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July 16, 2024
Personal Statement

If you are applying for a master’s degree in Intercultural and International Communications, you will need to submit your application with an attached personal statement. Personal Statement MA Intercultural and International Communications is an important document you would use to convince the admission committee that you’re a good fit for their program.

We have provided this sample as a guide; do not copy it verbatim because it has already been used.

If you need assistance with your statement , you can contact us today and we will help you translate your thoughts into a strong personal statement.

NOTE: PERSONAL STATEMENT IS ALSO REFERRED TO AS LETTER OF INTENT, STATEMENT OF PURPOSE, LETTER OF MOTIVATION, OR LETTER OF EXPLANATION.

personal statement for intercultural communication

Table of Contents

Top Universities to Study MA International Communications

Royal Roads University
American University
University of Manchester
University of Denver
Utrecht University

Differences Between Intercultural and International Communications

international communication is any symbolic interaction between people of different nation-states. Intercultural communication is communication between people of different cultures in which the culture is a determining factor in the form and/or content of the communication.

Sample Personal Statement MA Intercultural and International Communications

In this time and age when technology is rapidly driving globalization, more organizations are recognizing the importance of communication that cuts across different cultural and geographic borders. I was first introduced to the ideals of intercultural communication during my first degree in Mass Communication during course modules in…………… Through the period of these modules, I became more acquainted with……………… The next experience I had in international communications came through my job as Operations Manager for a Multinational bank with operations in over 240 branch offices. In this job, it is pertinent that managers at my level served as mediators in cultural communications, thus I took up the responsibility to equip myself through foundational programs and training that expanded my grasp of what the topic was all about.

Now, I am interested in studying intercultural studies in a formal setting as a way to understand different societies and how technology is promoting cultural communication and mutual understanding amongst various societies, especially within pluralistic societies. I have always been inquisitive about the dissimilarities in the quality of life between developed and less developed countries. It’ll mean a lot to me to gain a broader understanding of the multidimensional relations amongst different states, and the politics that confront less developed societies.

While I could have easily gone for a master’s in international relations, I believe this is also a good investment for my time and resources. Through this study in intercultural and international communication, I would be able to ……….. The course will further enable my career contribution in …………. In essence, learning intercultural and international communication is closely related to studying international relations and would be a remarkable opportunity for me.

During my undergraduate, I gained refined research skills that will come in handy during my studies. I have also carried out extensive research in the areas of; effective communication with children, communal issues and conflict resolution, and television and newspapers as channels of creating awareness and mobilizing public support. My research on Television and Newspapers as Channels of Creating Awareness and Mobilizing Public Support for Government Programs in Rural Areas was published in …………….

After proper consideration, I believe that my career experience and academic background have created the driving force for me to excel in this program. My decision to pursue this study at Royal Roads University is because of my interest in experiencing formal education in a student-focused institution. Both the Canadian government and the management of Roads University through their scholarship programs provide the opportunity for students to gain quality education at an affordable rate which is a good opportunity to apply for funding assistance that will ease my financial load during this program. Looking at the concentration and curriculum, I look forward to learning about international relations and public diplomacy, communication for development and social change, migration, and diaspora studies in global contexts. My research interest is in the area of …………. Through this research, I want to uncover……………

Regarding my interests and hobbies, I would say that they have been progressive. I am constantly discovering and improving myself in any area I recognize that I need strength. Hence, I don’t hesitate to embrace education and training in different fields. Before this Master, I had obtained a Master’s in Employee Relations and Personnel Management. Employee relation and management is an integral part of any organization and combining that in my managerial role has helped me to …

After my studies, my short-term plan is to………………. While in the long term, I would love to……………………. This MA in Intercultural and International Relations will go a long way to determine my future career-wise, and I want to get it right, so, I am banking my trust in Royal Roads University to prepare me for my future.

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Language Learning: Why Is Intercultural Communication Important?

March 24, 2023

Thanks to fast transportation, global media, and the world wide web, we are now more connected than ever to other people worldwide.

Working with the international community for economic survival means countries and cultures can no longer operate in a vacuum. Because of this, intercultural communication is no longer a choice but a must .

In addition, misunderstandings resulting from a lack of familiarity with another culture are often embarrassing. Blunders like these can make it difficult, if not impossible, to reach an agreement with another country or close a business contract with a foreign partner. For travelers, a faux pas can also make interactions more awkward. In this article, we’ll be discussing the importance of intercultural communication.

CHECK OUR LANGUAGE PROGRAMS !

Intercultural Communication Definition

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.

There are many ways in which people all around the world are similar, yet it is our differences that truly define us. To put it simply, communication is the exchange of ideas and information between individuals by any means, verbal or otherwise. Sharing knowledge with others requires familiarity with social norms, body language, and etiquette.

Having the ability to communicate effectively across cultural boundaries is critical for the success of any intercultural or multinational endeavor. Additionally, it helps improve relationships by facilitating two-way conversations, which in turn foster mutual understanding between people of diverse backgrounds.

Intercultural Communication Examples

There are several facets to intercultural communication competence, from language skills to knowledge of social practices and cultural norms. These capabilities are constantly used throughout organizations and in all forms of communication. Here are a few examples of intercultural communication in action:

It can be challenging for multinational corporations to find appropriate product names that will not offend customers in their target markets due to linguistic differences. For instance, Coca-Cola initially considered renaming its brand KeKou-KeLa for the Chinese market. However, they didn’t take into account that this cute moniker means “female horse stuffed with wax” or “bite the wax tadpole.” Unsurprisingly, a rebrand was necessary. Coke then looked up 40,000 Chinese characters to get a phonetic equivalent and came up with “ko-kou-ko-le,” which roughly translates to “happiness in the mouth.”

LEARN CHINESE !

Business Relationships

Respecting the social norms of another culture requires an understanding that practices may vary. While Americans value making small talk with potential business partners, the British may try humor, while the Germans may jump right to the point.

In contrast, people from Thailand don’t bat an eye when asked what may be seen as intrusive questions in the West, such as whether you’re married or what you do for a living. Similarly, Americans prefer first names, but in Austria, titles are used to prevent coming off as disrespectful.

Advertising

You may have heard the popular myth that the Chevrolet Nova of the 1970s was a resounding flop in Latin America due to its name, since “no va” translates to “no go” in Spanish . The car was a smashing success since the name “nova” also means “new.” Nevertheless, there are innumerable examples of poorly translated advertisements across cultures that led to more severe outcomes.

For example, the Spanish equivalent of the American “Got Milk?” campaign featured the phrase “Tienes leche?” which translates as “Are you lactating?” The campaign completely bombed, ruining the brand’s reputation in that area. This mishap could have been avoided with more thorough focus group testing of intercultural communication.

LEARN SPANISH !

Public Relations and Media Events

Executives from the United States frequently interview international media and publicly appear in other countries. Working knowledge of the language is obviously necessary for such work, but words alone can’t account for how people will interpret things like tone of voice, the pace of speech, gestures, and facial expressions. In Japan, for instance, it’s rude to point out. Instead, you should wave politely in that direction. Similarly, the Indian equivalents of “please” and “thank you” are sometimes seen as overly formal and even disrespectful.

The Importance of Intercultural Communication

When we investigate the cultural influences on communication, we gain a deeper understanding of both areas. Additionally, it aids in expanding our knowledge of who we are as individuals and as a society.

Understanding our communication styles, habits, and tendencies and how they may serve or work against us when interacting with others from other cultural backgrounds is a valuable personal benefit of studying intercultural communication.

When seen in a broader context, intercultural communication can shed light on a wide range of human experiences, from the process of defining the workings of the brain to the power of languages in bringing people together.

As the world gets more interconnected, the ability to communicate successfully across cultural boundaries is becoming more and more vital. Since we are now able to travel to more places, we are exposed to other cultures and ways of living.

The ability to communicate effectively across cultural boundaries is crucial for the successful collaboration and relationship-building of multiethnic and international communities. It is also essential for avoiding and resolving conflicts. If you want to learn about other people and their customs and find common ground around the world, this is how to do it.

Intercultural Communication Competence

There are a variety of skills that are necessary for effective intercultural communication; some of them may be taught, while others are inherent and just require practice. Let’s take a look at some of the most crucial personal competencies for intercultural communication, as opposed to just linguistic ones like speaking, listening, and body language.

Self-awareness: Recognizing how your personal views, behaviors, and possible prejudices and stereotypes might affect a conversation is a massive step in improving your ability to have meaningful interactions with others.
Empathy: Intercultural communication relies heavily on empathizing with others and gaining insight into their experiences.
Respect: Even if you don’t agree with or appreciate every aspect of another person’s or group’s culture, you may still respect them by recognizing their right to do so.
Emotional intelligence: Learning to pick up on the subtleties of communication is essential when working with people from other cultures. Whether you get what is being communicated or not depends on how well you use your senses, how well you know yourself, and how well you can empathize with others.
Adaptability: One of the goals of intercultural communication is to teach people how to modify their way of speaking to replace ambiguity, conflict, and antagonism with clarity, harmony, and cooperation. That’s why it’s important to be adaptable in our thinking, reactions, and interactions with others, as well as in our speech, listening, and body language.
Patience: Effective communication across cultural boundaries doesn’t happen immediately. That’s why you need to have patience. Don’t rush through the process of becoming well-versed in best practices; instead, take your time and make them part of your routine. Due to cultural differences, it may take more or less time than usual to absorb new information.
Positivity: Maintaining an optimistic attitude when interacting with people of other cultures is crucial. Misunderstandings occur all the time, and in most cases, it’s not because someone was trying to be deliberately unclear. Those of us who aren’t well-versed in other cultures often fail to grasp the intended meaning of a message. This is why it’s essential to look at every intercultural exchange in a constructive light.

Improving Your Intercultural Communication Skills

Here are some steps you can take to begin improving your intercultural communication skills:

Acquire Cultural Knowledge

Discovering the world through the lens of other people’s beliefs, values, and ways of expression is a fascinating and eye-opening experience. Educating yourself on the fundamentals of intercultural communication, such as language and gestures, is just as important as expanding your knowledge of the world’s diverse cultures.

Watch International Shows

To truly immerse oneself in the nuances of a different culture, indulging in international films in their original language proves far more rewarding than enduring subpar English dubs. It’s akin to embarking on a sensory journey, where the cadence of speech, the inflections, and the expressions hold the essence of the culture itself. Delving into Indian, Turkish, or Chinese cinema unveils a tapestry of traditions, values, and societal dynamics that might otherwise remain obscured in translation.

Enhancing this experience can be as simple as grabbing a beverage from the drinks fridge , settling comfortably, and letting the cinematic journey unfold. Modern streaming platforms offer a treasure trove of international TV shows and films, granting viewers a window into distant cultures from the comfort of their homes.

Speak to People

When you have coworkers or neighbors from other countries, you gain access to a wealth of undiscovered possibilities. In-depth conversations with people about their backgrounds and the culture shock they may have felt upon arriving in your country can yield a great deal of valuable knowledge and perspective. If they are treated with respect and dignity, people all around the world are happy to have their voices heard.

Take in What You Hear and See

There are a wide variety of ways to enhance your intercultural communication competence. Among these are learning when to ask open-ended questions, stick to yes/no answers, and decide when to use humor. The two most crucial pieces of advice for improving your communication skills are to listen attentively and to watch what others do.

ENROLL NOW !

