Module 6 | NTC1 Purposive Communication

Intercultural Communication

Each person is genetically unique. This uniqueness becomes even more heightened because of individual experiences. Humans are formed by forces other than genetics.

Carol Kinsey Goman (2011)

Intercultural Communication

High Context

Leave much of the message unspecified (context, NV cues, read-between-the-lines)

Low Context

Expect messages to be explicit and specific.

High Context

Interpersonal, relational, subjective, informal.

Low Context

Impersonal, rule-oriented, task-centered, objective, formal.

High Context

Mediterranean, Slav, Central European, Latin America, African, Arab, Asian, American-Indian.

Low Context

Germanic, English-speaking countries.

Sequential Culture

• Views time as a linear commodity to "spend," "save," or "waste."

• businesspeople give full attention to one agenda item after another

• “time is money” mentality

• Fixation on timelines

Sequential Culture

North American, English, German, Swedish, Dutch

Synchronic Culture

• Views time as a constant flow to be experienced in the moment, and as a force that cannot be contained or controlled • A friend from Venezuela was invited to a party in the States. The hours on the invitation were stated as 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. • "How can anyone know when the party will be over?”

Synchronic Culture

South America, Southern Europe, Asia

Neutral

❑ do not telegraph their feelings, but keep them carefully controlled and subdued ❑ more careful to monitor the amount of emotion they display ❑ If our approach is highly neutral, we want an indirect response: "I agree with your thoughts on this."

Neutral

❑ Japan, Indonesia, UK, Norway, Netherlands

Affective

❑ people show their feelings plainly by laughing, smiling, grimacing, scowling, and sometimes crying, shouting, or walking out of the room ❑ If our approach is highly emotional, we are seeking a direct emotional response: "I feel the same way."

Culture

Is, basically, a set of values shared by a group of people. These values affect how you think and act and, more importantly, the kind of criteria by which you judge others.