Transcript The Communication Gap

The Communication Gap
Communicating effectively in Japan
Preferred Communication Styles and Modes
Western Washington University
The U.S.
Since the U.S. is an immigrant society, putting as much of your
message as possible into words is important in order to let people
know “where you’re coming from”. People try to remove the
possibility of misassumptions as they believe everyone is different and
the degree which they are involved in the majority culture varies.
Japan
Japanese view their country as racially and culturally homogeneous
with a long history of tradition, so it is assumed that everyone knows
and will play by the unspoken rules of the majority culture.
Preferred Communication Styles and Modes
Western Washington University
The U.S.
The ideal way to communicate is to speak directly and clearly about
the issue at hand face to face with the person involved.
Japan
The ideal way of communicating is getting a message across by artfully
speaking indirectly and hinting at the issue. Being too direct is
clumsy. A go-between or middleman is often used with delicate or
important matters.
Preferred Communication Styles and Modes
Western Washington University
The U.S.
Verbal communication is the dominant mode, although body language
is also relied upon to a certain degree.
Japan
Words are not to be trusted as much as mutual feelings and non-verbal
cues. Verbal communication is seen as only one of the many ways to
communicate, as the use of silence, pauses, actions, facial expressions,
body language, etc. is seen as a more direct expression of one’s heart.
Preferred Communication Styles and Modes
Western Washington University
The U.S.
The strengths of the English language are persuading others to see
your point of view and explaining facts.
Japan
The strengths of the Japanese language are expressing relationships,
solidarity, and feelings.
Objective Reality
Western Washington University
The U.S.
The reliance of facts, doing what is practical, and following their
religious beliefs are what Americans tend to base their actions on.
Japan
There is a world of hard facts, but everyday actions are based on
maintaining relationships with other, intuition and feelings, and
actions prescribed by tradition.
Objective Reality
Western Washington University
The U.S.
When someone is late, they often explain what happened first to
provide a factual reason for their lateness and justify their actions.
Japan
When someone is late, they express remorse and apologize to make
sure the other person does not think their lateness means they don’t
value the relationship. The reason for being late is not so important.
View of Conflict and Conflict Resolution
Western Washington University
The U.S.
Conflict is seen as inevitable, and the ideal way to view conflict is as
an opportunity to promote communication, stimulate ideas, increase
understanding, and to bring about positive and creative change.
Japan
Conflict is dangerous to relationships and is to be diffused beforehand
or avoided at all costs. Harmony is the ultimate social ideal and
conflict is completely at odds with it.
View of Conflict and Conflict Resolution
Western Washington University
The U.S.
There is a belief that the best way to resolve conflicts is to bring them
out in the open and deal with them directly.
Japan
By anticipating actions, watching reactions, and to trying above all to
keep harmony, the preferred way to resolve conflicts is to subtly
diffuse them before they occur.
My coworkers often say things like
‘Let’s hang out some time!’ or
‘Please come visit my house’, but it
never goes any further than that. Did
I do something wrong?
It’s difficult for me to tell what’s
going on around me a lot of the time.
Sometimes when I am denied
something that I ask for, there
doesn’t seem to be any reason behind
it…
Often when I make suggestions, my
JTE says things like ‘I see’, ‘You’re
right’, and ‘Let me think about it’,
but that’s the last I hear about the
matter.
When I first started working at my
school(s), many of my coworkers came
to my desk to introduce themselves. In
April, there will be a lot of new staff.
Should I approach them to say hello, or
wait for them to come to me?
I’m not sure who I am supposed to
ask when I want things. I’ve heard it
is rude if I don’t ask the right person
first, so I’m nervous about messing
up.
I’ve heard that it is compulsory to
attend enkai, but I feel really
uncomfortable in those situations
so I’d prefer not to go. Can I
refuse?
My coworkers never take
holidays! I want to take a week
off to go travelling, but I’m not
sure if it’s really okay or not.
Sometimes when I’m speaking to
my JTE they randomly laugh and
nod a lot in the middle of the
conversation…