Final Thoughts

Whether you’re a tourist taking a trip overseas, a businessperson negotiating a merger, or a professor teaching a classroom full of international students, you need to be aware of the importance of effective intercultural communication.

In today’s interconnected world, the ability to communicate across cultural boundaries is more important than ever. It facilitates communication across linguistic and cultural boundaries, leading to more tolerance, acceptance, and, ultimately, stronger relationships amongst people of diverse backgrounds.

Enrolling in a language program is an excellent first step if you’re interested in learning more about intercultural communication and identifying and overcoming your own cultural biases. You can improve your language skills and your ability to communicate across cultures by enrolling in one of the Middlebury Language Schools’ immersion programs . Teaching both beginners and more advanced students, our immersion and graduate programs cover a wide range of languages.

When you need help learning a new language, Middlebury Language Schools is here to guide you. Contact us today !

CHECK ADMISSIONS !

Intercultural Communication MA

London, Bloomsbury

This MA explores intercultural communication through a range of interdisciplinary perspectives. The understanding you gain will equip you to investigate in new ways questions around language, culture and diversity, helping you to overcome barriers to understanding while also preparing you for research, policy and practice in applied language studies, education and the workplace in a superdiverse and communicatively complex world.

UK tuition fees (2024/25)

Overseas tuition fees (2024/25), programme starts, applications accepted.

Applications closed

Applications open

Entry requirements

Normally a minimum of a second-class UK Bachelor's degree in a relevant subject (e.g. English, languages, linguistics, and communication), or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard is required.

The English language level for this programme is: Level 2

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

This programme is suitable for international students on a Student visa – study must be full-time, face-to-face, starting October.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website .

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

This programme will provide you with interdisciplinary insights into intercultural communication, drawing upon applied linguistic, anthropological, sociological, philosophical, language educational and cultural studies perspectives. It will also develop your capacity to analyse, evaluate and synthesise sociocultural and linguistic data, primary and secondary sources, as well as helping you to design research.

Who this course is for

This programme is suitable for anyone with a keen interest in issues of communication across languages and cultures. In addition to language educators and communications professionals, it is also directed at graduates in languages, linguistics, education and all those with an interest in critical understandings of language, culture and identity.

What this course will give you

The Department of Culture, Communication and Media (CCM) is committed to excellence in teaching, research and consultancy across a range of areas including intercultural communication.

Our rich research culture will bring you into contact with thriving IOE research centres whose work feeds into our teaching and our wide range of internal and public events. These include the International Centre for Intercultural Studies, which engages in interdisciplinary research in intercultural studies in relation to education, professional communication, language identity and intercultural creativity, and the Centre for Applied Linguistics, which conducts research in areas such as bilingualism and multilingualism, linguistic ethnography, global English, semiotics and language education policy and practice. The work of these two centres provides the basis for the knowledge and thinking behind this MA.

The foundation of your career

This programme not only provides you with an outstanding foundation for PhD research and an academic career but will also prepare you to develop yourself internationally in areas such as education, communications or public relations. Group discussions and debates in class will help you to acquire strong presentation and negotiation skills. Likewise, the analytical and research skills you will gain are highly valued by employers from a range of sectors.

Employability

Graduates of this programme will include university and college lecturers, researchers, education professionals and others working, or planning to work, in diverse cultural and linguistic settings. Fields might include international schooling, NGOs, international development, international commercial enterprise, communications, consultancy and relevant academic disciplines.

Additional activities are available both within the department and the wider IOE and UCL community to help you to develop your employability through public talks, seminars and other networking opportunities.

Teaching and learning

This programme is delivered through lectures, supervisory tutorials, student presentations and class discussions. Within sessions, students often engage in individual, pair and group tasks for feedback in plenary.

Students are assessed through written coursework, oral presentation and the final Dissertation. Alternative modes of assessment may be a feature of some modules.

Students spend about 20% of their time in lectures, seminars, or one-to-one supervisions. The remainder is dedicated to preparing for lectures and seminars, and pursuing students' own interests via independent study.

The programme consists of one compulsory module (30 credits), one compulsory research dissertation (60 credits), and three optional modules (90 credits).

Students following a full-time format complete the MA over one year. (normally completion of 180 credits across the three terms)

Term 1: core module, one option module and dissertation
Term 2: dissertation and one or two option modules
Term 3: dissertation and one option module if second option is not taken in Term 2

NB: The new optional module CCME0167 Intercultural Creativity will be available for 2024/25. The module aims to advance understanding of intercultural creativity as a critical practice. It will explore the role of intercultural creativity in learning, communication, boundary crossing, productivity, knowledge democratisation and decolonisation. Sessions will explore: interculturality as a method, intercultural creativity methods; creativity and language practices, intercultural creativity as a means of recognition of ways of knowing and for knowledge building, intercultural creativity for work place diversity, intercultural creativity in pedagogy, intercultural creativity for social justice, intercultural creativity and identity, intercultural creativity as a decolonising tool for international development and in situations of crisis and conflict. The module will draw on examples from a variety of epistemologies and sources such as ‘the arts’, and everyday creative practices and will advance an appreciation of intercultural creativity as a transformative practice.

Students following a part time format complete the MA over two years:

Year 1 (normally completion of 90 credits across the three terms)

Term 1: core module
Term 2: one or two option modules
Term 3: one or two option modules

Year 2 (normally completion of remaining 90 credits)

Term 1: dissertation and one option module
Term 2: dissertation and one option module if no option taken in Term 1
Term 3: dissertation and one option module if no option taken in Terms 1 and 2

Students following a modular/flexible format are able to complete the MA over a maximum of five years. Year 1 (normally completion of the core module as a minimum) Years 2-5 (normally completion of dissertation and any outstanding option modules) Final year (dissertation is always completed in the final year)

Compulsory modules

Optional modules.

Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MA in Intercultural Communication.

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble accessable.co.uk . Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing team .

Fees and funding

Fees for this course.

Fee description	Full-time	Part-time
Tuition fees (2024/25)	£12,700	£6,350
Tuition fees (2024/25)	£31,100	£15,550

Additional costs

All full-time students are required to pay a fee deposit of £2,000 for this programme. All part-time students are required to pay a fee deposit of £1,000.

Students should take into account any travel, accommodation and expenses involved in their dissertation.

For more information on additional costs for prospective students please go to our estimated cost of essential expenditure at Accommodation and living costs .

Funding your studies

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website .

Digital Media Programme Bursary

NOW CLOSED FOR 2024/25 ENTRY Value: £5,000 (One year) Criteria Based on financial need Eligibility: UK

IOE-Clarke Scholarships

Deadline: 3 May 2024 Value: Tuition fees, return flights and stipend (1 year) Criteria Based on both academic merit and financial need Eligibility: EU, Overseas

IOE-ISH Centenary Masters Scholarships

Deadline: 3 May 2024 Value: Tuition fees and accommodation (1 year) Criteria Based on both academic merit and financial need Eligibility: EU, Overseas

Students are advised to apply as early as possible due to competition for places. Those applying for scholarship funding (particularly overseas applicants) should take note of application deadlines.

There is an application processing fee for this programme of £90 for online applications and £115 for paper applications. Further information can be found at Application fees .

When we assess your application, we would like to learn:

Together with essential academic requirements, the personal statement is your opportunity to illustrate whether your reasons for applying to this programme match what the programme will deliver.

Please note that applications for this programme will be assessed in two rounds. This means that your application will be considered alongside all others that have submitted before the dates specified below. This enables us to ensure that all applications are considered fairly and equally.

All applications which are submitted and considered complete by 31 December 2023 should receive a decision by no later 31 January 2024.

All applications which are submitted and considered compete by 5 April 2024 should receive a decision by no later than 19 April 2024.

All applications which are considered complete after this date will receive a response as soon as possible. All applicants will receive a response by no later than 31 May 2024.

Please note that unsuccessful decisions may be released earlier than these dates.

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate programmes (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

Got questions? Get in touch

Culture, Communication and Media

[email protected]

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Intercultural Communication Extended Encyclopedia Entries in C. Cortés (Ed) Multicultural America: A Multimedia Encyclopedia

Milton J. Bennett, Ph.D. Intercultural Development Research Institute

Intercultural Communication

Intercultural communication is the study and practice of communication across cultural contexts. It applies equally to domestic cultural differences such as ethnicity and gender and to international differences such as those associated with nationality or world region. Intercultural communication is an approach to relations among members of these groups that focuses on the recognition and respect of cultural differences, seeks the goal of mutual adaptation leading to biculturalism rather than simple assimilation, and supports the development of intercultural sensitivity on the part of individuals and organizations to enable empathic understanding and competent coordination of action across cultural differences.

The following paragraphs expand on the definitions of “communication” and “cultural context”

based on principles of constructivism [See the section on “Constructivism” for a definition and discussion of that term], and then summarize the development of intercultural sensitivity as the basis for exercising competent intercultural communication.

Communication

Communication is much more than a simple transmission of information: it is the mutual creation of meaning . Information is not, in itself, meaningful; it is only when information is intended and interpreted in some way that it attains significance. For instance, if you are telling me about a movie you just saw, you probably intend for me to understand what the movie is about and also something about your experience and evaluation of it. You pose the information in a language I know, use references to concepts and other films I might know, and in conveying your feeling you assume that I am able and willing to access your experience. For my part, I try to interpret the information in the way you intended it by using common meanings for words and concepts and by recognizing both our common experience of similar events and the uniqueness of your personal experience in this particular event.

Of course, the exchange described above is an ideal that is seldom achieved in one pass (or many). What usually happens is that my interpretation is both more and less than what you intended. It is less in my probable failure to assign exactly similar meaning to words and concepts that you use, and it is more in that I probably project many of my own feelings about similar events onto your description. In my response (feedback) to your message, you may recognize some of my discrepant interpretation and correct it. Assuming that this is not your first communication with someone like me, you may have already anticipated some of my likely misinterpretation by tailoring your message to me in the first place. So both your intention and my interpretation are in play as we attempt to negotiate a mutually acceptable match. The final meaning of the communication event is neither just your intention nor simply my interpretation; it is our mutual creation of an agreeable position.

The sense of “culture” used in intercultural communication is that of “worldview.” Culture is a generalization about how a group of people coordinate meaning and action among themselves. One way they do that is through institutions such as religious, political, and economic systems, and family and other social structures. But underlying these institutions is a habitual organization of how the world is perceived, and thus how it is experienced. These habits are often referred to as cultural assumptions and values, and they occur in all groups, not just national societies. In general, intercultural communication focuses on this worldview aspect of culture and not so much on the institutions of culture. Human communication is conducted by people, not institutions. The concern of any study of communication is therefore with the way that human beings organize meaning. We all are influenced by the institutional structures that we internalize as part of socialization, and understanding those institutions may give insight into how we habitually organize our perception, but in the end it is our human worldview that generates meaning, not institutional structure.

An essential element of culture is the boundary that distinguishes “us” from “them.” Every human being belongs to groups defined by boundaries. Typical boundaries are those formed by nation- states (e.g. US Americans, Japanese, Nigerians) or by ethnic groups composed of people with a particular tribal, national, or regional heritage (e.g. Kurdish, Jewish, Russian, European, African). Within a boundary, people communicate with each other differently than with people outside the boundary. The difference may or may not involve using a different language or jargon, but it always includes different kinds of agreements on meaning and action. A cultural boundary indicates a greater amount of interaction and need for coordination among those enclosed by it.

