Purposive Communication Notes

Learning Outcomes

  • Determine the purpose of communication.

  • Interpret captured messages and images from various platforms like billboards, advertisements, and social media.

  • Critically evaluate multimodal texts to improve receptive skills (listening, reading, viewing, and comprehension).

  • Convey ideas through oral, audio-visual, and web-based presentations for diverse audiences in local and global contexts.

  • Convey ideas through oral, audio-visual presentations on different platforms.

Local and Global Communication in Multicultural Settings

  • This section addresses communication in both local and global contexts, recognizing the importance of multicultural awareness.

Gender and Language

  • Men and women often communicate for different reasons.

  • Male and female conversational styles differ in some ways.

  • Gender is not always the most important factor influencing language use.

  • Topics discussed by men and women can vary.

Values, Beliefs, and Practices

  • These are often unconscious.

  • They affect responses to people and situations.

  • Different cultures have varying views on:

    • Fairness

    • Groups

    • Competition

    • Success

    • Social Status

Culture

  • Shapes values, priorities, and practices.

  • Modern business requires dealing with other cultures.

Different Language Registers

5 Language Registers

  • Frozen

  • Casual

  • Consultative

  • Formal

  • Intimate

Language Registers

  • Language register is the level of formality in speech.

  • Different situations and people require different registers.

Frozen or “Static” Register

  • Language is fixed and unchanging.

  • Often learned and repeated by rote.

Formal Register

  • Impersonal and follows a prescriptive format.

  • Uses complete sentences, avoids slang, and may use technical or academic vocabulary.

  • Fewer contractions are used in favor of complete words.

Consultative

  • Used when consulting an expert (e.g., a doctor).

  • Language is more precise.

  • The expert is addressed by a title (e.g., "Doctor", "Mr.", "Mrs.").

Casual

  • Conversational in tone.

  • Used among friends.

  • Words are general, not technical.

  • May include slang and colloquialisms.

Intimate

  • Language used by lovers.

  • Also the language used in sexual harassment.

  • Most intimate form of language.

  • Best avoided in public and professional settings.

Sources of Diversity

Variety

  • Range

  • Difference

  • Diversity

  • Dissimilarity

  • Distinctiveness

  • Multiplicity

  • Mixture

Sources of Diversity

  • Gender

  • Race and ethnicity

  • Regional and national origin

  • Social class

  • Religion

  • Age

  • Sexual orientation

  • Physical ability

Two Types of Culture

High-Context

  • Relationships are important.

  • Information is inferred from social relationships.

  • Little information is conveyed explicitly.

  • Communication is indirect.

  • Value oral agreements.

  • Rely heavily on nonverbal signs.

Low-Context

  • Rely little on relationships.

  • Most information is explicitly spelled out.

  • Communication is direct.

  • Value written agreements.

  • Rely heavily on written signs.

Same Sign, Different Meanings

OK sign

  • France: you're a zero

  • Japan: please give me coins

  • Brazil: an obscene gesture

  • Mediterranean countries: an obscene gesture

Thumbs-up

  • Australia: up yours

  • Germany: the number one

  • Japan: the number five

  • Saudi Arabia: I'm winning

  • Ghana: an insult

  • Malaysia: the thumb is used to point rather than the finger

Thumbs-down:

  • Most countries: something is wrong or bad

Thumb and forefinger

  • Most countries: money

  • France: something is perfect

  • Mediterranean: a vulgar gesture

Open palm:

  • Greece: an insult dating to ancient times

  • West Africa: You have five fathers, an insult akin to calling someone a bastard

Intercultural Communication

Successful Intercultural Communicator

  • Aware of one’s preferred values.

  • Flexible and open to change.

  • Sensitive to verbal and nonverbal behavior.

  • Aware of values, beliefs, and practices in other cultures.

  • Sensitive to differences among individuals within a culture.

Diverse Teams

  • Differences affect how people behave in teams and what they expect from teams.

  • Gender

  • Class

  • Race

  • Ethnicity

  • Age

  • Religion

  • Sexual orientation

  • Physical ability

Conflict Resolution

  • Make sure people involved actually disagree.

  • Ensure that everyone has correct information.

  • Discover needs each person is trying to meet.

  • Search for alternatives.

  • Repair negative feelings.

Writing to International Audience

  • Write in English unless fluent in the reader’s language.

  • Reconsider patterns of organization.

  • Buffer negative messages; make requests direct.

  • Re-think audience benefits.

  • Allow extra response time.

Learning About 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.

Performance Tasks

Activity No. 1: Journal Prompt

  • Instructions: Pretend you have been invited by your manager to join in on a business lunch next week with a client from Japan. Write a journal about how you would prepare for the business lunch. Be sure to discuss issues such as language differences and nonverbal communication.

  • Covered Topics: Local and Global Communication in multicultural settings and Diversity in culture, language, and communication

Activity No. 2: Reading an Article

  • Instructions: Read about the Muslim job applicant who refused handshake and won discrimination case in Sweden and write 350-word reflection after.

  • Covered Topics: Diversity in culture, language, and communication

Assessment

  • Choose a country that the Philippines is doing business with.

  • Table the differences in culture and communication between the Philippines and that country.

  • Make recommendations of how Filipinos can adapt their communication style towards their foreign counterparts.