Communication And Cultural Diversity

Humans are agents of communication. From birth, a human being tries to communicate with those near him or her. In spite of being unable to talk yet, they make sure that the other people capture their needs through either gesture or even crying. As they grow up and find voices, they learn the languages that enable them to communicate effectively. Essentially, interpersonal communication is an essential part of life. Humans communicate in private settings. They also communicate in public settings including in businesses, as well as government agencies. Despite being a popular element vital for human interaction, communication is a complex phenomenon. Communication does not just occur in a situation where two people speak the same language. For

One of the areas that show diversity is in context. The differences in cultures bring about a dissimilarity in the manner in which their members approach issues. These practices have an influence on patterns of communication. Within the study of culture, two contexts exist. They include high and low context cultures, whose nature's influence the manner in which their respective members interact (Kittler, Rygl, & Mackinnon, 2011). These classifications rely heavily on how the cultures rely on verbal and nonverbal cues. The authors describe high-context cultures as those whose members depend on nonverbal cues to derive an understanding from subjects. These people have a greater understanding of the context of communication so much that they use it to bring forth an understanding. Within this understanding, the members of high-context cultures are laden with information that makes it easy for them to understand messages contextually. The authors contend that the members of this group possess pre-programmed information. They note that they have high-level contexting skills, which allow them to analyze information with the aim of using the useful data only. In short, high-context cultures need a large proportion of context and a small amount of data. Conversely, low-context cultures usually have low volumes of preprogrammed information. Unlike

These concepts describe the manner in which groups interact with one another. These interactions influence communication. Within collective cultures, the members interact as a close unit. According to Merkin (2015), these people are integrated into groups as soon as they are born. Their actions are influenced by their groups so much that everyone conducts himself or herself while thinking of their respective groups. They react to everything in unity, something that affects their communication. The basic tenet within these cultures is harmony with each member charged with actions that promote it. For this reason, communication takes certain factors seriously. Attributes such as respect, honest, and caring attitude among others perfectly describes the communication pattern favored by such groups. Communications patterns should avoid confrontations as much as possible because such occurrences will hurt the group’s harmony. On the other hand, individualistic cultures teach their members to exist autonomously. The individual is the most important factor in such societies (Merkin, 2015). The cultures encourage individuals to fight for whatever they believe in. Indeed, confrontation is allowed because people care more about themselves. For this reason, people are always encouraged to speak their minds, a fact that affects the nature of their communication. While collective