Present by: Abolfazl Ahmadi, Arshia Fathi, Parsa Jafari

Powered by : Abolfazl Ahmadi, Arshia Fathi, Benyamin Bank, Parsa Jafari

The Meaning and Nature of Communication

Communication : a process by which information is exchanged between

individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior.
In other words communication is what people actually say or do when they
interact. Communication, or the sending and receiving of messages, is one
aspect of culture and the way we communicate is largely determined by our
culture.
Intercultural Communication
Intercultural communication refers to the communication between people
from two different cultures. Intercultural communication is a symbolic,
interpretive, transactional, contextual process in which people from different
cultures create shared meanings.
We must be careful not to use Blanket Approach and attribute all behavioral
communication traits to culture.
We would be mistakenly over- generalising
if we defined intercultural communication
only by comparing cultures to explain the
differences, for example, in the way we
speak.
Types of Communication
When exploring communication, we can consider different
ways or styles in which we communicate.
Types of communication:
• Direct / low Context
• Indirect / High Context
• Direct and Indirect Verbal Communication
• Non-Verbal Communication

Direct / Low Context: The circumstances we find ourselves in

will determine the context for our communication. In highly
heterogeneous societies, like the UAE, because people come
from very different backgrounds, you cannot assume that the
person you are communicating with shares the same cultural
norms as you when it comes to conveying a message.

Indirect / High: Context On the other hand, high context cultures tend to be homogeneous, which means people have
shared notions of how to interact with each other and common expectations of how they and the other person will
behave in a given situation.
Totally in an indirect style of communication we use non-verbal communication more than verbal communication.
Types of Communication
Direct and Indirect Verbal Communication: When communicating, especially
across cultures and in a business context as often happens in the UAE,
building a friendly and trusting relationship can be very important so the
speaker may mean something other than what he or she actually says.
Conversely, we have seen that in low context situations, the communication
style is likely to be more direct, that is to say, the speaker will say exactly
what he or she means in order to avoid any misunderstandings.
Types of Communication
Nonverbal communication is the transfer of information
through body language, facial expressions, gestures,
created space and more. For example, smiling when you
meet someone conveys friendliness, acceptance and
openness.
Gestures can convey different meanings
and involve using our arms, hands, fingers, and whole
body. touching and personal space are also a common
way of communicating without using words. How much
and on which parts of the body people touch each other
can vary greatly from one culture to another
Factors Affecting communication
A number of factors which may disrupt the communication
process and affect the overall understanding and interpretation
of what is communicated are :
1. Status / Role: The sender and receiver of a message may be
of equal status within a  hierarchy (e.g. managers in an
organization) or they may be at different  levels (e.g.
manager/employee, lecturer/student, business
owner/clients).
2. Length of communication: The length of the message also
affects the communication process. Sender need to be sure
that it serves the purpose and is appropriate for
the receiver.
3. Use of Language: The language used must be familiar to the
receiver .Poor choice of words or weak sentence structure
also hampers communication. Sentences must be
framed correctly .
Ethnic groups