improving cross- cultural communication skills: cross-cultural communication
TRANSCRIPT
IMPROVING CROSS-CULTURAL
COMMUNICATION SKILLS:
Cross-cultural Communication
Worldwide symbol for greeting
The Victory sign in USA
Winston Churchill
Rihanna uses the V-sign
Robbie Williams – using V-sign as insult
“I LOVE YOU” sign
Perfect (approval) sign
Solidarity/power sign
Good luck OR Obscene
Very bad- “F” word in America
Non verbal communication
Wordless/visual messages between people
Communicated through gestures, touch, body language/posture, facial expression and eye contact
Examples: clothing, hairstyle, rings etc.
What is Communication?
“The process by which meanings are created in human interaction with symbols”
The symbols can be verbal or non-verbal
Cross-cultural Communication
“Occurs when a member of one culture produces a message for a member of another culture to understand”
Communication between people whose cultural perceptions and symbol systems are distinct enough to alter the communication event“
Improving cross-cultural communication skills
Slow Down - speak clearly and ensure your pronunciation is intelligible.
Separate Questions - do not ask double questions, “Do you want to carry on or shall we stop here?” In a cross cultural situation only the first or second question may have been comprehended. Let your listener answer one question at a time.
Avoid Negative Questions – “are you not coming?”
Improving cross-cultural communication skills (cont.)
Take Turns – speak and listen to the response.
Write it down – eg. 1,000,000,000,000 (UK) vs. 1,000,000,000 (USA)
Be Supportive- Giving encouragement gives confidence, support and a trust in you.
Check Meanings - never assume the other party has understood. Be an active listener. Summarize what has been said in order to verify it.
Improving cross-cultural communication skills (cont.)
Avoid Slang - words will be understood but the meaning missed. – (Uncle Ben, big guns, big mouth)
Watch the humor - think whether it will be understood in the other culture.
- (She is always late; her ancestors arrived in American in Juneflower)
Maintain Etiquette - Many cultures have certain etiquette when communicating. Respect them!
END
Any Questions ???Any Suggestions ???Any Experiences ???