Nov 22: Cross-Cultural Communication and Nonverbals

(Please note: The discussion topic for this week has changed.)
Culture

• Modern business requires dealing with other cultures
• Shapes values, priorities, and practices

Successful Intercultural Communicator

• Aware of the values, beliefs, and practices in other cultures
• Sensitive to differences among individuals within a culture
• Aware that preferred values and behaviors are influenced by cultures and are not necessarily “right.”
• Sensitive to verbal and nonverbal behavior
• Flexible and open to change

Importance of Global Business

Video clip: "A Rude Introduction" (3 min 10 sec)

High-Context and Low-Context Cultures

• Values, Beliefs & Practices
• Often unconscious
• Affect response to people and situations
• Different cultures have different views of
  - Fairness
  - Competition
  - Success
  - Social status

International Business Communication

• Beyond a set of rules
• International business practices are constantly evolving/changing
• Seek out and talk to people from other backgrounds
• Enhance understanding of multiple perspectives

Writing to International Audiences

• Write in English unless fluent in audience’s language
• Buffer negative messages; make requests indirect
• Re-think audience benefits
• Allow extra response time

Nonverbal Communication

• Communication without words
• Signals such as smiles and gestures
• Can be misinterpreted as easily as words
• Important to be conscious of signals sent and received

Time

Monochronic culture

• Highly scheduled cultures,
• People focus on clock,
• Plan their time; avoid wasting it
• Time communicates importance,
• Lots of importance placed on punctuality
• Poor schedule adherence is interpreted as arrogance or incompetence
• If you live in the United States, Canada, or Northern Europe, you live in a monochronic culture.

Polychronic culture

• People focus on relationships
• Disregard clocks and planners
• Schedule and agendas are viewed as goals, not binding
• Promptness is not as important as completing a human interaction
• As a result, interruptions will delay appointments
• Forcing someone to wait is not intended as an insult
• If you live in Latin America, the Arab part of the Middle East, or sub-Sahara Africa, you live in a polychronic culture.

Voice Qualities: Stress and Volume

• Stress—emphasis given to one or more words
  I’ll give you a raise.
  “…another supervisor wouldn’t”
• I’ll give you a raise.
  “…yes, but I really don’t agree”
• I’ll give you a raise.
  “…nobody else gets one”
• I’ll give you a raise.
  “…but just one”
• I’ll give you a raise.
  “…but nothing else you want”
• I’ll give you a raise.
  “…you deserve it”
• I’ll give you a raise.
  “…the raise will please both of us”

Personal space - distance one likes between self and others

• Lots:
  North Americans - North Europeans - Asians
• Little:
  Arabs - Latin Americans - French - Italians
• Some people more comfortable with touch than others

The middle finger in west may mean another thing in the east. A clip of the best and fascinating gestures from around the world, taken from BBC documentary the human animal- language of the body.

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Portions attributed to Locker, Kitty O. and Donna Kienzler. Business and Administrative Communication, 8/e. McGraw-Hill Higher Education. 2008.