Intercultural Communication: Quick Reference

Diversity and culture affect how people communicate; unfamiliar cultures pose challenges.
Openness, sensitivity, and genuine desire to understand and be understood are essential for intercultural success.
Language skills alone are not sufficient for effective intercultural communication.

Globalization is the process of people and goods moving across borders; economic integration with few barriers; ideas and traditions are traded and assimilated.
It is both economic and cultural.
History: globalization is longstanding (e.g., Silk Road) with trade in silk, gems, spices, and coffee.
Drivers: technology advances (internet, printing press, email), and transport (container ships, trains, airplanes).
Impacts on communication: more language contact; faster travel of news.

Perception: beliefs, values, attitude, worldview, social organization.
Verbal Process: language and symbols used to portray experiences.
Nonverbal Process: thoughts, feelings, bodily behavior, time and space.
Contextual Elements: business, education, healthcare, tourism, personal relationships.

1) High context vs Low context
- High context: messages rely on context, nonverbal cues, and implicit meaning.
- Low context: messages are explicit.
- Examples: high context — Mediterranean, Slav, Central European, Latin American, African, Arab, Asian, American-Indian; low context — Germanic and English-speaking countries.
2) Sequential vs Synchronic (monochronic vs polychronic time)
- Sequential: full attention to one agenda item after another.
- Synchronic: time is viewed as a circle, with past, present, and future.
- Examples: sequential — North American, English, German, Swedish, Dutch; synchronic — Germanic and English-speaking countries.
3) Affective vs Neutral
- Affective: people show feelings openly (laughing, smiling, grimacing).
- Neutral: feelings are kept controlled and not openly telegraphed.
- Examples: affective — Italy, France, US, Singapore; neutral — Japan, Indonesia, UK, Norway, Netherlands.

In reality, no culture is right or wrong—just different.
There is no single best approach to communicating in today’s global business environment.