In the case of some ethnic heritage, family interaction may be primarily responsible for preserving the cultural agreements, but for many ethnicities there is also likely to be greater interaction with other members of the ethnic group (e.g. Chinese Americans). This is particularly true if color (race) is involved, since people naturally distinguish themselves by color and thus may group more easily with people who are physically similar. Color discrimination is not necessarily associated with prejudice, but it certainly can be used for that purpose, as can other distinctions among groups. Color is a particularly complex boundary, since in many societies it does represent a particular type of social experience vis a vis prejudice or privilege, and that common experience may produce certain agreements on meaning (e.g. an understanding of “driving while black”). Yet color is not necessarily associated with any particular ethnicity (e.g. black people of African vs. Caribbean heritage, white people of Anglo vs Teutonic vs Latin heritage). The ethnic boundary is a much more powerful cultural indicator than the color boundary, since it rests on a deeper set of institutions. So for instance, black Caribbean Americans may experience prejudice similarly to black African Americans, but that fact does not obviate the significant cultural differences between those two groups.

In multicultural societies, national and ethic boundaries are often combined to indicate membership in both groups (e.g. African American, European American, Malay Singaporean, Russian Kazakhstani). In addition to these common distinctions, boundaries are also formed by geographical regions within or across national boundaries (e.g. Southern Italians, Pacific Northwest Americans, Western Europeans, Sub-Saharan Africans) Also importantly, the boundaries of organizations often indicate very strong and distinct cultural worldviews (e.g. corporate cultures, police culture, armed services culture, peace corps culture). Within organizations, different functional groups such as accountants, service people, engineers, detectives, etc. are likely to share a culture. Within societies, cultural boundaries may also include gender, sexual orientation, generation (age), and other grouping. In these and other cases, the culture is generated not by any particular belief or behavior of the group, but by the need to coordinate meaning and action among more frequently interacting people. So, for instance, gay culture is not about homosexuality per se; it is about how people communicate with other people with whom they are more likely to be in contact due to shared sexuality. In this same way, some religious or political groups can generate culture, not because of their particular beliefs, but because people in the groups are spending more time with others who agree with them.

When an intercultural approach is used in domestic multicultural situations, it commonly generates some controversy. The argument against the assumption of domestic cultures generally goes like this: cultural differences, if they exist among different ethnic and racial groups, are not nearly so important as differences in power, privilege, and access to sources of wealth and well-being. So even if they exist, a focus on cultural differences is just a distraction from the more pressing concerns of social and institutional equity. Roughly this same argument is used against focusing on the intercultural communication aspects of gender relations.

One counter-argument is to note the “humanizing” effect of worldview. Focusing on the unique experience of a cultural worldview is a direct antidote to an objectification and exploitation of people that is based simply on their color, gender, or heritage. Intercultural communication necessitates understanding the unique experience of others as the key to coordinating meaning and action towards some common goal. Another argument in favor of intercultural communication is that culture must be understood relative to its own context. Culture cannot be judged against an absolute standard of civilization, and therefore people of one culture are not intrinsically superior or inferior to people of another culture. They are just different.

Since “communication” is the mutual creation of meaning and “culture” is the coordination of meaning and action in a group, it follows that “intercultural communication” is the mutual creation of meaning across cultures. This means that intercultural communication is the mechanism whereby people of different groups perceive and try to make sense of one another. While there is no guarantee that people will be respectful of the differences they encounter in this process, it is certainly a criterion of good communication that people seek to understand the intentions of each other in non-evaluative ways. For that reason, intercultural communication incorporates particular strategies that encourage us to attribute equal humanity and complexity to people who are not part of our own group.

The most common tactical goal of intercultural communication is to inform one-way cross- cultural adaptations in situations such as teaching in multicultural classrooms, providing social services (including policing) in multicultural communities, traveling for business or pleasure, and some kinds of international study. In those cases, sojourners need to recognize cultural differences that are relevant to short-term communication, to predict misunderstanding that may arise from those differences, and to adapt their behavior as necessary to participate appropriately in the cross-cultural encounter. Central to this application is having a good system for identifying cultural differences that are relevant to communication. Several of those systems are included in the Further Reading following this entry. Whatever system is used, the outcome of employing tactical intercultural communication is generally to decrease stereotyping of the cultures encountered, increase knowledge of cultural differences, and broaden the behavioral repertoire of the adapters.

A more substantial practical goal of intercultural communication is to contribute to the success of cross-cultural projects such as transferring knowledge, conducting long-term business, or effecting change through community development projects. In these cases, more people involved in the cross- cultural encounter need to make adaptations toward one another in order to coordinate meaning and action adequately. When intercultural adaptation is two-way, or mutual, it tends to create “third cultures” in which two or more cultural patterns of coordination are themselves coordinated. Third cultures are virtual conditions that come into existence for the purpose of intercultural communication and then dissolve when that communication is not active. Third cultures may become longer lasting when they constantly employed in multicultural groups or communities, but, by definition, third cultures do not supplant the original cultural patterns that they coordinate.

The most strategic application of intercultural communication is to derive the value of cultural diversity. This has long been the goal of multicultural societies, and it more recently is being touted by global corporations. After some mistaken hope that diversity in itself generates value, it is now accepted that cultural diversity creates the potential but not the actuality of added value. The potential of diversity is to offer alternative perspectives and approaches to tasks, thus contributing to innovation and creativity. However, the actuality is that diversity is frequently suppressed or eliminated in the name of unified action: “my way or the highway.” This is particularly notable in immigration policies and in corporate mergers and acquisitions, where the rhetoric of added value is generally at direct odds with the practice of demanding assimilation to the stronger culture. Assimilation destroys the potential for added value from diversity. One-way adaptation preserves the potential of added value, but it does not actualize it. Only mutual adaptation can generate third cultures that support the coordination of cultural differences, and it is from those coordinated differences that value is added.

Other Intergroup Relations Terms

Within the context of intercultural communication, the term “multicultural” is used to refer to the multiple cultures represented in a group, So, for instance, the U.S. workforce has become more multicultural, meaning that there is more diversity of national heritage due to immigration, more variation in domestic ethnic groups, more gender and age diversity, and more representation of minorities such as people with disabilities. Communities become multicultural as immigrants settle there, and teachers face increasingly multicultural classrooms.

The term “diversity” is sometimes used synonymously with “multicultural,” referring to the existence of cultural difference. For instance, when a company has a diversity policy, it often refers to how minorities will be actively recruited, thus creating a more multicultural organization. Sometimes “diversity” or the term “inclusion” is used more generally to refer to dealing with issues associated with multiculturality, such as prejudice, stereotyping, segregation, denial of equal rights, and other inappropriate or illegal behavior. Occasionally “diversity” is used to refer to actual cultural diversity, and diversity training moves beyond prejudice reduction towards recognizing, respecting, and dealing productively with cultural differences.

The term “cross-cultural” refers to contact between cultural groups. For instance, in a company with a multicultural workforce, there is more likely to be cross-cultural contact among the workers. More substantially, expatriate managers or exchange students who live in a different cultural context have significant amounts of cross-cultural contact. Cross-cultural contact in itself is not necessary contributive to good intercultural relations. Under some conditions it may generate negative stereotypes or defensiveness, while at best it increases tolerance and reduces stereotyping. Cross-cultural may also refer to comparative studies of culture; e.g. in a cross-cultural study of smiling, Thai respondents were more likely than US Americans to interpret that facial gesture as embarrassment.

The term “intercultural” refers to interaction among members of two or more distinct cultural groups. The term is seldom used synonymously with multicultural, so groups are not described as intercultural unless they are specifically set up to encourage interaction (e.g., the “intercultural workshop”). The term intercultural is usually used as a modifier, so for instance “intercultural communication” or “intercultural relations.” The term “intercultural sensitivity” has a long history of referring to an ability to make complex perceptual discriminations among cultural patterns, and recently the term “intercultural competence” has been used to refer to an array of characteristics and abilities that seem related to successful intercultural interactions.

The following statement follows the definitions: a multicultural workforce is likely to have a lot of cross-cultural contact that demands more competence in intercultural communication from everyone.

Developing Intercultural Sensitivity and Competence

The Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) developed by Milton J. Bennett is a framework that explains how people experience and handle cultural difference. The DMIS is grounded theory; it is based on observations made in both academic and corporate settings about how people become more competent intercultural communicators. The model uses concepts from constructivist psychology and communication theory to organize these observations into positions along a continuum of increasing sensitivity to cultural difference.

The underlying assumption of the model is that as one’s perceptual organization of cultural difference becomes more complex, one’s experience of culture becomes more sophisticated and the potential for exercising competence in intercultural relations increases. By recognizing how cultural difference is being experienced, predictions about the effectiveness of intercultural communication can be made and educational interventions can be tailored to facilitate development along the continuum.

The DMIS continuum extends from ethnocentrism, the experience of one’s own culture as “central to reality,” to ethnorelativism, the experience of one’s own and other cultures as “relative to context.” Positions along the continuum define the general ways in which perception of cultural difference is being organized into experience. Generally, developmental movement is one-way and permanent, although there may be retreats from one ethnocentric position to another and some ethnocentric issues may remain unresolved as people move into ethnorelativism. Nevertheless, each individual or group has a predominant experience of cultural difference , described by the following positions:

Denial of cultural difference is the experience in which cultural difference is not perceived at all, or it is perceived only in very broad categories such as “foreigner” or “minority.” The constructs available for perceiving one’s own culture are far more complex than those available for other cultures. People experience psychological and/or physical isolation from cultural difference, and they are disinterested or perhaps even hostilely dismissive of intercultural communication. It is difficult to recognize the essential humanity of others who are obviously different from one’s self, and naïve questions about the other culture may appear disrespectful. In the extreme, power may be used to exploit others without sensitivity to their feelings of degradation.
Defense against cultural difference is the experience in which cultural difference is perceived in simplistic stereotyped ways. Cultures are organized into “us and them,” where typically the “us” is superior and the “them” is inferior. People at Defense are threatened by cultural difference, so they tend to be highly critical of other cultures and apt to blame cultural difference for general ills of society. Power derived from institutional dominance or from non-dominant posturing is used to support segregation.
Defense/Reversal. An alternative form of the Defense reverses the polarity of “us” and “them,” where an adopted culture is romanticized, while one’s own group is subjected to greater criticism. Reversal has traditionally been found in non-dominant groups as “internalized oppression,” where the dominant group culture is valued more highly than the non-dominant one. When dominant group members discover that their own group is the oppressor (“externalized oppression”), they sometimes switch sides and take on the cause of a non-dominant group with extreme zeal. Internationally, this also may happen when exchange students “go native.” In both cases, the experience is one of self- criticism combined with exotification of other groups.
Minimization of cultural difference occurs when elements of one’s own cultural worldview are experienced as universal. People tend to assume that their physical or psychological experiences are shared by people of all cultures, and/or that certain basic values and beliefs transcend cultural boundaries. The stressing of cross-cultural similarity reduces Defense, so people here are much more tolerant of cultural diversity, although the tolerance generally does not extend into appreciation of substantial cultural differences. People who move from Defense and settle into Minimization may feel that they have arrived at an enlightened position. They are likely to label any discussion of cultural difference as a form of Defense, because that is their only prior experience of cultural difference. Because they now think that intercultural understanding is based primarily on similarity, they tend to overestimate their sensitivity to people who in fact are quite different from them. At this position, people of the dominant group underestimate their racial and cultural privilege – their exaggerated assumption of similarity leads them to also exaggerate equality of opportunity. Also, dominant-group members may engage in certain forms of political correctness that stress similarity, such as being “color-blind.”
Acceptance of cultural difference is the experience in which one’s own culture as just one of a number of equally complex worldviews. Cultural difference becomes important again, this time out of curiosity rather than threat. In accepting difference, people acknowledge that people of other cultures, while equally human to themselves, are in fact organizing their experience of reality differently – according to the different assumptions of their culture. Acceptance does not mean agreement with or liking other cultures – cultural difference may be judged negatively – but the judgment is made in a contextually relative way. The recognition that people are equally complex, but different, is a strong antidote to bigotry. Rather than trying to directly reduce prejudice (which, if successful, just creates Minimization), the move to Acceptance extends the boundary of human similarity and difference to include other groups. In other words, people of other cultures are afforded equal and unique humanity.
Adaptation to cultural difference occurs when people build on their Acceptance of cultural difference by temporarily trying to organize the world in different ways. Using a process of cognitive frame-shifting, people can create a “facsimile worldview” that organizes their perception of events in a way corresponding more closely to that of the other culture. The alternative worldview generates an alternative experience – one that is more appropriate to the other culture. By basing behavior on the alternative “feeling of appropriateness,” people at this position can intentionally modify their behavior to communicate both authentically and effectively in another culture. When both parties to a communication attempt to adapt their behavior in this way, it generates virtual third cultures – new contexts that emerge intentionally from particular cross-cultural interactions.
Integration of cultural difference is the experience of self that includes movement in and out of different cultural worldviews. People at this position maintain complex multicultural identities and exist in a kind of liminal state where they are constantly in the process of becoming something different. This makes them outsiders to most groups and generates ethical ambiguity, but it also pushes them toward cultural bridge-building and sophisticated ethical commitments. Integration is more likely to occur among non-dominant minority groups, long-term expatriates, “global nomad kids,” and others with primary or acquired multiculturality.

