Spirit Catches You Essay

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

The book The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman talks about a young Hmong child who is treated by American doctors for her epilepsy. It goes on to explain how the differences in the two cultures, Hmong and American, affected the medical treatment of this child. Her doctors and her parents had different views on how to effectively treat her. This book demonstrates how the lack of communication across different cultures can impact the medical treatment and the outcomes of patients.

Nowadays, people are exposed to more cultures that they are not accustomed to than in the past. As the years go by, more interracial marriages are being accepted exposing future generations to multi-cultures. I am an American teenager with an Hispanic background. My parents, born and raised in Guatemala immigrated to the United States a few years before my birth. Since my birth, I have been exposed to two very different types of cultures. I have lived in the United States all my life while I have visited Guatemala a couple of times for a few weeks each. Being more accustomed to life in the United States, life in Guatemala is very distinctive. Communicating with family in Guatemala was definitely more challenging than communicating with the family back home in the United States. These types of situations have led to “complexities” in communication, a topic that LaRay M. Barna analyzes thoroughly in her article “Intercultural Communication Stumbling Blocks.” The “complexities” in communication that Barna addresses are spread into five stumbling blocks: language, nonverbal signs and symbols, preconceptions and stereotypes, tendency to evaluate, and high anxiety. These five stumbling blocks can occur in any shape or form in communication between two cultures. Language, nonverbal signs and symbols, as well as preconceptions and stereotypes are the stumbling blocks that occurred most when communicating with my family that reside in Guatemala.

How might cultural differences influence communication, by values, beliefs and assumption? When providers are working with someone from another culture, these decisions may be influenced by assumptions and stereotypes about people from that culture. If assumptions are wrong, a person’s health can be seriously jeopardized. When a healthcare provider sees only stereotypes and the individuals, the results can lead to miscommunication that will have a major impact on treatment and care decisions. As, a provider we need to know our own family traditions, and biases. What I recommend may come from my own values and may not match up to their values, the person I am providing care for. So, I believe we need participate in culture programs such as, cultural awareness, cultural competency, or

Communication is an integral part of life; without it, we would not have the ability to comprehend and endure vicissitudes. The how, what, why, and wherefore of communication can either educate or harm us, as people, customs, beliefs, and governments of countries, as we attempt to coexist. What we say, how we say it, and what we mean by it are extremely important, and can be life-changing (Vertino, K. 2014).

In novels and plays, characters are usually depicted as being trapped in a cultural collision which often causes them to question their identity. The cultural collisions that are involved are institutional, ethnic, religious, regional, and national. In the Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations, Pip, the protagonist and narrator, finds himself questioning his identity after being caught up in the regional cultural collision of his low class society background and the background of individuals in the upper class society. Pip’s response to this cultural collision is that he abandons his old lifestyle, rarely speaking to anyone from his past, such as Joe and Biddy. However, in the end, Pip begins to regret pushing his old acquaintances aside.

Intercultural communication normally frames our cultural understanding in a way that will not undermine hope and the new ways of understanding each other. If we don’t solve this on time, our future generations will also condemn the societies for prolonged war and suffering with regard to effects of intercultural communication.

In Healthcare I believe that we are lacking on the capability to be able to communicate effectively within interpersonal relationships. It is only effective through teamwork and collaboration. In the health care setting, it is very important for the physician and patient, medical interactions is a requirement therefore should have effective communication so there is an understanding. However, that is not always the case and at times difficult by a variety of situational factors including cultural issues. Right now in the healthcare field, Intercultural communication is an important essential component. At times it is questioned if in fact the health care specialists are communicating effectively with ethnic minority patients. Not only is there

1- The 5 communication principles are very applicable to my cultural experience. In the Hispanic culture, my culture, I was taught all 5 principles from my parents and adults in different ways. When I speak to my grandparents or the elderly, for example, I tend to use a more formal and respectful vocabulary than if I speak to a friend or sibling (“aware”, “adapt” and “verbal” principles). Also, basic manners and listening skills were taught to me from a very young age (“aware”, “listen”, and “nonverbal” principles). I believe that all the principals apply in my culture. Even the “nonverbal” principal has had an impact. An example of this is that when I was in elementary, the teachers would reprimand us for placing our elbows on the lunch table

The Range of Barriers to Effective Interpersonal Communications These will look at cultural, personal and environmental issues. The role of available support services that are accessible to individuals, with the restrictions on available services will be evaluated. The effectiveness with which the skills of communication are given and received will also be evaluated. There are many barriers to communications between a vast range of people and cultures. Barriers to communications, because of cultural differences, can arise because of the lack of understanding between each culture, this could cause a

Intercultural communication is progressively pertinent in the health communication. This is because difficulties arise when communicating about different health issue as cultural diversity increases in the population.[4]

When people think of business, rarely do we associate culture with the concept. This leads to an issue in cross-cultural communication. By analyzing cross-cultural communication, and its miscommunication in cultural differences, it is clear that employees should know more of a country’s defining culture. Only recently have we seen an emphasis in understanding other country’s cultures. In doing so, some businesses have prospered, while others have suffered after a terrible miscommunication. When dealing with culture, there are three segments that an employee should consider. What can be done before, during and after contact is made with the culture. In effectively preparing for one, a business may successfully send the message they wish to their client.

Communication consists of verbal and non-verbal conversation. Effective cross-cultural communication between clients and colleges will improve you effectiveness. Face to face communication can be improved by considering you body language, verbal, and vocal cues. Many Indigenous cultures have deep respect for each other and must be treated in the same way.

Before we go deeper into the communication aspect, let us analyse the general cultural values from these two major ethnic in Malaysia. The Hofstede Model of Cultural Dimensions can be a great use when it comes to analyzing cultures. Hofstede basically treats all Malaysian cultures equally. However, as based on the Hofstede Model of Cultural Dimensions, to compare both the Malaysian Malay and Indian cultures, both of these cultures actually falls under the high-context culture. High-context communication involves emotions and close relationships while low-context interactions use the logical part of the brain and are less personal. However, this does not mean these two cultures are equally the same with one another as there are similarities and differences between these two cultures.

Whether we realize it or not, the way that we communicate with others has been a total of all that we have learned and the way that we perceive it. People's cultural upbringing conjures up different images, attitudes, and behaviors. Cultural beliefs, values, norms, and practices all influence communication. This analysis will describe examples of how culture’s can influence communication styles and patterns.