Yes or No

• I am interested in interacting with

people who are both like me and
different from me.
• I am sensitive to the concerns of all
minority and majority groups in our
multicultural country.
Yes or No
• I can sense when persons from other
cultures seem not to understand me or
get confused by my actions.
• I have no fear communicating with
persons from both minor and major
cultural groups.
Yes or No
• People from other cultures may get
angry at my cultural affiliates.
• I deal with conflicts with people from
other cultures depending on the
situation and their cultural background.
Yes or No
• My culture is inferior to other cultures.
• I can manage my behavior when
dealing with people of different
cultures.
• I show respect to the diverse
communication practices of other
people.
 Local and Global
Communication in
Multicultural Settings
Intercultural Communication

• refers to the interaction with people

from diverse cultures (Jandt, 1998)
• communication between cultures
• verbal and non-verbal
Race vs.
Ethnicity
Race
• refers to the group of people
who have differences and
similarities in biological
traits deemed by society to
be socially significant.
Ethnicity
• refers to shared
cultural practices,
perspectives, and
distinctions that set
apart one group of
people from another.
Forms of Intercultural
Communication
Interracial Communication
- communicating with people from
different races
Forms of Intercultural
Communication
Interethnic Communication
- interacting with people of different
ethnic origins
Forms of Intercultural
Communication
International Communication
- communicating between
representatives from different nations
Forms of Intercultural
Communication
Intracultural Communication
- interacting with members of the same
racial or ethnic group or co-culture.
Communication Styles

High-context communication
• most of the information is either in the
physical context or initialized in the person
• high use of nonverbal elements
• verbal message is indirect
Communication Styles

Low-context communication
• the mass of information is vested in the
explicit code (message)
• message is carried more by words that by
nonverbal means
• verbal message is direct.
How can you improve
your Intercultural
Communication
Competence?
(Gamble & Gamble, 2008)
1. Recognize the validity and
differences of communication styles
among people.
2. Learn to eliminate personal biases
and prejudices.
3. Strive to acquire communication
skills necessary in a multicultural
world.
Explai
n: “Human beings draw close to
one another by their common
nature, but habits and customs
keep them apart”
Confucius