Cross Cultural Communication (CCC)

“Cross Cultural Communication (CCC) is a field of sttudy that looks at how the people from differing
cultural backgrounds communicate in similar and differentr ways among themselves and how they
endeavour to communicate across cultures”.

Globalization has lead to a stage where we have come to a borderless world. The companies have
expanded their businesses overseas and this has necessiated the companies and corporations to train their
employees\executives not just in getting to know the language of the specific country where the busibness
is set-up but also to understand and respect the culture prevailing in the country. The governments also
encouraged the diplomats and officials to acquire intensive training in CCC to gain a “world view”
perspective and come out of the local and parochial thnking.

Communication and the communication style are influenced by the culture. Culture refers to the norms,
beliefs, customs, ethics, codes, mores, values, sentiments, behavior and attitudes of individuals in a
society. Culture is a way of life.

Learning in Cross Cultural Communication

A proper knowledge of CCC is imparted by the process of Acculturation (Adult learning) or

Enculturation (socializing ways or bringing up children) to enable an individual operate in a Positive
spiral without the acrimonious experience of being in a negative spiral.

Positive spiral

Awareness of one’s own cultural

Awareness of others’ culture

Avoid using attributes

Find common ground

Negative spiral

Conflict incident

Defensive or offensive response

Frustration
Aggression

The following five stages are important in CC learning.

Identifying: Similarities, differences between one’s own and others’ cultures.

Coping: Living up with them, reacting positively, adjusting and adapting. Or else, one will suffer a
Culture Shock- Aggression, frustration, isolation, home-sick, depression, hyper-criticality, alienation and
confusion.

Integrating : Various cultural elements into one’s operating systems/paradigms

Understanding : the form, content, and salient differences

Managing: Work proactively with the differences to produce mutually satisfying outcomes.

High Context Cultures

Interpersonal relationships are given more importance. Ofcourse, business is also equally important.

Asia, Japan, Middle East

High Context Culture: People rely more on the non-verbal or situational cues while communicating with
others. Japanese, Arabs, Italians and Latin American give lot of importance to the body language and
non-verbal aspects of communication.

Low Context Cultures

Focus more on business and not much on interpersonal relationships

America, Canada and Europe

In the low context cultures like Britain, America, France, Germany, Canada and Sweden, the focus is
more on the ‘words’ to convey meaning in a communication setting.

Focus Points in Learning Cross Cultural Communication

The process of knowing or understanding the CCC is best done by concentrating on the following aspects.

1. Kinesics or body language: gestures or posture. For example, the Japanese bow, and the Germans
stand upright. In Europe, a cross legged posture with the knee on knee is ok whereas in America,
the cross legged posture with the ankle on thigh is accepted.
2. Occulesics or eye contact: Arabs depend on eye contact while the Japanese focus on the neck and
a prolonged eye contact is not liked by them. In the Europe, a steady eye contact is a sign of
confidence, trust-worthiness and interest.
3. Haptics or touch: Arabs like it and the Europeans do not and restrict it only to the handshake. In
Germany, a short but firm handshake is appreciated very much. In Italy, France, Spain and
Mexico the women kiss on both the cheeks after knowing an individual for a while. The French
kiss or ‘peck’ is very popular.
4. Proxemics or distance: Intimate distance is when the persons move or stand closely, touching
each other. Personal distance is one or two feet, social distance is three to eight feet and the
public distance is about ten feet. In Japan and China people maintain four feet distance and in the
Middle East, a very close distance is maintained.
5. Chronemics: The European society is clock conscious and punctuality is admired. In Japan and
China, they treat it as an insult if a person is late on an appointment. In S.America and Middle
East people are not time bound and they do not give much importance to time.
6. Chromatics or color: The color choices are varied in various countries depending on the local
sentiments. In China red ink is not used because it is a sentiment which portends death. Similarly,
when a bouquet is sent to a Chinese, care should be taken to avoid white flowers.
7. Olefactics or odour: In the Middle East, having a body spray with a strong smell is ok and in
western society it is resented.
8. Gifts: In Japan and China, presenting the gifts is an integral part of the business protocol whereas
it has negative connotations in other cultures
9. Business Negotiation: In the European society, the people at the negotiating table follow the
agenda strictly. The Arabs tend to interrupt a person while he is communicating with them. The
Italians are voluble or very eloquent in their conversation whereas the Europeans are very
reserved and talk less. Further, they do not like threats or challenges in the form of deadlines. The
Japanese talk slowly with pauses. The Chinese do not say “No” and respond with “Let’s see”.
The Russians are hard bargainers.
10. Forms of Address: One should not use the first names in all the societies. However, using the
second name is accepted in almost all the societies. In Germany, the professional titles are used
after Mr. (Herr) and Mrs. (Frau). In Mexico, the professional title is used before the name of the
person as in other societies. (Ingenero Fernandez for an engineer or Doctoro Fernandez for a
doctor). In Mexico, the following titles are used to address the people.
Senor (Sr) for Mr.
Senora (Sra) for Mrs.
 Senorita (Srita) for Miss
In France, the titles Madame and Monsieur are used for ladies and gentlemen respectively.
11. Visiting cards: generally the visiting cards or the business cards are printed on the both the sides.
On one side the information is printed in the local language and on the side it is in English. In
Japan, the cards are handed over with both the hands, and of course, with a bow. In the Middle
East, the left hand should not be used for giving or receiving a business card. In China, one
should not put the card in the pocket without reading it and also not to put it in front of the person
who gives it.
12. Etiquette: The dining etiquette and the social graces are very important and specific to various
cultures. One should be very careful in understanding them before interacting with the people of
the respective cultures.
13. Para Langauage
The japnese speak at a slower pace and have long pauses as they speak

The Italians are voluble and speak fluently. The Europeans are very reserved and they talk very

less

14. Language & Slang

America- Gas station for petro bunk, trash bin for dust bin, no currency on my mobile for
balance; use the word ‘Cool’ to accept something or to agree to something; Mr. Anil…please
complete the report by January 30….Anil: Cool (Agree to or accept)