1. What is intercultural communication?

And why is it important to improve intercultural

communication?
- Intercultural communication occurs when culture impacts the communication between two or more
people to make a difference.
- It's important to improve intercultural communication:
+ help us better understand others and to be more responsible employees, travelers, consumers, producers
of media and work citizens
+ effective intercultural communication is a vital skill for anyone working across countries or continents
+ avoid misunderstandings and even offense
+ cultural diversity enriches each of us
+ intercultural knowledge opens doors to the treasure house of human experience.
reveals to us myriad ways of experiencing, sensing,
feeling, and knowing understand the logic that motivates the actions or
behaviors of others who are culturally different from ourselves
+ culturally sensitive communication can increase relational closeness and deepen cultural self-awareness
+ help us to build our knowledge of other peoples and their cultures, as well as enhancing and
consolidating our knowledge about own culture
Example:
- In Thailand, lengthy person terms of up to 15 years can be imposed for insulting the monarchy; this
include destroying banknotes bearing the king's image
- In Saudi Arabia, women are legally required to wear the abaya, a long black coat in all public places,
while men are to avoid wearing shorts, short-sleeved or unbuttoned shirts
- In Thailand, simple actions such as touching the top of a person's head are likely to cause grave offense
3. What is verbal communication and why is it important?
- Verbal communication is the most popular form of communication. Through words, the information
content is transmitted directly and quickly to the individual partner.
(It can include oral communication, such as speaking to another person over the telephone, face-to-face
discussions, interviews, debates, presentations and so on. It
can also include written communication, such as letters and
emails.)
+Channels of communication:
Verbal communication uses a single channel of communication, the human voice, which speaks a single
word at a time.
o Non-verbal communication uses multiple channels of
communication including your entire body, facial
expressions, and tone of voice.
Examples of communication:
- Verbal communication can take place over a phone call, in a face-to-face
conversation, over loudspeakers, through audio recordings, and so on.
- Nonverbal communication can only occur when all the parties in the conversation can see each other.
This helps them properly understand what they are communicating nonverbally.
+ Mode of communication:
o Verbal communication is linear and voluntary. It is a well-thought-out process in which the speaker
focuses on communicating their message effectively.
o Non-verbal communication is a continuous process. It is not well-thought-out and is largely
involuntary.
o Unlike verbal communication, non-verbal communication is not linear. It depends more on how one
uses their body language and other cues to respond to external stimuli.
+ Consciousness in communication:
o Verbal communication is a conscious process.
Non-verbal communication happens on an unconscious
level. One doesn't really think about it actively
+ Decoding the communication:
o Verbal communication is fairly easy to decode if a listener understand the language and the words being
used.
o Non-verbal communication is a little harder to decode than verbal communication. You have to pay
attention to many factors including the speaker's body language,
facial expressions, and tone to decode what the other person is trying to convey.
→Verbal and Non-verbal communication are not contradictory to each other, but they are
complementary.
6. What are the benefits of knowing the communication styles?
The benefits of knowing the communication styles:
+ adapt more readily and flexibly to the individual persons
+ make others feel more comfortable and confident while they
interact with us
+ make the result of statements are transparent, clear and
more exactly
+ create a sense of trust, responsibility
+ helps us build relationships by allowing us to share our
experiences.
8. Why is cross-cultural communication important, in your opinion?
- Cross-cultural communication is important:
+ good cross-cultural understanding improves communication between people from different cultures
fosters greater trust
+ with a large pool of cultural influences and views, creativity is improved as well
+ a better cross-cultural understanding is important to develop open-mindedness
+ promotes the understanding that there's more than one solution that's suitable for any given situation or
challenge
+ cross-cultural communication benefits formal organization in sharing common goals
+ ensures that everyone remain focused on the same goals and objectives keeping up-to-date
+ promotes continuous improvement
+ this respectful multicultural communication enables every stakeholder to benefit from the free exchange
of information
+ workplaces are becoming more multicultural and companies that formerly focused on a single
population may now operate in a worldwide market making cross-cultural communication a critical
component of organisational effectiveness
+ connecting diverse cultures presents many opportunities for growth highlighted the need for developing
and training cultural understanding and the importance of cross- cultural communication
What are the three main components of culture? Which component(s) are you interested
in most?
- + Belief: Beliefs are usually reflected in your actions and communication behaviors . A
belief is a concept or idea that an individual or group holds to be true . Beliefs represent our
subjective conviction in the truth of something - with or without proof
- Example: - If you believe that a good tan reflects a healthy, active lifestyle, and makes a
person more attractive, you will probably find time to lie out in the sun, use a tanning lotion, or
perhaps go to a tanning salon
+ Value: Beliefs form the foundation of values provide a set of guidelines that assits the
culture’s members in deciding what is good or bad, right or wrong, and appropriate or
inappropriate in almost every context of human activity varied cultural values can create
intercultural conflict at both a personal and an international level To help mitigate the potential
for value-based clashes: If you consider the other person strange, they probably consider you
strange.
- Example: - In the United States people place a high value on individual rights and
personal freedom, and they think that those opportunities should be available to everyone in the
world
+ Behaviors: are the outward manifestations of our internalized beliefs and values of culture
has a regulatory influence on behaviors beliefs and values exert an influence on our
communicative behaviors
Example: - Behaviors that are acceptable during a spring-break trip would be considered
obnoxious at a family reunion, that senior citizens are not expected to wear hip-hop clothes
The component about behaviors is the most interesting because + the study of human
behavior has played an important role in improving the lives of people who have mental
health and behavioral disorders + it has also facilitated advancements in areas such as early
childhood education, organizational behavior management, and public health.
5.Verbal codes Definition and ingredients
- Verbal communication is the most popular form of communication. Through words, the
information content is transmitted directly and quickly to the individual partner. (It can include
oral communication, such as speaking to another person over the telephone, face-to-face
discussions, interviews, debates, presentations and so on. It can also include written
communication, such as letters and emails.)
- Speech reveals personality, so it plays a very important role in creating impressions,
comments and evaluations between subjects in communication: + help improve relationships,
increase engagement and productivity when working with others build trust clarify
misunderstandings and provides missing information + used as a tool of persuasion and creates
opportunities for debate, simulates thought and creativity deepens and creates new
relationships. Effective verbal communication is essential to fostering positive relationships
between people, regardless of whether it is done on a professional or personal aspect.
. What is the difference between verbal and nonverbal communication?
- Verbal communication is the most popular form of communication. Through words, the
information content is transmitted directly and quickly to the individual partner.
- Non-verbal communication is based on the body posture, gestures, face, smells, and
anything that does not use language in human communication.
+ Channels of communication:
- Verbal communication uses a single channel of communication, the human voice, which
speaks a single word at a time.
- Non-verbal communication uses multiple channels of communication including your entire
body, facial expressions, and tone of voice.
Examples of communication:
- Verbal communication can take place over a phone call, in a face-to-face conversation, over
loudspeakers, through audio recordings, and so on.
- Nonverbal communication can only occur when all the parties in the conversation can see
each other. This helps them properly understand what they are communicating nonverbally.