Essay about Intercultural Communication Barriers

Different social, professional and cultural contexts may affect relationships and the way people communicate due to of a lack of understanding or knowledge of one another’s background and culture. This could be through their race, religion, ethnicity or where they come from. Each one of these can have similar or very different ways to communicate. For example

Communication involves more than exchanging words between people. Gestures, postures, facial expressions and even eye contacts are important during communication. Both verbal and nonverbal cues are important during communication and can help a person understand the speaker or listener’s emotions, attitudes or status. Understanding the existence of various cultures is necessary since different cultures have varying ways of communication (Lustig & Koester, 2012). Therefore, a communication style that is perceived as bad by a culture may be good in another culture. Besides, characteristics that may be essential for a particular culture may be quite irrelevant for another. In line with this dissimilarity, individuals need to adapt carefully and understand communication preferences and desires among cultures.

People from different backgrounds may use communication methods differently these may include the language they speak or the dialect they use. They may use different gestures, touch and mannerisms’. Also the volume, speed and pitch of a person’s voice would affect communication. Somebody who comes from a society that speaks quickly with a regional dialect would have difficulty being understood somewhere where they speak more slowly. In different culture gestures can mean different things. The gesture of holding two fingers up can either mean peace if the palm is facing out or if the palm is facing in can be offensive. An aggressive gesture of waving a closed fist in western countries means one is trying to pick a fight or is showing annoyance. In Asian countries this will definitely get you into fist fight.

Cultures provide people several ways of thinking and opinions. When it comes communicating the potential for misunderstandings increase dramatically because translations between languages. Most cultures have their own constricted rules about what is proper communication which affect verbal and nonverbal communication. Sometimes by simply not looking at a person eye to eye has a significant impact on how a different cultural per son will receive it. There a several rules to communication which differ from culture to culture and can be sometime wrongly

All communication is cultural. It draws on ways we have learned to speak and give nonverbal messages. We do not always communicate the same way from day to day, since factors like individual personality, mood, and the context of the situation interact with the variety of cultural influences we have internalized that influence our choices. Communication is interactive, so an important influence on its effectiveness is our relationship with others. Do they hear and understand what we are trying to say? Are they listening well? Are we listening well in response? Do their responses show that they understand the words and the meanings behind the words we have chosen? Is the mood positive and receptive? Is there trust between them and us? Are there differences that relate to ineffective communication, divergent goals or interests, or fundamentally different ways of seeing the world? The answers to these questions will give us some clues about the effectiveness of our communication and the ease with which we may be able to move through conflict. The challenge is that even with all the good will in the world, miscommunication is likely to happen, especially when there are significant cultural differences between communicators. Miscommunication may lead to conflict, or aggravate conflict that already exists, or in the sad of case of girl developing epilepsy and both her parent’s Hmong culturally clashing with her Western medicine

This text is a good reference point. This text is used to understanding communication within culture. This source also gave a better understanding

There are eight key forms of nonverbal communications used on a daily basis. These forms can affect the way people view another person; however, without understanding the forms of nonverbal communication there is certain to be a lot of misinterpretations. Cultural and language differences are a common reason for miscommunication. When communicating with people in different cultures, a person should be extremely aware of the hand gestures and nonverbal communication tools they are using. Many of the hand gestures used in the United States that mean good things, mean offensive and profane things to other cultures. Nonverbal communication is described as body language, hand gestures, and facial expressions. It is known that people reveal more information through nonverbal communication, than words alone to get a point across. There will always be some interaction between two or more people that everyone’s

In the article, Lisa Davis indicates that people can misunderstand each other just because of the position they stand while they communicate. Furthermore, through how people acts, stands and communicates can completely show the cultural differences between different areas, religion, and nations.

Today, we live in a culturally diverse society due to globalization. As our world grows, expands and become increasingly more interconnected, the need for effective interpersonal communication among differing cultures has become apparent. When people from different cultures interact with one another there is intercultural communication because different cultures create different interpretation and expectations about what is seen as competent behaviors that will enable the construction of shared meanings.

Everyone’s background affects how they interpret information. It is important to take that into account when communicating with others. For example, when communicating with people from another culture they may converse with their faces only a few inches apart. I have experienced this in communicating with other cultures and I always find myself feeling uncomfortable with the situation. I feel that my space is being invaded. Some cultures take a long time to answer questions while others answer immediately. Another example is how some East Asian cultures believe it is rude to answer a question with a “no” even if they mean no. They will say “yes” just because that is how they show respect.

Communication within one cultural group sharing traditions and national or regional identity is often effortless. The social and cultural meanings between the same cultures in regard to communication are understood the way they are intended. When discourse happens within members of the same social groups; they will communicate, talk, discuss in similar places that all members of that culture attend or visit like bars, schools, shopping malls, community meetings, party events, the office, etc. The meaning arrived at or the knowledge and accepted truth toward an issue is more or less the consensus of a

Humans have been communicating since four million years. On the other hand, the birth of culture is estimated to have taken place about 35,000 years ago. Today, both culture and communication have evolved considerably and have become interdependent of one another, to the point that communication is considered to be a product of culture. Thus, our own culture has a deep impact on our thoughts and behaviors. Since each culture has its distinct aspects, intercultural communication can be the cause of conflict and disorder. There are three main issues which are at the root of the problem of intercultural miscommunication : language as a barrier, cultural diversity and ethnocentrism. I will analyze

Intercultural communication is commonly explained as an interaction between people of 'different cultures whether defined in terms of racial, ethnic or socioeconomic differences.' Human communication consists of verbal and nonverbal messages (language and gestures) which are shaped by gender, social class or culture. Thus, what perimeters define the intercultural exchange and what primary messages do we need or try to convey?

As travel and communication have become faster and easier, interaction between people of different cultures has become more and more common. It was once the case that different cultures remained mostly separate from each other, whether due to war, geographic reasons, or beliefs in keeping ethnic purity. Trade and immigration have brought together people of diverse cultures and backgrounds, making communication between people of different cultures unavoidable.

Cross-cultural communication is the process of exchanging meaningful and unambiguous information across cultural boundaries, in a way that preserves mutual respect and minimizes antagonism, that is, it looks at how people from differing cultural backgrounds endeavour to communicate. The study of cross-cultural communication was originally found within businesses and the government both seeking to expand globally. Communication is interactive, so an important influence on its effectiveness is our relationship with others. All communication is cultural -- it draws on ways we have learned to speak and give nonverbal messages. We do not always