INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

 Culture is the total of the inherited ideas, beliefs, values, and knowledge that
constitute the shared bases of social action.
 Intercultural communication is the exchange of messages between and
among people with diverse cultures.
 Culture beliefs and practices are distinct; you need to consider the culture of
a person you are communication with.
 Intercultural communication requires knowledge and skills.
CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
1. EYE CONTACT / GAZE: Has the most striking differences
Country / People Culture
Americans Look directly in each other’s eyes when talking. When
eyes shift and avoid meeting those of other person,
they sense disinterest and deception.
Western People If people are afraid to look, they are hiding something.
China Long eye contact makes people feel weird, they avoid
direct eye contact with others
Japan and Africa Prolonged eye contact is disrespectful and offensive
Arabic Cultures Prolonged eye contact shows interest and helps them
understand the person
People from Africa, Avoid eye contact to show respect
Latin America and
the Caribbean
Arabs Gaze much longer and more directly at their partners
than Americans

2. FACIAL EXPRESSION: Only form of nonverbal communication that can be considered

universal.
- Matsumoto (2006) six universal facial expressions
 Fear
 Anger
 Disgust
 Happiness
 Sadness
 Surprise
- Smile is one of the most common facial expressions among different cultures.
Country / People Culture
Americans Smile freely at strangers; Hide grief or sorrow
Asians Smile not only to express joy and friendliness but
also to convey pain and embarrassment.
Russians Consider smiling strange and even impolite.
Mediterraneans: Exaggerate grief or sadness
Latin and Arabic
3. GESTURE: Purposive movement of fingers, hands, arms, head, shoulders, torso, legs,
or feet for nonverbal communication. Some cultures are animated and others are
restrained.
- Restrained cultures: Feel that animated cultures lack manners and overall
restraint
- Animated cultures: Feel that restrained cultures lack emotion or interest.
 A. Middle East – Nodding head down means agreement, nodding it up means
disagreement
B. Japan – Nodding up-and-down is just a signal that someone is listening
C. Americans and Chinese – Nodding means yes and shaking the head side to
side means no
D. India – Nodding up and down means no and shaking it means yes
E. China – Nodding the head can also be a greeting to people or asking them to
come
F. Middle East and Bulgaria – Head movement from left to right means yes
G. US Bowing is criticized ; Japan it indicates acknowledgement of rank.
H. Iran and Latin America – Thumbs-up signal is vulgar
I. The “OK” signal made by circle with the thumb and forefinger refers to
money but to some it is an offensive reference to a private body part
J. In some, the “OK” sign means “zero” and isnt offensive.
K. Asian countries – point with the wrong finger or less than the entire hand,
you offend somebody
L. Americans: index finger to point;
Germans: little finger;
Japanese and Thais: entire hand
M. Most Asians – pointing with the index finger rude
N. Germans: Use their thumb to start counting; Japanese: little finger;
Indonesians: middle finger
O. US: use of hand or finger to indicate come here please is common;
Philippines: that gesture is to call fogs and is very offensive
P. Placing both hands at the side of the head with forefingers pointing upward
is a sign of anger in some countries; invitation to make love in others.
Q. Some countries consider handshake as rude. It is always rude to hand an
object to another person with left hand in the Middle East because that hand
is reserved for personal hygiene.
R. US: Burping after a mean is considered uncouth. India: Hearty belch is a sign
of appreciation for the cook
S. China: wave your arms from one side to another to call a taxi
US: Most people will face a taxi through drive-through, make a fist without
the thumb and move it around. In China, that hand movement means that
people agree with others’ idea.

