Transcript Cultural Diversity and Intercultural Communication

Cultural Diversity and
Intercultural Communication
Esther Langen
IHEYO Conference
What does the game show?
• Different cultural rules lead to confusion
• How do you react? You have to find a
way to play the game together.
• Do you understand each other? How
can you check it?
• How can you improve communication?
• How do you decide which rules to
apply?
Growth of intercultural contact
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Modern means of communication
More e-mail and Internet
Increased migration and travelling
More international trade
Result: Growth of intercultural contact
and an increased need for
intercultural communication skills
Group culture
Group culture refers to the combined
knowledge which is produced in mutual
communication between the members of
the group, like a common language,
habits, rituals, opinions, standards and
values, etc.
Categories of cultural identity
A. Language
B. Non-verbal behavior
C. Standards and values
Language
• Not only miscommunication because of
different languages, also because
language determines the frame of mind
and communication style
• Language is an indicator of identity and
is used to mark borders of groups
(social in- and exclusion)
Nonverbal behavior
• Different meanings and use of gestures
• Differences in amount of physical
contact between people
Result: Nonverbal behavior is a major
cause of misunderstandings
Standards and values
• Values refer to what we find important in
our lives (values are often ethical).
• Standards refer to rules for behavior.
Standards and values influence the way
people structure and interpret their
surroundings and time (exact / flexible).
Perception
Perception is the way we select and
evaluate information from our
surroundings.
Perception is the color of our glasses, we
look at the same reality but we see it in
different colors (e.g. my world looks blue,
your world looks red).
Cultural filters & perceptions
Information and impressions from reality
Cultural filter
(my colored
glasses)
My perception / personal evaluation
of reality
What we need to know
• What’s the color of your glasses, what
kind of values color your perception?
• Which perception of reality is the result?
• Do you understand how I see the world,
are we talking about the same thing?
• Is there a way in which we can combine
our two perspectives?
Respect diversity
• Everybody has his or her own truth.
I should not impose my truth upon
somebody else.
• You can ask your partner to change
particular behavior (in a specific
situation), you can’t ask your partner to
change his or her values or perception
Skills for intercultural
communication
• Mindfulness, acceptance of differences
• Empathy / openness, try to look through the
others glasses
• Patience
• Flexibility with regard to behavior and
communication styles
• Try to listen without interpretation
• Explain the color of your glasses and your
perception of reality