Extended Encyclopedia Entries in Multicultural America: A multimedia encyclopedia.

Milton J. Bennett, Ph.D.

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CHAPTER 6: INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

Introduction to Communication textbook.

6.1 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After reading this chapter you should be able to:

Define culture
Understand the goal of intercultural communication
Recognize the role of language in cultural perception
Define cultural dimensions

6.2 WHAT IS INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION?

Intercultural communication is the study of how culture affects the way in which people communicate. There are many reasons for studying intercultural communication. First, because of the advances in transportation and technology, we have created a world where individuals from diverse cultures often work and live side-by-side. For example, the Brookings Institute projects that by 2045 the white population will be less than 50%. Secondly, we live in a global economy. We export our corn, wheat, and cars to other countries and import and buy our clothes, coffee, and oil from other countries. Thirdly, studying intercultural communication helps us combat "xenophobia", which is the fear or hatred of strangers and/or foreigners.

If you were to ask Russel Arent, author of Bridging the Cultural Gap he would tell you that, “Intercultural Communication is the sending and receiving of messages across languages and cultures. It is also a negotiated understanding of meaning in human experiences across social systems and societies.” This provides not only a concise definition but it also describes the importance that understanding has in intercultural interactions.

Think about culture and communication as a reciprocal process: culture affects communication and communication affects culture. Both work together to shape how we identify as belonging to one culture or another, how we feel about belonging to a particular cultural group, how we communicate with other cultural groups, and how that group is regarded in the larger social system. As you will see, this is often a reflection of the language used to refer to a particular group of people, or the relative value placed on their communication practices. Cultural understanding helps to bridge gaps in communication by enhancing worldviews and experiences through the lens of culture. A better understanding of cultures creates tolerance towards differences while creating connections through the cultural similarities that exist, therefore benefiting society as a whole.

“Black Lives Matter” by seikoesquepayne is licensed under CC BY 2.0

What Does Culture Mean?

Before going any further, let us spend some time discussing what we mean by culture. When you began reading this chapter what did you think we meant by the word culture? Your answer probably had something to do with people from different countries or of different racial and ethnic backgrounds. You are right—to a certain degree. Culture does include race, nationality, and ethnicity, but goes beyond those identity markers as well. The following are various aspects of our individual identity that we use to create membership with others to form a shared cultural identity: race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, ability, disability, religion, and social class.

Photo: https://pixabay.com/photos/woman-bride-henna-mehndi tattoos-5897055/

When we talk about culture we are referring to belief systems, values, and behaviors that support a particular ideology or social arrangement . Culture guides language use, appropriate forms of dress, and views of the world. The concept is broad and encompasses many areas of our lives such as the role of the family, individual, educational systems, employment, and gender.

Where Do You Come From?

Two concepts that are often confused with race are ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity refers to a person’s or people’s heritage and history and involves shared cultural traditions and beliefs. A person may identify as Asian-American racially while their ethnicity is Chinese. Nationality refers to a people’s nation-state of residence or where they hold citizenship. Most often, nationality is derived from the country where one was born, but on occasion, people give up their citizenship by birth and migrate to a new country where they claim national identity. For example, an individual could have been born and raised in another country but once they migrate to the United States and have American citizenship, their nationality becomes American.

Ethnocentrism if the belief that your own group is superior to all other groups or cultures. When you judge the rest of the world only from your own culture's perspective, you are ethnocentric. You are practicing cultural relativism when you believe that another culture should not be measured against your own culture, but rather its own context. Stereotyping happens when you generalize a group of people. You may have had a bad experience with one person from another ethnicity, and so you generalize and believe that all people of that ethnicity possess the same qualities.

The Role of Money

You are probably familiar with the concept of class—what do the labels working class, middle-class, and upper-class bring to mind? Money? Economic standing is only one variable that influences class or socioeconomic standing. As the label suggests, one’s socioeconomic status is influenced by monetary and social factors. In essence, socioeconomic standing is “your understanding of the world and where you fit in; it’s composed of ideas, behaviors, attitudes, values, and language; class is how you think, feel, act, look, dress, talk, move, walk” (Langston 101). In some middle-class families, for example, children are expected to go to college just as their parents and grandparents had done. It may also be expected for the children to attend reasonably priced state colleges and universities as opposed to Ivy League Universities, which may be the norm in many upper-class families.

By now you are probably able to think of some other identity markers that shape a person’s culture or worldview. How about spirituality or religion, profession, hobbies, political persuasion, age, abilities? These too are aspects of cultural identity. Spend some time thinking about how these aspects would influence a person’s culture as we have done above.

Exercises We may often feel restrained by the constant need to work. We live in a money-centric society where every move we make involves thinking about the monetary gains or losses it will produce. Read Bruce E. Levine’s article on this phenomena. How America’s Obsession With Money Deadens Us . After reading the article, do you believe that we have become more money-centric? Why?

6.3 GOALS OF INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

As stated earlier, culture is a unique combination of rituals, beliefs, rules, and behaviors (food choices, clothing, etc.) that unify a group of people. When different cultures come together, it is common that disagreements arise about the importance of or adherance to these preferences. Often there is a dominant and a nondominant culture.

A dominant culture is determined by who has the power and influence in traditional social structures such as schools, religions, politics, etc. In contrast, nondominant cultures or marginalized groups differ from the dominant culture and exist on the margins of the larger society. They are a part of the larger culture, but do not possess power and influence and often face discrimination. These groups may be marginalized because of color, ethnicity, religion, disabilities, poverty, etc.

Nondominant cultures often seek three basic goals when relating to the dominant culture: assimiliation, accomodation, or separation. If the nondominant culture is seeking to assimilate they will try to fit in with the dominant culture. They will mimic the dominant culture in clothing, food choices, etc. If the goal of the marginalized group is to accomodate , they will keep their unique identity while striving for positive relationships with the dominant culture. They may choose to not eat meat for example, but they do not criticize their coworkers for eating meat. If separation is the goal, the nondominate culture keeps to themselves and relates as little as possible with the dominant culture. The Amish are a good example of the separation goal.

6.4 LANGUAGE SHAPES CULTURAL PERCEPTION

Saying that language plays a vital role in intercultural communication and relationships probably seems obvious to you at this point. But do you know how and why? Let us now turn to a more detailed explanation of the power of language. Specifically, the Sapir Wharf hypothesis, labels , and stereotypes.

Photo: https://pixabay.com/images/search/empathy/

In Part I of this book, you were introduced to the idea that language shapes reality; the vocabulary we use to discuss an idea or person influences how we think about our subject. Likewise, if we have no words for a phenomenon then we are discouraged from talking about it or bringing it into our reality. Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf believed that the structure of language was a necessary component for producing thought. You have probably heard that Eskimos have numerous words for snow. How many do you have? Snow. Ice. If you ski or snowboard then you probably have a few more. Powder. Moguls. Depending on the extent of your snow vocabulary you can look at the frozen water and perceive it in numerous ways. But if your vocabulary is limited then so is the way you can think and talk about snow. If you have studied languages such as Spanish or French then you are familiar with the concepts of a formal and informal “you.” Depending on the relationship between you and your audience you will use a different word for “you” and consequently conjugate your verbs accordingly. If you are talking with a child, for example, you would use the informal version, but if you were speaking with someone of higher social status such as your Professor you would use the formal “you.” As you speak and write, this language structure demands that you be consciously aware of social relations. This awareness then becomes part of your social reality.

If you have ever been on the receiving end of a stereotype or derogatory label in reference to your culture, religion, race, gender, sexual orientation, or other aspect of your identity, then you are acutely aware of the power of language. You know that such language is not a neutral conveyor of ideas, but is designed to alter and shape the way the audience thinks about a particular person or group. Think about the list of terms that historically have been used to refer to persons of African descent—African, Colored, Negro, Black, Afro-American, African American, and the harshest, the N-word. When you read each term, what are the different images or connotations connected with them? Do they bring up different historical periods, varying degrees of sociopolitical power, a variety of relationships to the dominant group? The range of emotions and images that each of these terms produces is further testament to the subjectivity of language as well as its temporal nature.

Language shapes more than our cultural perspective, it also shapes our senses! See how in this article from the New York Times , Can’t Place That Smell? You Must Be American: How Culture Shapes Our Senses

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6.5 CULTURAL DIMENSIONS

High and Low Context

Think about someone you are very close to—a best friend, romantic partner, or sibling. Have there been times when you began a sentence and the other person knew exactly what you were going to say before you said it? For example, in a situation between two sisters, one sister might exclaim, “Get off!” (which is short for “get off my wavelength”). This phenomenon of being on someone’s wavelength is similar to what Hall describes as high context. In high context communication the meaning is in the people, or more specifically, the relationship between the people as opposed to just the words. Low context communication occurs when we have to rely on the translation of the words to decipher a person’s meaning. The American legal system, for example, relies on low context communication.

While some cultures are low or high context, in general terms, there can also be individual or contextual differences within cultures. In the example above between the two sisters, they are using high context communication, however, America is considered a low context culture. Countries such as Germany and Sweden are also low context while Japan and China are high context.

Speech Styles

Other variations in communication can be described using Gudykunst and Ting-Toomey’s four communication styles. Thinking about these descriptors as a continuum rather than polar opposites is helpful because it allows us to imagine more communicative options for speakers. They are not fixed into one style or another but instead, people can make choices about where to be on the continuum according to the context in which they find themselves.

