commucation across culture

Communication is interpretive

Whenever people communicate, they must interpret the symbolic behaviors of others and assign significance to some of those behaviors in order to create a meaningful account of the other’s actions.

There is no direct mind-to-mind contact between people, you cannot access the thoughts and feelings of other human beings but can only infer what they are experiencing.

Communication is complex

Although all cultures use symbols to share their realities, the specific realities and the symbols employed are often quite different.

People are both alike and different.

Cultural, as well as individual, differences keep people apart.

Members of different cultures look differently at the world around them.

A successful intercultural communicator appreciates similarities and accepts differences.

4. Elements of Communication p.50-56

Context

Participants

Messages

Channels

Noise

Feedback

physical setting

the formality of the conference room

the seating arrangements

lighting

the time of day

the distance between communicators

historical context

previous communication events

psychological context

the manner of perceiving themselves and others

cultural context

communication norms

play the roles of senders and receivers:

senders form messages– encoders;

receivers process the messages and react to them—decoders

variables affecting participants:

---relationships: familiar or unfamiliar

---gender: males or females

---culture: from the same culture or from different cultures

meanings