Intercultural Communication Sterotyping Blocks

Humans have several ways of communicating with one another, whether that is written, spoken, facial expressions, or through body language. We use all of these forms all the time, it would be impossible to live a day without speaking, writing or reading, making facial expressions, or using any body language to communicate with others. While all these forms of communication are commonly known, another form, not as intuitively obvious, is silence. Like all forms of communication, silence will change with reference to different cultures. Just as different cultures speak differently or have different languages, and have different body languages, cultures also have different meanings behind silence. Native American cultures have been described as reluctant to speak or lacking in personal warmth simply because their culture views silence differently than most Americans. Apaches use silence for situations of uncertainty and unpredictability, Americans prefer that silence does not happen at all but will accept it for situations of comfort or in some cases when they want to avoid small talk with strangers. These difference in the use of silences are simply due to the cultural differences between Apaches and Americans. As Apaches’ use of silence reflects their cultural values of recognition and respect, Americans use, or lack of use, of silence reflects their cultural values of directness and urgency.

I would say yes, that the smile is a nonverbal form of communication all over the world. The reason I believe this to be true is because a smile is letting people know how you are feeling and they way you feel about them. I smile at others because I am happy or I am happy to see them, and I believe the same thing is true

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

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.

We are comfortable near friends and relatives, but maintain some distance when interacting with strangers. However, we are brought up to consider strangers as friends until the evidence indicates otherwise (Cramer, & Cramer, 2010). This explains our custom of immediate and beyond-the-surface communication with strangers and our willingness to bond with them. We also favor direct eye contact over indirect. We use direct eye contact during conversations as a sign of trust, respect and interest towards the speaker. However, we avoid eye contact with people in authority to show respect and attentiveness. Our personal relationships with people of the same age group are very informal, but we are very respectful to foreigners. A strong emphasis is placed on family, which is the source of identity, emotional and physical support and protection against life challenges. This is the intense sense of family belonging that is limited to family and close friends. Therefore, people that don’t belong to our family or circle of close friends are slow to be

The theorist of intercultural communication that could help solve the problem with communication with the United States and Mexico can come from different fields such as psychology, anthropology, and sociology (Chen & Starosta, 2000). It has been numerous theories use to help intercultural communication to primarily focused on the adjustment, adaptation, and research on each country (Huntington, 2005).

Something so simple as a smile is much more complex than what meets the eye. In America’s culture we view smiling as a positive friendly feeling, but in many other cultures it’s actually the opposite. We view smiling as a form of respect and use it as a tool to help us either build or to repair relationships. One example of a “non-smiling” culture is Japan. Japanese culture values humility and so they tend to suppress their emotions in order to help build relationships with people. Another “non-smiling” country is Russia. In Russia, smiling is reserved for close friends and so smiling at strangers is viewed as being insincere. Therefore, the question at hand is why is smiling something that is so important in our culture? According to Mrs. Cunningham (par. 12) “Women are expected to smile no matter where they line up on the social, cultural, or economic

Something so simple as a smile is way more complex than what actually meets the eye. In America’s culture we view smiling as a positive or friendly feeling, but in many other cultures it is actually the opposite. We view smiling as a form of respect and use it as a tool to help us either build or to repair relationships. One example of a “non-smiling” culture is Japan. In Japanese culture, they place extreme value on humility and so they tend to suppress their emotions. This is one of there ways that they use to help build relationships with people. Another “non-smiling” country is Russia. In Russia, smiling is reserved for close friends and so smiling at strangers is viewed as being insincere. (No wonder why we had so many communication issues in the cold war.) Therefore, the question at hand is why is smiling

First I will speak about my Hispanic culture and how my American culture has mixed in and made me a more “modern Hispanic”. As many people know our family is the cornerstone to our community and we are very close as a unit. In fact we are so close knit that I actually live in the same neighborhood as some of my family members and my grandma lives with my family. Grandparents play a big role in our culture so it is not uncommon to live with them or nearby. Fathers are the accepted head of the family and the mothers are responsible for the maintenance of the household. The usual tradition in my family is to ensure that the senior members pass down the Spanish language among the young. The younger generation in my family failed to uphold this tradition. We no longer pass down the Spanish language because we have lived and learned the American way for so long and we know we can get away with just knowing English. Another very important tradition is the respect, good manners, and the importance of honor. I learned this at a very young age from my grandparents and parents. One way we show this is the way we greet each other, my family is very big on greeting with a kiss on the cheek and hugging. This shows respect but also the togetherness of our culture. As you can see my culture is very much so about the love and we genuinely care about each other’s well being. This is a very great element that is beneficial to our health. As studies have showed “love keeps the doctor away.” Also another positive element is the fact that our family members are less likely to become depressed because we never feel isolated.

The smile is a key expression in social life. It is a voluntary facial expression indicating happiness, pleasure and greeting .

In America, finding yourself in situations where communicating with someone of a different background than yourself is common. We are a melting pot of different cultures, backgrounds, and identities. Throughout the semester we have learned many ways to avoid conflict when engaging in intercultural communication. The most important aspects from the semester is the idea of generalization and ethnocentrism. These two ideas were displayed in the movie Crash and how the effects of it can lead to misunderstandings among everyone involved.

Previous researchers have found that for a person to achieve better and more effective communication competence, it is necessary to develop skills that allow an appropriate participation in specific situations. The ability to listen, ask questions, and express concepts or ideas effectively is an important part of communication competence. Intercultural communication presents an unexplored and challenging field that needs to be understood for a better development in communication. (Dillon and McKenzie, 1998). The variables of listening depend on the different perceptions that a person obtains through their cultural background. Furthermore, culture often affects the structure of consciousness in the act of listening. When a person seeks to

hostile, then we will treat him or her as hostile and in due course he

Intercultural communication competence refers to the ability of an individual to adapt and communicate appropriately and effectively across a wide array of cultural contexts. That is to say, for an individual to be considered an intercultural communicator they must understand other’s cultures as well as they understand their own, and apply this understanding to communication (Chen 1-2). With the increasing diversity at the workplace, school and other social settings, it has become increasingly important to learn how to communicate with people from a diverse array of cultures. More importantly, adapting to a more effective intercultural communication competence model provides us with learning opportunities occasioned by the interaction with people from other backgrounds. The intercultural communication competence model comes with some key components including tolerance for uncertainty, self-knowledge, and motivation. The greatest and most important of these aspects is motivation. An individual must be willing to foster relationships with people from a different cultural background. If an individual lacks the willingness to promote intercultural relationships, then other aspects of the intercultural communication model become moot.

"We didn 't all come over on the same ship, but we 're all in the same boat."- Bernard Baruch