This first continuum has to do with the explicitness of one’s talk, or how much of one’s thoughts are communicated directly through words and how much is indirect. Direct speech is very explicit while indirect speech is more obscure . If I say, “Close the window,” my meaning is quite clear. However, if I were to ask, “Is anyone else cold in here?” or, “Geez, this room is cold,” I might be signaling indirectly that I want someone to close the window. As the United States is typically a direct culture, these latter statements might generate comments like, “Why didn’t you just ask someone to shut the window?” or “Shut it yourself.” Why might someone make a choice to use a direct or indirect form of communication? What are some of the advantages or disadvantages of each style? Think about the context for a moment. If you as a student were in a meeting with the President of your university and you were to tell her to “Shut the window,” what do you think would happen? Can you even imagine saying that? An indirect approach in this context may appear more polite, appropriate, and effective.

Remember the fairy tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears? As Goldilocks tasted the porridge, she exclaimed, “This is too hot, this one is too cold, but this one is just right.” This next continuum of communication styles, succinct/exact vs. elaborate, can be thought of this way as well. The elaborate style uses more words, phrases, or metaphors to express an idea than the other two styles. It may be described as descriptive, poetic, or too wordy depending on your view. Commenting on a flower garden an American (Exact/Succinct) speaker may say, “Wow, look at all the color variations. That’s beautiful.” An Egyptian (Elaborate) speaker may go into much more detail about the specific varieties and colors of the blossoms, “This garden invokes so many memories for me. The deep purple irises remind me of my maternal grandmother as those are her favorite flowers. Those pink roses are similar to the ones I sent to my first love.” The succinct style in contrast values simplicity and silence. As many mothers usually tell their children, “If you can’t say anything nice, then don’t say anything at all.” Cultures such as Buddhism and the Amish value this form. The exact style is the one for Goldilocks as it falls between the other two and would be in their words, “just right.” It is not overly descriptive or too vague to be of use.

Remember when we were talking about the French and Spanish languages and the fact that they have a formal and informal “you” depending on the relationship between the speaker and the audience? This example also helps explain the third communication style: the personal and contextual. The contextual style is one where there are structural linguistic devices used to mark the relationship between the speaker and the listener . If this sounds a bit unfamiliar, that is because the English language has no such linguistic distinctions; it is an example of the personal style that enhances the sense of “I.” While the English language does allow us to show respect for our audience such as the choice to eliminate slang or the use of titles such as Sir, Madame, President, Congressperson, or Professor, they do not inherently change the structure of the language.

The final continuum, instrumental/affective, refers to who holds the responsibility for effectively conveying a message: the speaker or the audience? The instrumental style is g oal- or -sender-orientated, meaning it is the burden of the speaker to make themselves understood . The affective style is more receiver orientated thus, places more responsibility on the listener . Here, the listener should pay attention to verbal, nonverbal, and relationship clues in an attempt to understand the message. Asian cultures such as China and Japan and many Native American tribes are affective cultures. The United States is more instrumental. Think about sitting in your college classroom listening to your professor's lecture. If you do not understand the material where does the responsibility reside? Usually, it is given to the professor as in statements such as “My Math Professor isn’t very well organized.” Or “By the end of the Econ. lecture all that was on the board were lines, circles, and a bunch of numbers. I didn’t know what was important and what wasn’t.” These statements suggest that it is up to the professor to communicate the material to the students. As the authors were raised in the American educational system they too were used to this perspective and often look at their teaching methods when students fail to understand the material. A professor was teaching in China and when her students encountered particular difficulty with a certain concept she would often ask the students, “What do you need—more examples? Shall we review it again? Are the terms confusing?” Her students, raised in a more affective environment responded, “No, it’s not you. It is our job as your students to try harder. We did not study enough and will read the chapter again so we will understand.” The students accepted the responsibility as listeners to work to understand the speaker.

Collectivist versus Individualistic

In addition to the four speaking styles that characterize cultures so do value systems. Of particular importance to intercultural communication is whether the culture has a collectivistic or individualistic orientation. When a person or culture has a collective orientation they place the needs and interests of the group above individual desires or motivations . In contrast, the self or one’s own personal goals motivate those cultures with individualistic orientations . Thus, each person is viewed as responsible for their own success or failure in life. From years of research, Geert Hofstede organized 52 countries in terms of their orientation to individualism. Look Here to see the results.

When looking at Hofstede’s research and that of others on individualism and collectivism, important to remember is that no culture is purely one or the other. Think of these qualities as points along a continuum rather than fixed positions. Individuals and co-cultures may exhibit differences in individualism/collectivism from the dominant culture and certain contexts may highlight one or the other. Changing is difficult. In some of your classes, for example, does the Professor require a group project as part of the final grade? How do students respond to such an assignment? In our experience, we find that some students enjoy and benefit from the collective and collaborative process and seem to learn better in such an environment. These students have more of a collective orientation. Other students, usually the majority, are resistant to such assignments citing reasons such as “it’s difficult to coordinate schedules with four other people” or “I don’t want my grade resting on someone else’s performance.” These statements reflect an individual orientation.

High-power distance vs. low-power distance

Is the degree to which a culture seeks to maintain hierarchy (high-power distance) or to distribute power equally (low-power distance).

High uncertainty avoidance vs. low uncertainty avoidance

This has to do with the preference for rules and rigid codes of behavior (high uncertainty avoidance) or a preference for relaxed norms for how people are expected to behave (low uncertainty avoidance).

WHERE INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION OCCURS

Thus far, we have shared with you a bit about what intercultural communication is, some important concepts, and how scholars study this phenomenon. Now we want to spend the final part of the chapter looking at a major context for intercultural communication—-the media. There are other contexts as well, such as interpersonal relationships and organizations, but we will leave these to your own investigation or in a class devoted to intercultural communication.

Looking at texts or media artifacts (these are specific television shows, films, books, magazines, musical artists, etc.) is both a fun and important area of study for intercultural communication. Since most people spend much of their free time taking in some form of media, such as going to the movies with friends or watching YouTube, media messages have a great deal of influence and impact on its audience. As you also remember, the media is also the location and source for much of the critical cultural research.

Specifically, what critical theorists tend to look at are the artifacts of popular, or pop culture? At the time this book first came out, bands such as Creed and Wilco; the television programs Friends, West Wing, and Sex and the City ; and the films Bowling for Columbine and The Two Towers were all pop culture artifacts. Now, popular bands, television shows, and movies are very different. Popular culture is defined as “those systems or artifacts that most people share and that most people know about” (Brummett 21). So, while you may not listen to or watch the examples listed, chances are that you are at least aware of them and have a basic idea of the plot or content. Popular culture is distinct from high culture, which includes events such as the ballet or opera, visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art or the Louvre, or listening to classical music at the symphony. These activities, unlike the artifacts mentioned earlier all require something to have access. Namely money. Attending the ballet or opera takes considerably more money than purchasing songs on iTunes.

The fact that most of us participate to some degree in consuming popular culture is one reason to study its messages. Another is that it is an area of struggle for representation—specifically about cultural identity issues. Representation refers to the portrayal, depiction, or characterization of particular cultural groups . A related term is symbolic annihilation which refers to the fact that “women and minorities are underrepresented in media content and that when they are represented they are marginalized, trivialized, or victimized” (Valdiva 243). By looking at the numbers and characterizations of ethnic minorities in television and film we can see the dominant culture’s attitudes about them. This is because the dominant culture is the group in control of media outlets and represents groups in particular ways.

Let us walk through an analysis of a scene in the 2001 film, Spiderman , to illustrate these concepts. The female character, Mary Jane, is walking home from work one dark and rainy night. She is wearing a raincoat which is soon removed, leaving her pink shirt and clothes to be drenched and cling to her. (Prior to this scene she has been portrayed as the “girl next door” with little or no sexuality.) Her path home takes her through an alleyway where she is quickly surrounded by a group of violent men. One of the men pulls a knife and there is the threat of rape or other violent attack. She fails when she attempts to fight back. But as is the case with superheroes, Spiderman arrives just in the nick of time to save the damsel in distress. After he saves her, she and Spiderman, who is hanging upside down from a building, share their first kiss.

So, what is going on in this scene? Can you identify examples of representation or symbolic annihilation? There are issues concerning both gender and race in this scene. First, she is portrayed as weak, unable to take care of herself, and in need of a man to save her. This is characteristic of images of women in film. Second, in terms of culture, the “good guys” or “innocent victims” are middle class, and the potential attackers are portrayed as stereotypical lower-class males. This too represents a stereotyped portrayal of young men in the inner city as criminals or gang members. Finally, and perhaps the most dangerous message in this scene, is the equation of female sexuality, violence, and romance. As her pink shirt clings to her, her breasts are revealed in a sexual manner, next she is almost attacked, and then she is sweetly and romantically kissing Spiderman. Thus, this short scene illustrates how images (we did not even discuss the dialogue) work to unfairly and inaccurately portray groups of people.

By looking at media, scholars can discover what images of various cultural groups are prevalent in society and the stories that are told about various cultures. As active citizens, we can make choices about what media images we decide to consume, accept, or reject. As knowledgeable communicators we can critique the images we see rather than accept constructed and artificial media images as normative or “just the way things are.” As you learned in the first section of the book, language, symbols, and images are not neutral, but are subjective interpretations of a person’s or group of people’s interpretation of reality.

6.6 STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

Strategies for Improving Intercultural Communication

1. Conduct a personal self-assessment.

2. Practice supportive communication behaviors.

3. Develop sensitvity toward diversity

4. Avoid ethnocentrism and stereotypes

5. Open Communicaiton channels and encourage descriptive feedback

After reading this chapter, you should have a greater understanding of how culture influences communication. We began with an overview and description of the various aspects of culture. Next, we discussed the goals of intercultural communication, specifically through the lens of dominant vs. nondominant cultures.

Turning to specific communication styles we discussed the differences between high and low context cultures and the continuums of direct/indirect, elaborate/ exact/succinct, personal/contextual, and instrumental/ affective styles. Finally, we examined a particular site for intercultural communication—the media. We hope this chapter has increased your knowledge base as well as your enthusiasm and interest in this exciting area of the communication discipline. Moreover, we encourage you to think about the importance of culture when studying the other sub-disciplines of communication such as gender, organizational, interpersonal, rhetorical theory, rhetorical criticism, and health communication.

Bridging Cultural Differences Playlist

Priya Vulchi and Winona Guo: What It Takes To be Racially Literate

The Peace Corps Cross-Cultural Workbook

Activities and Exercise Materials

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What are some ways that you see to support Hofstede’s claim that the U.S. is the most individualistic society? Are there ways in which we display attributes of collectivism?

2. Describe a situation in which you attempted to diverge or converge you communication with others? What did you do? What were you attempting to accomplish by doing so? What was the result?

3. Why do you think communication scholars are beginning to use the term “co-culture” versus the more traditional term “subculture”?

Dominant Culture
Nondominant Culture
High/Low Context
Collectivism/Individualism
Ethnocentrism
Stereotyping

Alley-Young, G. (2008). Articulating identity: Refining postcolonial and whiteness perspectives on race within communication studies. Review Of Communication, 8( 3), 307-321.

American Anthropological Association. (n.d.). RACE: Are we so different?” A Project of the American Anthropological Association . http://www.understandingrace.org/ home.html

Asante, M. K. (1988). Afrocentricity . Africa World Press

Asante, M. K. (1998). The Afrocentric idea (rev. Ed.). Temple University Press.

