Does culture affect communication? Here are some ways to improve intercultural communication

The world is a very diverse place. Many different cultures exist in other parts of the world. With 7 billion people, it will be impossible for everyone to be the same. Everyone will have a difference, whether it is the way we look or the way we think. And these differences are inevitable.

From my experience living as a Chinese-Indonesian in Indonesia, I experience different cultures from my family, friends, and neighbourhood. Taking an example of holidays, I celebrate Christmas and Chinese New Year. And I also get to experience different holidays from different religions such as Idul Fitri and Waisak. With this many cultures coexisting, there will be differences that could lead to misunderstanding and even conflict. Therefore intercultural communication is essential in countries with a lot of diversity, such as Indonesia. Intercultural communication is a skill that everyone on earth must have, so cultural differences do not cause a conflict.

Culture is the shared system of symbols, beliefs, attitudes, values, expectations, and behaviour norms. Every person has different cultures growing up. Therefore, culture can affect the way someone communicates.

Many different cultures exist all across the world. Some countries have a lot of diversity, like Indonesia, where about 748 languages in Indonesia. And some countries are more homogenous, like Japan, which only has a few distinct cultural groups. And with globalization and the development of technology, we have become a world citizen. And cross-cultural communication is inevitable. With the differences in cultures and backgrounds, there will be things that we have to understand and tolerate as people will have different perspectives on certain things. For example, Asian countries like Korea and China value seniority as they address someone older more respectfully. We could respect that by following the norms if we were to visit or live in that country.

For us to communicate with people from other cultures respectfully and effectively, we must develop our cultural competency. But what is cultural competency? Cultural competency is a skill that we need to have as we will meet people from different cultures. Cultural competency is the ability to accept and appreciate cultural differences so that cross-cultural communication can happen successfully. It requires a combination of attitude, knowledge, and skills. Cultural competency is a skill that needs time and effort to achieve. Being able to accept, tolerate, and coexist with different cultures requires practice.

Since cultural competency is a skill that requires practice, here are a few ways to improve your intercultural communication:

1. Do your research on other cultures

Doing some research about a culture is the most effective in learning and understanding a culture. Learning about language is one of the ways to learn and understand the culture of a particular country. You can start learning simple phrases for everyday or business situations. Or you can learn the language by taking classes.

Not only learning about the language, norms, values, and traditions should also be known to thoroughly understand a culture, especially if you plan to visit or work in that country. Researching and studying someone's culture shows that you are interested in and curious about their culture, and they will appreciate the effort of trying to understand their culture. You can start by doing a simple search on the web. Then you can also learn from pop culture like movies and books to understand more about the culture. And of course, don't be afraid to ask questions.

2. Avoid assumptions and understand differences.

There are barriers to intercultural communication, such as ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism is a tendency to evaluate someone's culture based on the standards or norms of their own. And there another barrier which is stereotyping, which is the generalization of a group of people. These barriers may hinder intercultural communication as these barriers prevent us from understanding other culture better.

To avoid this, we must acknowledge that there will be differences with people from other cultures. We should avoid making assumptions about someone, like assuming Southeast Asia countries are third world countries, even though most Southeast Asia countries are developed countries. We should withhold any judgements to prevent us from offending anybody. The key here is to acknowledge and respect these differences, and we should try to understand their culture rather than judging them through our standards

3. Using interpreters, translators, and translation software

The use of interpreters and translators is essential as we want to avoid errors or misunderstanding when communicating, especially in a formal setting. It also allows us to communicate naturally and comfortably without needing to worry whether the receiver is feeling misunderstood or disrespected. However, hiring interpreters and translators can be expensive.

Another alternative is the use of translation software like Google Translate and Mylingo. You can access this software through your computer or phone with an internet connection for free. However, some of the translation of this software may seem unnatural and inaccurate. When you are using these applications, try to use simple sentences and keywords so that the software can recognize your sentence.

4. Ask the natives about their culture.

The person who will understand a culture the best is the person who practices it, and of course, they will have a much better understanding of their own culture. If you are learning a particular culture, you can ask a native if you are confused about something in a respectful way, and they will answer your questions. Learning from them can reduce the chance from misunderstanding and can help you understand the culture better. For instance, in Bali, you have to wear a piece of cloth when you are entering a Pura, which is a sacred place for worship. You can ask a native about why we should wear cloth to cover ourselves. And don't be afraid to ask questions, because they will be happy to help you learn about their culture.

In conclusion, respect and willingness to understand is the critical point in intercultural communication. There are many different people in this world with diverse backgrounds and cultures. As humans, we are social creatures, we don't live alone in this world, and we will interact with a lot of people in our everyday lives. Intercultural communication is crucial as we will meet people with a lot of differences, and we will need to be able to understand and communicate with them. Intercultural communication is something that we have to practice as accepting differences is something that is not easy to do. With good intercultural communication, we can create opportunities to expand our network and even create job opportunities. We can also avoid conflict with other people. So we need to improve our intercultural communication for successful communication and a more harmonious relationship between people with different cultures.

Source

Bovee, C.L. and Thill, J.V. 2018. Business Communication Today (13th ed.). Essex, England: Pearson Education Limited.

Ethnocentricity & Stereotypes in Communications. (2020, November 3). Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/ethnocentricity-stereotypes-in-communications.html.

Mcleod, S. (2017). Stereotypes | Simply Psychology. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/katz-braly.html