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Lecture 4. Barriers To Effective Intercultural Communication

Intercultural communication occurs between people from different cultural backgrounds. This can lead to uncertainty, ambiguity, and conflict as interactants do not share the same cultural codes and ground rules for encoding and decoding meaning. There are several key barriers to effective intercultural communication, including assumptions of similarities between cultures, language differences, nonverbal misinterpretations, preconceptions and stereotypes, a tendency to evaluate others based on one's own cultural values, and high anxiety or tension between interactants. Improving intercultural communication requires mindfulness, uncertainty reduction, consideration of issues like "face" in collectivist cultures, and controlling negative emotions that arise from cultural conflicts.

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167 views

Lecture 4. Barriers To Effective Intercultural Communication

Intercultural communication occurs between people from different cultural backgrounds. This can lead to uncertainty, ambiguity, and conflict as interactants do not share the same cultural codes and ground rules for encoding and decoding meaning. There are several key barriers to effective intercultural communication, including assumptions of similarities between cultures, language differences, nonverbal misinterpretations, preconceptions and stereotypes, a tendency to evaluate others based on one's own cultural values, and high anxiety or tension between interactants. Improving intercultural communication requires mindfulness, uncertainty reduction, consideration of issues like "face" in collectivist cultures, and controlling negative emotions that arise from cultural conflicts.

Uploaded by

Trixia Nicole De Leon
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Intercultural

Communication
Intercultural communication
• Communication between people of the different
cultural background

– Interactants do not share same ground rules;


they encode and decode using different
cultural codes

– Can lead to

• Uncertainty and ambiguity


• Conflict
Barriers to Effective
Intercultural communication

1. Assumptions of similarities
2. Language differences
3. Nonverbal misinterpretations
4. Preconceptions and stereotypes
5. Tendency to evaluate
6. High anxiety or tension
Barriers to Effective
Intercultural communication

1. Assumptions of similarities

• We need to keep in mind that communication is a


uniquely human trait shaped by culture.

• In fact, communication itself is a product of culture,


and cultures vary in their assumptions of similarities.
Barriers (cont.)

2. Language differences

• The use of words which may be highly effective at


conveying meaning within a particular culture often
communicate unintended meanings across cultures.

• Add to this the nonverbal channel of communication


and you have a recipe for conflict and
misunderstandings.
Barriers (cont.)

3. Nonverbal misinterpretations
• This is the single most frequent cause of breakdowns
in the communication process across cultures.

4. Preconceptions and stereotypes


• These are natural and inevitable psychological
processes that have a strong influence on our
perceptions and communications.
Barriers (cont.)

5. Tendency to evaluate
• We make attributions about the behavior of others
based on our own cultural values.

6. High anxiety or tension


• While some degree of anxiety may be conducive to
optimal performance, too much anxiety or stress can
lead to dysfunctional thought processes and behaviors.
Improving Intercultural Communication: Concluding
Remarks

• Mindfulness and uncertainty reduction


– Mindfulness offsets uncertainty and anxiety

– Uncertainty reduction leads to focus on the content of signals


and messages
Improving Intercultural Communication: Concluding
Remarks
• Face
– Should be mindful of face (public appearance of
person) in collectivist culture

• Emotion Regulation
– Controlling negative emotions aroused from conflict is
important
Barriers to Intercultural Communication

• Source: Barna, L. M. (1997). Stumbling


blocks in intercultural communication. In
L. Samovar and R. Porter (Eds.),
Intercultural communication: A reader (pp.
370-379). Belmont CA: Wadsworth.

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