Buchanan, L. (2014, Aug 13). “What happened in Ferguson?” The New York Times.

Brummett, B. (2014). Rhetoric in popular culture . Sage Publications.

Giles, H., & Noels, K. A. (2002). Communication accommodation in intercultural encounters. In J. N. Nakayama, T. K. Nakayama, & L. A. Flores Martin (Eds.), Readings in intercultural communications ( 2nd ed.). McGraw Hill.

Gudykunst, W. B., Ting-Toomey, S., & Chua, E. (1988). Culture and interpersonal communication . Sage Publications.

Hall, E. T. (1976). Beyond culture . Doubleday.

Hardiman, R. (1994). “White Racial Identity Development in the United States.” Race, ethnicity and self: Identity in multicultural perspective (pp. 17–140).

Hymes, D. (1972). “Models of the interaction of language and social life.” In J. & D. Hymes Gumperz (Eds.), Directions is sociolinguistics: The ethnography of communication (pp. 35-71). Cambridge University Press.

Hofstede, G. (1991). Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind . London; New York: McGraw-Hill.

Langston, D. “Tired of Playing Monopoly?” In M.L. Anderson and P.H. Collins. (Eds.). Race, class, and gender: An anthology (pp. 100-109). Wadsworth.

Levine, B. E. (1993). “How America’s obsession with money deadens us.” (2012). In M. Matsuda, C. R. Lawrence, R. Delgado, & K. W. Crenshaw . Words that wound: Critical race theory, assaultive speech, and the first amendment . Westview.

Martin, J., & Nakayama, T. (2009). Intercultural communication in contexts (5th ed.) McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages.

McIntosh, P. (1988). White privilege and male privilege: A personal account of coming to see correspondences through work in women’s studies . Wellesley College, Center for Research on Women.

McIntosh, P. (2012). Reflections and future directions for privilege studies. Journal of Social Issues, 68 (1), 194–206.

Orbe, M. P., & Tina M. H. (2012). Interracial communication: Theory into practice (3rd ed.). Sage.

Philipsen, G., & Albrecht, T. (1997). A theory of speech codes. Developing communication theories, 6.

Pyle, N. (n.d.). 10 privileges I have complained about. BuzzFeed .

Phinney, J. S. (1993). A three-stage model of ethnic identity development in adolescence. Ethnic Identity: Formation and Transmission among Hispanics and Other Minorities, 61 , 79.

Ponterotto, J. G., Utsey, S. O., & Pedersen, P. B. (2006). Preventing prejudice: A guide for counselors, educators, and parents ( 2nd ed.). SAGE Publications.

Poston, W., & S. Carlos. (1990). The biracial identity development model: A needed addition. Journal of Counseling & Development , 69 (2), 152-155.

Remar, P. (1991). Should colleges and universities prohibit ‘hate speech’ on campus? [Paper presentation]. Annual Meeting of Speech Communication Association, Atlanta, GA.

Smith, D. J., & Armstrong, S. (2011). If the world were a village: A book about the world’s people (2nd ed.). Kids Can.

Valdiva, A. N. (1988). Big hair and bigger hoops: Rosie Perez goes to Hollywood. In J. N. Martin, T. K. Nakayama & L. A. Flores (Eds.), Readings in Cultural Contexts . Mayfield.

Wasserman, T. (2014). Digital nomads travel the world while you rot in your office. Mashable .

Wingfield-Hayes, R. (2002, June 29). China’s taste for the exotic. BBC .

Wood, V. (2010, Sept. 11). Victoria Wood political correctness gone mad song . [video]. YouTube.

Intercultural Communication

(14 reviews)

Shannon Ahrndt, University of Missouri-St. Louis

Publisher: University of Missouri - St. Louis

Language: English

Formats Available

Conditions of use.

Learn more about reviews.

Reviewed by Christi Masters, Clinical Associate Professor, Purdue University on 12/19/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This covers a fairly wide range of topics in regard to intercultural learning. For an introductory course (especially geared towards freshmen), this will provide a nice overview of topics. Given the title, I was expecting to see more comprehensive information about culture and communication (e.g., how to communicate more effectively). Chapter 1 covered this more comprehensively than the remaining chapters.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Overall the information is accurate and sources are cited. Writing about this topic can be tricky as we often view this from our own experiences in life, but the author appropriately references material discussed.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The overall topic and broad information is quite relevant. While there are a few examples that are recent, many of the examples (including video clips) were often quite old (and not clearly related to how it is relevant to current times).

Clarity rating: 5

The clarity is excellent. I appreciated how each chapter provides clear learning objectives before getting started. The key terms at the start of each chapter (and being able to click on them for more information) was helpful, especially when thinking of the student perspective.

Consistency rating: 4

Consistency with terminology throughout the text was noted. The consistent start of each chapter with learning objectives and key terminology was helpful. All of the chapters ended with "key takeaways", but two chapters did not include "exercises" at the end of the chapter.

Modularity rating: 5

Although chapter 1 was long and contained more information than others, there were still clear sections and subheadings that aided modularity. Although some of the information builds off previous content/chapters, it would still be feasible to assign a chapter or section and still make sense to the reader and allow for learning based on that specific assignment/chapter.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The text was organized and flowed well while reading. As mentioned previously, the organization of each chapter was helpful (starting with learning objectives and key terms, and ending with key takeaways and exercises).

Interface rating: 5

The images and charts were clear. The key terms and videos were easy to click on and find. There were no distracting features noted.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

A few minor errors but nothing that hindered content or readability.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

Given this is the focus of the text, it covers a range of cultural topics. Again, some of the information/examples are older and it would benefit from more recent examples.

There were many things I appreciated about this text. For example, noting the importance of reflection and reflective practice when it comes to intercultural learning. I wish there was more focus and an explicit statement about intercultural communication competence being a life-long journey - you don't just one day become "competent". While I am sure the author knows that, I think an undergraduate student could read the section on ICC and think there is an "endpoint" where you are finally competent.

Reviewed by Kay L. Colley, Professor of Mass Communication, Texas Wesleyan University on 7/31/23

This book is a comprehensive yet concise read allowing students to really understand the basics of intercultural communication. The glossary provides a great resource for students and anyone who wants to understand how to more effectively... read more

Most intercultural communication texts are written through a lens, so examples veer toward a focus on one area, usually the area of specialization of the author. This text provides a good depth of examples that seem to go beyond your traditional examples in such a text.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The basic theories and concepts of intercultural communication are tackled effectively in this text, and content is fairly up-to-date. As this topic changes so quickly, it is difficult to keep intercultural communications up-to-date, but examples and issues are relevant to today.

This text is well-written and more accessible to students than several other texts I have reviewed. A limit on jargon and clear explanations of complicated topics make the text one that students will use.

Consistency rating: 5

Consistent use of terminology and phrasing is clear throughout the book.

Modularity rating: 4

The first two chapters are a bit long, especially chapter 1. Breaking the chapter into a bite-sized portion would be helpful.

Clear flow and logic are present in this text.

I was impressed by how the text looked. It is clear, attractive and written in a font that makes reading easier.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

There are a few grammatical errors, which is common in most texts today. Nothing is glaring, in terms of grammar, but there are some S-V agreement issues.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The topics that this textbook covers are sometimes hot button. There are some graphics that may be jarring, but that is the nature of intercultural communications. In studying how to communicate effectively across cultures, there are times when issues must be addressed that are uncomfortable.

This textbook is far more accessible to my students than the previous textbook in terms of writing, tone and style. I really believe my students will understand the subject better as they use this text, which is integral to understanding how to communication effectively across cultures.

Reviewed by Marc Pinheiro-Cadd, Associate Professor, Drake University on 12/15/22

While each chapter is of interest and potentially useful for an introductory course to intercultural communication, there is no index and no glossary. This could be addressed using ancillary materials, but it would not suffice as a stand-alone... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

The content is unbiased, taking a "neutral" stance on the various topics. The content is consistent with current research in the field, although there are some missing content that would be useful.

My primary motivation for reviewing the text was to find a better presentation of the chapter on gendered communication, i.e., something that addresses more the interaction between males and females. While the text discusses the LGBTQ+ movement and community, it lacks a thorough discussion of communication within the community and with other communities. While the research in this area has not been largely forthcoming, most instructors will want a text (or replacement chapter) that is more current. A chapter devoted to acculturation might be a useful addition.

The text is very clearly written and 100% appropriate for an introductory course. Studnets who wish for or need material that can be applied directly to their lives without difficult jargon, this would be an appropriate selection.

Assessing this is a little difficult given that there is no index or glossary, but based on my reading, it is consistent. The framework remains consistent in that it is a very user-friendly text.

I believe this is one of the strengths of the text. Individual chapters could be used to supplement or replace chapters of other texts. Alternatively, chapters of this text could be omitted and replaced by others more suitable to the instructor and their students. The divisions internally within each chapter have been well chosen.

The first three chapters of the text are the more "theoretical," although they are easily processed by a reader unfamiliar with the field. The remainder of the chapter address various aspects of human society that face some of the issues addressed in the first three chapters.

There were no interface issues to note. Every chart and image were clearly displayed and easily understood.

No grammatical errors were found.

Race, class, and gender were addressed in individual chapters. A discussion of communication between non-binary and binary/cis individuals would be an appropriate addition. No offensive material was detected.

Having known little about OER prior to the search that led me to this text, I was very pleasantly surprised to discover this text. It will be useful for future iterations of my courses.

Reviewed by Elissa Mitchell, Associate Professor, University of Southern Indiana on 11/18/22

This book covers many areas (e.g., stereotyping, beliefs and values, race and ethnicity, social class, gender and sexuality) so it's diverse enough to be used in a broad course, likely as a supplemental text/reading. Each chapter has a good... read more

Content Accuracy rating: 4

While I am not expert in this field, it appears as though the information in this book is based on the appropriate literature and is supported by in-text citations and linked in the references.

This is an up-to-date discussion of intercultural communication, although I would have liked to have seen more of a discussion on nonverbal communication (an important factor). While language or preferred terms may evolve over time, this could easily be updated to reflect those changes. A list of key terms would be a nice addition to each chapter, perhaps included at the end with the key takeaways.

I found this to be a very well-written text. It is fairly informal, not including a lot of unnecessary jargon, and makes the text accessible (ideal for undergraduates). Personal examples and stories are included which engages the reader.

The text is consistent in terms of formatting, style of writing, and additional content (key takeaways, student exercises) throughout

This is a highly modular text and chapters could easily be used independently without assigning the whole text. Chapters on race or gender, for example, could be used as supplemental readings in courses addressing those topics. The chapters can be a bit long so one might even consider breaking up chapters into subsections.

The text is well-organized and flows well. While some chapters start differently than others, I think that helps break up the monotony of some texts. The book starts with an overview of the topic and then each subsequent chapter talks about a specific aspect of culture or identity.

The text is free of significant interface issues or navigation problems. The images/charts are clear and cited & I appreciate the linked in-text citations.

This is a well-written text with few grammatical issues. Those that are present do not detract from the topic or information being presented.

This is an appropriate book for intercultural communication from an American perspective. Those from other nations would likely have a different view. That being said, the U.S. has many cultures and subcultures and this book does a nice job of discussing potential issues and considerations.

