3 Cultural, Intercultural Communications & Cross-Cultural Communications
Learning Objective:
- Defining and understanding cultural, intercultural communications, and cross-cultural communications
Cultural Communications, Intercultural Communications, and Cross-Cultural Communications
Cultural communication is the study and practice of how different cultures interact with each other. It can also be referred to as intercultural communication and cross-cultural communication
The capacity to communicate with people from diverse cultures is referred to as intercultural communication. Interacting effectively across cultural lines requires perseverance and sensitivity to one another’s differences. This encompasses language skills, customs, ways of thinking, social norms, and habits, which will continue to be relevant moving into the future and in the field of communications on all levels, form personally to professionally.
In the Beginning
Cultural communication can be verbal and nonverbal. It can involve the use of words, gestures, and body language to exchange, negotiate, and mediate cultural differences.
Cross-cultural communication is a field of study investigating how people from differing cultural backgrounds communicate, in similar and different ways among themselves, and how they endeavor to communicate across cultures. Intercultural communication is a related field of study.
In the Present
Intercultural communication is important in today’s world because it facilitates communication across linguistic and cultural boundaries, which can lead to more tolerance, acceptance, and stronger relationships.
Key things to add to this section
- It’s essential for business and trade.
- It’s crucial for international diplomacy and cooperation
Also touch on the barriers to cross-cultural communication including: language, misunderstandings, and a lack of specificity.
Also consider how nonverbal communication and body language play a crucial role in conveying messages, expressing emotions, and establishing rapport. Cultural gestures and nonverbal cues vary significantly across cultures and it is important, particularly in conducting business across countries and cultures, to understand these gestures and nonverbal cues.
In the Future
Cultural awareness is key; being sensitive to the differences and similarities between two cultures when communicating or interacting with members of other cultures will overall improve relationships between cultures.
Through a deeper understanding of how our cultural differences evolved, we can begin to deal with intercultural conflict.
Bring to Light:
I’m still deciding on this but leaning toward “Cultural Conflicts becoming more common during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.” How a pandemic amongst cultures and countries was managed and how cultural differences and communication played out during the onset of it.
Source to research more: https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/conflict-resolution/cultural-conflicts-in-the-covid-19-era/
Also considering mentioning (if not in examples above under In the Present) the backlash with Former First Lady Obama when she met/greeted the Queen of England; a gesture of adoration used here being looked at differently to the media over there, etc.