross- cultural_communicati
on

https://www.communicationtheory.org/