Reviewed by Reslie Cortés, Assistnat Professor, James Madison University on 11/9/22

The information provided and the chapter organization is interesting and good but overall, I think this book is more about identity than culture. It covers very little ground to the extent that I would not be able to keep it as my main book and would only be able to use it to supplement a different text. It is also quite short at only 100 pages. So while it could be used as a helpful reference it’s not a stand-alone text.

Content Accuracy rating: 3

While the book often brings in widely accepted concepts regarding prejudice, there is insufficient/inaccurate discussion of how these function through colonialism. For example, in discussion of social class the author points to overpopulation in the global south. This is a myth borne out of colonial discourse which erases exploitation of these countries and has been widely disproven. We have also moved beyond considering oppression as an individual experience and much more structurally.

Does not extensively use “current events” to explain concepts so it feels very anachronistic. This could increase its longevity but also detaches it from everyday experiences.

Writing style is very clear, accessible, and personable. The author refers to themselves in the third person which I think student would like. Most students should be able to easily digest the reading.

The terminology is consistent, however there is an imbalance in paradigmatic coverage. There seems to be an implied assumption that all intercultural communication research has this critical approach which I feel is very inaccurate and limits the coverage on social scientific or interpretive perspectives in the field. In other words, presenting critical perspectives as the umbrella instead of one approach. I myself am I critical scholar, however in a survey course we must address the other paradigms as well.

Chapters are 25 pages or less with plenty of subsections

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The chapters are divided by different identities and while this contributes to a good flow, there is more to intercultural communication than identity. I fear this organization has excluded some important themes such as cultural space, identity performance, globalization and modern-day imperialism, the role of media, cultural practices, language, etc. Furthermore, while intersectionality is discussed, this organization hampers readers ability to see how these functions because the identities are all discussed separately.

Well placed headers, images, charts. Links work correctly.

None detected

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

There seems to be a hesitance address modern-day colonization and imperialism in this book. Additionally, I think it could be updated by using “enslavement” rather than “slavery”. It discusses important social inequalities at length but mostly at an individual level, leaving out explorations of more structural oppressions. There are also some red flags throughout that reveal internalized oppressive discourse of the author. For example the chapter on social class (only 10pgs or so) talks about criminal justice and uses a photograph of a black man being arrested with no contextualization or discussion of rates of arrest in different communities or police brutality. Literally choosing to include this without drawing its relevance to culture. What was their goal for discussing this topic? Out of touch and completely unacceptable.

Reviewed by Caleb Lamont, Adjunct Faculty in Communication Studies, Eastern Oregon University on 9/9/22

Various topics and theories are explored in the text and present them in a fun and engaging way. Everything is easy to understand throughout and students are able to see how one topic connects to another one. read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Everything was accurate and relatable to the students.

Everything is very relevant and up-to-date. Granted, some things might need to be revised down the road in future editions to make things more relatable and current but as of today, everything was fine and relevant.

Everything was very easy to understand and flowed clearly from chapter to chapter.

The author was consistent throughout.

Overall, everything is easy to understand throughout and is a solid text the way it is today. Everything flows and builds off of previous chapters/topics.

The text is very well organized and everything flows from the first chapter to the last chapter.

No issues with this, no broken links were found.

While not a major issue, there were several typos and other grammatical errors in the text. Not a major issue at all though, and it did not take away from the material being presented to students.

The examples used were all current and relatable to students but it was more geared toward North American culture it seemed. Expanding the cultural examples being used is suggested for future revisions.

Overall, this is a solid text and does a great job presenting information to students.

Reviewed by Andrea (Ané) Pearman, Assistant Professor, Tidewater Community College on 7/28/22

Although the text covers a vast amount of content, there are foundational aspects of ICC that are not addressed as well as I would prefer. There appears to be a more sociological or cultural anthropology focus to this text and less of a focus on the field of communication. For example, nonverbal communication was barely addressed yet it plays such a significant role in ICC.

I appreciate the listing of key terms at the beginning of each chapter as well as the direct links between the listing and the content within the chapter. I would recommend a well-structured glossary as an addition to this text or a detailed index to the entire text for reference; this would make content even more accessible for students. I appreciate the inclusion (which is not rather standard process) of learning objectives for each chapter but I do not always see the connection within the chapters.

Content, without copiously scrutinizing each chapters’ content and fact checking each and every single reference, appears to be accurate. The author cites sources at the end of each chapter and within the content of the chapters. Links to source citations are added within each chapter’s content for credibility and to enhance further research. I appreciated the links within the "References" section for each chapter to easily access original source content.

Overall, the language of the writing does not tend to “date” the content as the author has written with “timeless” language. The author includes both historical and current examples which may impact the long-term relevance of the text. The inclusion of incredibly current content (text written in 2020 with sources from 2020) may help this text stand the test of time. The language is current and there is a good inclusion of up-to-date examples of some concepts discussed within some of the content (particularly in the Ch. 7 Socialization and Human Sexuality). These examples could easily be updated to keep the content as current as possible.

Clarity rating: 4

The chapters are clearly written with the author’s writing style being very “readable” and I feel that this puts the readers at ease regarding the content. The author’s language is written at a level easily accessible for both higher and lower-level undergraduate course students. The author uses anecdotes and personal examples to make the content more “relatable” and the author tries to create connections with students, overall, with the language style of the writing. However, the somewhat heavy reliance on personal examples by the author can take away from the overall research value- for me, as a reader.

The chapters’ language, formatting and content follow a consistent pattern. I appreciate the use of key terms, learning objectives, photo boxes, “getting real” and “getting plugged in “sections, key takeaways, examples, video links and one level of sub-heading throughout each chapter. I would even value a further level of sub-heading, if possible, in future editions. The flow of content is logical and consistent, but some chapters are significantly longer or include more content than others which requires the professor to break down into addition reading sections for students.

In the text’s current organization, the chapters seem to flow logically into each other or lead logically to the next chapter’s content. Having said this, the chapters are structured in a manner that they can easily be rearranged for teaching style and timing. The subdivision of content with secondary headers within the chapters makes it easier to “pick and choose” if necessary, content to be addressed.

As previously noted, some chapters contain considerably more content than others and this could be modified with either adding more chapters OR more content to other chapters. The flow of content is logical and well-structured. There is consistency in the content included with the exception of some chapters including more pedagogical aids than others.

Interface rating: 4

Basic but, overall, easy to use. Downloadable pdf with links (but it’s easy to lose your original place of reading when using links). Although I appreciate the links for key words and source information, the “open in another tab” option is not available, but it would make the process easier to return to prior reading place.

I did not review the text as an editor nor run through editing software, but I did notice a few slight grammatical issues present; the errors were nominal and none that would impact the author’s credibility.

The examples were very current as well as relevant and, overall, would relate to, or at least interest, students. I found the book to be sensitive to a variety of aspects of culture but found it to be somewhat “American-centric” meaning it was more relevant to North America than subcultures of other geographic areas (like Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe).

I found the text to be an enjoyable read and I think students would find value in the content included. I appreciated the key term links and exercises for students as well as the personal anecdotes of the author. While the coverage of intercultural communication from a sociological perspective was quite thorough, I would not be able to use this as a “stand alone” source for my Intercultural Communication courses but would need to supplement with additional content regarding communication theories as well as more content from cultures outside of the United States.

Reviewed by Sweta Baniya, Assistant Professor, Virginia Tech on 4/1/22

The book is less comprehensive than I thought. Though it covers a variety of important topics, I wanted some comprehensive historical grounding of IC and its importance. read more

The book is less comprehensive than I thought. Though it covers a variety of important topics, I wanted some comprehensive historical grounding of IC and its importance.

All content seems accurate.

Content is very relevant

The language is really clear.

Information is very consistent. However, I think the history of IC is missing.

I think so! I like the format.

It seems like there are so many items within one page but those are easily identifiable.

No issues that I can think of

None that I can see.

I think the book is really good. However, I think I wanted a comprehensive history of intercultural communication that will help the students to understand the grounding of IC. I do think the book is really good. However, I am not so confident in using only this text as my major text for my class. The chapter on Race and Ethnicity is really important. I will definitely assign some chapters from the book to my future IC class because the book has important topics.

Reviewed by Gloria Wenman, Adjunct Instructor, English Language Acquisition, Kirkwood Community College on 12/15/21

The textbook covers a wide range of the American cultural landscape. It explains the history of certain issues with tact while also conveying the good and bad of historical figures and impactful decisions (historical as in the past few to many years ago). Explanations are placed with the initiation of a concept. This is convenient as it alleviates the need to grab another book to find the meaning. At times, explanations are tied back to previous concepts to help with understanding, e.g., “the socializing institutions we discussed earlier…” The table of contents could be revised to include headings within each chapter. This would help the reader to see at a glance all that a chapter focuses on, rather than just the chapter's main thesis.

While most of the content consists of statements of fact, the author's opinions are obvious in the words used to examine different concepts. It is usually clear when the author's own viewpoint is being expressed. The content is well referenced with a discussion of the sourced information. In-text citations are linked to the reference page. Most of the references are linked to the originating document. This makes it easy to fact-check a discussed concept or approach. A random sampling showed that the author stayed true to the represented ideas of the linked articles.

Very few ‘currently trending’ words or phrases are used thus lessening the need for interpretation. This lends to the relevance of the material as it prevents ‘dating’ of the material. Much of the textbook is tied to the historical beginnings of certain outcomes. While the interpretation of these may change, hopefully, the facts won’t. When combined with common use words, this will keep the textbook from being outdated within the next decade (as is the case with many printed books).

The author's style of writing helps the reader understand the different approaches used. The contained concepts are well defined and considered from several perspectives. It is also written with good sentence structure and paragraph placement making for a clearer understanding of theories, opinions, and explanations. Headers, sub-headers, and highlighting help to simplify content and connections.

The style of writing is consistent throughout the textbook. Words, phrases, and concepts of the same level of proficiency are conveyed in a similar manner throughout. Chapters are laid out in the same pattern making it easy to pinpoint references, suggested learning outcomes, key terms, key takeaways, and student exercises. The flow of the chapters is similar without any jarring (or chaotic) changes. The call-backs to previous chapters or discussions help to connect the entirety of the communication concept between and within different American ideals, beliefs, and systems.

Moving through the book in a linear fashion allows certain aspects to bloom in a particular way. However, the author’s way of developing the textbook does allow for segmentation. Chapters could be subdivided with the extractions combined in different ways. This helps home in on certain facets that may be at the forefront of common thought, the news of the day, or the planned focus of a class. This makes it easier to pick and choose which portions to use in classroom discussions. While each chapter has a set focus, some of the concepts do overlap. This helps with flow and understanding but may make it more difficult to subdivide without seeming fragmentary.

The textbook is organized into overall categories then subdivided into specific areas of focus. This continuity of structure helps the reader move from one aspect, or focus, of the chapter to another. However, some chapters begin with a story of a recent event, others start with consideration of different research, and yet others begin with an expressed opinion. While this might lend an interesting diversity, it impacts the flow between chapters. This keeps the textbook from being as useful of a classroom tool as it could be. Some chapters have questions after the opening foray, but most do not. The questions are useful because they make the reader immediately question their own biases. They also provide a great starting point for discussion-based classes.