4. TOUCH: Culturally determined. Each culture has a clear concept of which parts of the
body one may not touch. Touching may convey protection, support, and disapproval.
Handshakes, even with strangers are usually acceptable everywhere.
a. Asians: do more touching than Americans
b. China: a lot of girls like to hold hands or put arm around each other’s shoulder
but for Americans and Europeans, this action seems so close and others may
think that the girls are homosexual.
c. In some cultures, patting a child’s head is affectionate or friendly
d. In most Asian countries, patting the head is inappropriate because the head is a
very sacred part of the body
e. In some cultures, especially in Asia, avoid patting child on the head because
they believe that it would damage the child’s soul.
f. Latin America: people are expected to get very touchy-feely with both strangers
and friends(hearty embrace). US: such contact may be considered sexual.
5. POSTURE: The way we sit, stand, walk or carry ourselves. Postures are interpreted
quite differently among cultures.
a. Americans: Resting feet on desk is common
Asia, Middle East, Europe: It is highly offensive
b. Norther Europe and some Asian countries: Slouching is rude because it
signifies laziness or lack of attention and interest in the conversation or topic
c. Turkey: Putting hands in pocket while standing is disrespectful
d. Ghana: Sitting with legs crossed is offensive
e. Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Saudi Arabia: Showing the sole of the feet while
sitting is formal gatherings is offensive.
6. TIME: Most central differences that separate cultures and cultural ways of doing
things
a. West: Time is seen as quantitative, measurable in units of progress or
achievement. It is logical, sequential and preset-focused.
b. US: time is gold. The Americans’ use of time is monochromic: they do things one
at a time
c. East: Time is endless and limitless. They use time as polychromic: Doing several
tasks at the same time.
d. Germany: Arriving on time is a sign of politeness and respect and being late is
rude. Germans think that people should do everything on time and they don’t
want visitors to come too early or too late.
e. China: When invited to a party, be there on time or a little bit early. If you are the
host, prepare the food or other things early
f. America: Be a little bit late when invited to party because people think that
being late is polite.
g. Venezuela: Being early/ on time is rude. When invited, arrive 10 to 15 minutes
later than requested time to come or you will be considered eager/ greedy.
7. PHYSICAL SPACE
a. America: People stand at arm’s length (about 30 inches) from a person when
they talk. Only family members or little children can come closer.
b. China: People love to stand a little bit closer. If 2 friends are too far from each
other, people will think that they aren’t friends
c. People from Middle East: Might get right up in your face when they want to
converse.
d. It is very important for Americans to keep a social space, but for the Chinese,
very crowded places are attractive and the best. Americans will leave and just
come back when the crowd has dispersed.
e. Arab males: more direct, confrontational body orientations tend to sit closer to
each other than American males.
f. North Americans: Prefer a large amount of space because they are surrounded
by it in their homes and countryside.
g. Europeans: Stand more closely with each other when talking because they are
accustomed to smaller personal space.
8. TIME
a. Arabs: Consider body odor as normal
b. Asians: bathe frequently and Americans & Europeans criticize this practice.
BARRIERS AGAINST EFFECTIVE INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
Interpersonal communication: May be affected by communication disorders or
communication inefficiency.
1. Emotion. Extreme emotion is an obstacle to effective communication. Too much
self-pity, beclouds your senses and drives you into negative feelings that results in
misunderstanding or misinterpretation of true message.
2. Filtering. The sender manipulates/ reforms the true message to make it appear
more favorable for the receiver, misleading the receiver and in the end making him
feel deceived.
3. Information overload: The human brain can only process so much information.
Overloading the brain will cause overflow and breakdown in the communication
process, leaving the message undelivered or misunderstood.
4. Defensiveness. When threatened/ placed in a disadvantageous position, we tend to
be defensive and start to refute what the speaker tells, put out sarcastic remarks,
question the motives and be biased on their evaluation of the message.
5. Cultural Differences. When people of different cultures communicate, they often do
not understand one another because of differences in their social, cultural and
historical background.
6. Jargon. The vocabulary peculiar to a particular group—business, social, scholastic
or the like. Some call it shoptalk and may be used in a particular group familiar with
it and should not be used out of respect and consideration to others not familiar
with them.
OVERCOMNG BARRIERS
1. Simplify language. Avoid jargon & any technical language. There is no substitute to
simplicity in language. It leads to clarity and understanding.
2. Rein in emotion. When discussing sensitive issues, hold your tongue till your
emotion calms down before responding. Count up to 10/20 or 30 depending on the
degree of emotion to avoid regrets and embarrassment.
3. Listen actively. Listen with your heart so you will not only understand but also feel
the words. Listening is as important as speaking.
4. Provide feedback. As a receiver, provide feedback by asking questions.

VERBAL AND NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION

Verbal Communication/ Spoken Communication: Used for both face to face or mediated
communication like teleconferencing/ videoconferencing.
-To have effective verbal communication, we need to understand and develop other
important skills. (a.) nonverbal communication, (b.) listening skills, (c.) clarification. In
addition, clarity of speech, remaining calm and focused, being polite, and following some
basic rules of etiquette will all aid in the process of verbal communication.
Nonverbal Communication: Messages using our body movement or voice quality are ways
of communicating nonverbally.
Forms of nonverbal communication: Body movements like gestures, facial expressions,
eye contact, posture, touch, sound of voice that incudes tone, pitch, rate, volume,
emphasis, intonation, our physical appearance and characteristics as communicators like
clothing, hairstyle, height, weight, skin, color, gender and smell are also forms.
Physical appearance: Very important because even if you have time to open your mouth
and say something about yourself, certain assumptions both consciously and
unconsciously have already been made about you. First impressions are very crucial,
based on your visual impact (a.) facial expression, (b.) clothes you wear, (c.) grooming,
(d.) body language.
 You cannot do much to alter your face but you can change the expressions that you
make. No matter how you feel, convey a calm, friendly and professional exterior.
Smile and appear optimistic.
 You should be suitably dressed depending on the occasion
 Good grooming and a tidy appearance is preferable, whether you are casually or
formally dressed.
 Body language: Another aspect of your visual image that you should understand.
Your visual image should support and enhance your verbal communication.
POSITIVE BODY LANGUAGE
A. Maintaining eye contact with the person you’re communicating with
B. Smiling (if appropriate) especially if greeting or parting
C. Sit squarely in a chair, leaning slightly forwards to indicate you’re paying
attention
D. Nod in agreement
E. Firm handshake
F. Presenting a calm exterior
G. Look interested
NEGATIVE BODY LANGAUAGE
a. Not looking at the person you’re speaking with
b. Tapping foot, fingers, nails
c. Rocking backward and forward
d. Scratching
e. Continually clearing your throat
f. Fiddling with your hair, ear lobes, jewelry, jacket, glasses, and the like.
g. Picking at fingers/ fingernails
h. Yawning/ stretching
i. Repeatedly looking at the clock or your watch
j. Standing too close to others
k. Inattention to the person speaking
NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: Reflection of your personality, usually unplanned and
unintentional without any purpose to hurt someone. It is more powerful than verbal
communication. Mehrabian’s research findings shows that 93% of overall communication
comes from nonverbal (38% for voice quality, 55% body movement) and only 7% for verbal
communication.
TIPS FOR IMPROVING VERBAL AND NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
1. Listen with your heart. Understand what the person is telling you.
2. Watch people’s body language, facial expressions, and so on.
3. Say what you mean, mean what you say.