Understanding Cultures for Effective Communication
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to examine the many different cultural backgrounds as a whole and come to the realization and conclusion that other cultures have the exact same fears and misguided interpretations that we have and face today. To understand the vast many beliefs and traditions that each culture represents, so as to further advance our own culture and nation.
Understanding Cultures for Effective Communication
We all have an internal list of those we still don't understand, let alone appreciate. We all have biases, even prejudices, toward specific groups. Fears usually include being judged, miscommunication, and patronizing or hurting others unintentionally; hopes are usually the possibility of dialogue, learning something new, developing friendships, and understanding different points of view. At any moment that we're dealing with people different from ourselves, the likelihood is that they carry a similar list of hopes and fears in their back pocket.
From Waging Peace in Our Schools,
By Linda Lantieri and Janet Patti (Beacon Press, 1996)
We communicate with others all the time, in our homes, in our workplaces, in the groups we belong to, and in the community. No matter how well we think we understand each other, communication is hard. Just think, for example, how often we hear things like, "He doesn't get it," or "She didn't really hear what I meant to say." "Culture" is often at the root of communication challenges. Our culture influences how we approach problems, and how we participate in groups and in communities. When we participate in groups we are often surprised at how differently people approach their work together.
Culture is a complex concept, with many different definitions. But, simply put, "culture" refers to a group or community with which we share common experiences that shape the way we understand the world. It includes groups that we are born into, such as gender, race, or national origin. It also includes groups we join or become part of. For example, we can acquire a new culture by moving to a new region, by a change in our economic status, or by becoming disabled. When we think of culture this broadly, we realize we all belong to many c...
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...6) Recent popular works demonstrate that our own society is paying more attention to previously overlooked ways of knowing.
As you enter into multicultural dialogue or collaboration, keep in mind, the six fundamental patterns of cultural differences. Next time you find yourself in a confusing situation, and you suspect that cross-cultural differences are at play, try to review the list and ask yourself how culture may be shaping your own reactions, then try to see the world from others' points of view. These descriptions point out some of the recurring causes of cross-cultural communication difficulties and give you the ways in which cultures, as a whole, tend to vary from one another.
References
Avruch, Kevin. Culture and Conflict Resolution Washington, DC: United States Institute for Peace, 1998. http://www.peacemakers.ca/bibliography/bib3culture.html
Lantieri, L. Waging Peace in Our Schools (Beacon Press, 1996) http://www.esrnational.org/lantieri/publications_waging.htm
Rushworth, Kiddler. Finding an Ethical Common Ground. (1998-99) http://zeus.uwindsor.ca/courses/comm.stud/machiorlatti/notes.htm
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Culture is the totality of learned, socially transmitted customs, knowledge, material objects and behavior. It includes the ideas, value, customs and artifacts of a group of people (Schaefer, 2002). Culture is a pattern of human activities and the symbols that give these activities significance. It is what people eat, how they dress, beliefs they hold and activities they engage in. It is the totality of the way of life evolved by a people in their attempts to meet the challenges of living in their environment, which gives order and meaning to their social, political, economic, aesthetic and religious norms and modes of organization thus distinguishing people from their neighbors.