Interface rating: 3

Links within the document help with understanding. The links allow you to click on a keyword or reference and be taken to the definition or usage within the textbook. Getting back to your starting point is not as easy due to the necessity of scrolling back. Clicking on a picture byline or reference did not result in the same issue. Hitting the back button returns you to the exact place in the textbook you left. Perhaps the issue is only true of links within the document rather than those linked to outside sources. While this aspect is probably true of many online documents, having a link that goes backward and forwards could alleviate this.

There are some dropped words, such as indirect articles, and some awkward word usage. However, I didn’t read it with the intent of proofreading, and the meaning and intent appear clear.

The dynamics and inter-connectedness of the different aspects of American culture are well explored. The textbook is somewhat limited to those already in or wishing to integrate into, the existing stratified American culture or to better understand their place(s) in it. For those coming to this country with the wish to understand the culture, and not change their own, this is a great overall introduction. However, while there may be commonalities between cultures, the book doesn’t consider outside backgrounds and cultures.

The textbook is focused on the intersectionality within American culture. It is more intracultural than intercultural. I had looked at this textbook for possible use in an English Language Acquisitions’ Culture and Communication class. This is a high-level class, and in the next lowest (in a progression-based system) we discuss a person’s culture of familiarity in comparison with the American culture. When I first looked at this book, it seemed to be a possibility. After more in-depth consideration though, I don’t think it will work for helping students to understand the American culture as it relates to their own. Thanks to the decent modularity, there are many facets that I can use. I just can’t use it as a whole class. I think this textbook is great, and I certainly like it for its inclusivity of American’s varied cultures.

Reviewed by Kristen Livingston, Associate Instructional Professor, Pittsburg State University on 6/3/21

Very dense- all encompassing and dare I even say "loaded" with all of the connecting ideologies to sociological foundations. I worry that it is not effective in communication practices but may be helpful understanding people which is how connections in communication may be made. I would reduce the overwhelming focus on descriptions and focus on what intercultural means in terms of communication. Intercultural communication can be an overwhelming subject and this may encourage more anxiety with the topic. The key terms would benefit including definitions at the beginning or the end of the chapters to help reiterate the importance of those in relation to intercultural communication. The exercises are helpful to generate discussion/reiteration of content.

The content, in accordance with best practices, theoretical framing, and academic acknowledgments, is referenced adequately. The citations at the end of each chapter clarify anything within the text that may encourage questioning. Intercultural communication is heavily reliant on experience as much as academics- I know this may not be a popular "opinion. Thus, this text does a good job collecting information to help further a classroom discussion.

Since intercultural is tangible and reliant on those individuals communicating, this book is relatively up to date but will not adjusted often. It is helpful to have the historical timelines, case studies, and the author's references to aid in the exploration of content. It will be up to the instructor to guide students through the text and engage them with approaches to understanding the content. It helps to know where we have come from to know where the discussion will allocate further in the classroom.

The seven chapters are clearly written, organized, and offer context for the terminology used throughout the text. It is easy to read, navigate, and connects the subject matter from chapter to chapter. I would appreciate a bit more connectivity to student learning and an understanding that this can be very overwhelming (which at times I felt was without during my reading).

The text is consistent, has a clear identity in reading, and flows from one subject to the next. Some chapters don't have the abundance of student inclusion (exercises) but that may be due to the subject matter in question. It does a good job in framing ideologies, given how the text pulls from a variety of resources, and condenses into a relatively unified voice.

The chapters can be divided easily throughout a semester or a summer course. Given the lengths of chapters, some information may need to be reduced by the instructor through picking and choosing the most important content (due to how much content there is overall). How each chapter is divided into sections is helpful to for discussions and assignments.

The textbook is organized in an easy "map" formation that will lend to understanding one topic to the next. The subject builds upon itself to help set tone, standards, and understanding before moving on.

Everything worked, links were not broken, and imagery was clear without pixelation.

There were some typos that I caught during my brief experience with the text (however, due to how dense the material is, I am not surprise).

This text is HIGHLY relevant and is inclusive by default of subject matter. However, all examples, case studies, and references help to monitor and recognize all aspects of intercultural exploration.

This is a well-written book that just needs some minor considerations as an adoption in class. I think an instructor can cherry pick the materials from this text OR ultimately will choose to create content themselves from OER resources. Overall, I would recommend but each instructor should recognize how much material is embodied in the text, the scope of the text in seven chapters, and what they would like their students to learn most importantly.

Reviewed by Noel Neptune, Lecturer/Clinical Education Coordinator, University of Southern Maine on 3/31/21

Covers the content expected. I appreciate all the works cited sections at the end of the chapters as well to see their references. I think a section at the beginning of each chapter defining key terms would be beneficial. I also like the explanation of some of the exercises that have been used when looking at cultural awareness. It provides a lot of resources to look into to use for courses.

I believe the content is accurate and free of bias, but there are several points in the book that the author tells their own story. I think these would make better boxed out discussion or authors thoughts rather than in the middle of the text. The author also lists all of their references.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

The content is up to date but I think many of the sections and references will seem poorly written as time goes on (refers to things in recent history, etc...). I do like the historic timelines of important dates and those will be easy to update. But the in-text references will be harder to update.

Fairly clear but I think a chapter in the beginning that clearly defined key words, or having tabs off of the text to do so would be helpful. Some of the definitions of terms you had to read the whole section to decipher the authors definition. Also, lots of first person story telling. I like the stories, but think they should be separated from the researched information.

The author is consistent throughout the entire book.

The text is obviously divided but I think it may even be more beneficial to break into even smaller segments. I like books that make it easy to break up the reading into small segments with clear places you can stop and resume at later dates. This does have several subsections you can do this with in some chapters but others it doesn't work as well. Chapter 1 is a bit too long and reads dry.

Topics are all introduced but I find the flow of the book a bit choppy for some reason. It might be because the book jumps from personal story to research, then to definitions and back and forth.

I did not have any issues with interface with the online text.

No issues that I noticed but I will admit, this is not my strong point.

It is a book about Intercultural Communications. It can't get much more culturally relevant than that. The examples the text used are all relevant to evaluating cultural awareness and competence.

I like the exercises at the end of the chapters. I also enjoy the authors personal notes, just wish they were introduced outside of the chapter reading. I would also add a list of terms and definitions at the beginning of the chapter for quick reference. Overall a good text. My biggest concern is the amount of timely references made in the book and how they will hold up and read with time.

Reviewed by Cory Geraths, Visiting Assistant Professor of Rhetoric, Wabash College on 2/28/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 2 see less

This book, unfortunately, is not comprehensive. The textbook proposes a focus on intercultural communication and, while this is a recurring theme throughout (particularly in the opening chapter), much of the content focuses more on the "intercultural" side of "intercultural communication." The selections compiled by the editor into this text stem largely from Sociology and, while this is helpful to a degree from the perspective of interdisciplinarity, Communication teachers looking to use this book in an Intercultural Communication course will find the book quite light in terms of explicit focus on communication theories, practices, and situations. The text does not include an index, though it does include highlighted key terms throughout. Such terms are also noted at the outset of each chapter alongside core learning objectives. Each chapter also ends with a bulleted summary of key themes and most chapters (there is an inconsistency here) also include some exercises for students. Unfortunately, the learning objectives and summaries are often quite lengthy; a more refined list of student goals and key takeaways would be helpful.

The book does not contain, to my eye, significant issues in accuracy of content. The primary issue, as noted elsewhere in this review, stems from the need for a richer focus on Communication Studies as a discipline, broadly, and Intercultural Communication as a rich subfield of that discipline, specifically. Of particular concern, in my view, is that multiple chapters (namely, Ch. 5 on class and Ch. 7 on sexuality) lack a rich engagement with scholarship and other evidence. Rather than drawing upon work by academics and others, these chapters rely primarily on Wiki sources. And, while such sources can be useful as sites for general information, they lack a needed rigor and richness in the context of a textbook to be assigned to students.

This textbook is inconsistent in terms of relevance. At times, examples are up-to-date (as in parts of Ch. 7 on sexuality). More often than not, however, the data marshaled and the examples proffered in this book lack a necessary recency. There are, for instance, multiple occasions where data is marshaled from the 1990s or 2000s. Such data is not explicitly connected to the present moment or even a more recent moment. It is, instead, used without sufficient context in a way that is troubling and would, in my view, lead a faculty member assigning this textbook to have to fill in the gaps on her own.

The seven chapters compiled by the editor into this text are, by and large, clearly written. Terms are clearly defined and highlighted, and the book appears as one would expect a textbook to appear. The prose is accessible was easy to follow. At times, however, I would have appreciated more explicit engagement with the student audience. It is not always clear that these chapters conceive of students as the primary audience; for instance, this is more common in Ch. 1 and Ch. 2 and much less so in later chapters.

By and large, the textbook has a clear flow and is consistent in terms of terminology and framework. Because the chapters are taken from a variety of original open-access sources, however, there are occasional repeats in key terms and the style of language/prose is not always as consistent as one would like. Moreover, as noted elsewhere in this review, there are a few chapters that lack exercises for students at the end.

The textbook can certainly be divided into modules over the arc of a semester, quarter, or other class. I wish, though, that the chapters were more even in length. Ch. 1 and Ch. 2 are quite dense, and would likely need to be split up over a few days (depending on the level of the course and one's students). The latter chapters, on the other hand, were quite short and, at times, led to me desiring more information, content, and examples. That said, chapters all contain helpful subheadings and would be easily assigned to students in this regard.

Yes. The textbook, as compiled, moves from overarching theory in the beginning chapters to more specific subject areas. This makes sense at a logical level.

Yes. I found no significant issues with the interface. Links (at least those I clicked, worked) and images, charts, and figures were clear on the pages.

There are a handful of grammatical errors in this text. I noticed a few typos, words missing or out of order, and so forth. By and large, however, this is not a distracting issue.

I found no significant issues here. The textbook works purposefully to cite examples across identity categories and life experiences.

I went into my reading of this text hopeful that I could assign it in a forthcoming upper-division Intercultural Communication course. I am, however, disappointed with the end product due to the reasons that I have noted above. And, for those reasons, I will look elsewhere for an open-access text on intercultural communication.

Reviewed by Kerric Harvey, Associate Professor, The George Washington University on 1/15/21

This is not just a comprehensive assemblage of material about the topic, but it actually stretches the conventional boundaries of "intercultural communications" in the best way possible -- and in a way that is long overdue. Intercultural communication, as a field, has always been one of those subjects best approached as a "praxis," a vibrant, supple, dynamic combination of theory and practice that must react to changes in the "real world" just as nimbly as it responds to the development of new concepts and hypotheses. As such, any textbook in this discipline must be sensitive to shifting social values and cultural conventions to a degree that isn’t necessarily the case with other dimensions of communications studies, per se. Ahrndt’s text fulfils this requirement at the Olympic level. She not only covers the best and most enduring of the legacy material, but expands what “intercultural” means to include sub-divisions within the American “body cultural,” including LGBTQ+ populations, hearing impaired, differently-abled, gender fluid, religious, and other affinity groups not usually addressed in a text of this sort. She also addresses the “intercultural” communication dynamics among African-American, Native American, and Latinex, and several types of Asian, Arab, and Indian sub-continent populations whose immigrants and American-born descendants interact with Americans of European descent.

Interpreting the word “accuracy” to mean the degree to which the text presents without error the theories, concepts, specialized vocabularies, relevant canonical literatures, and real-world case studies used to create a teaching instrument, this text is remarkably accurate across a wide range of core and cognate fields and sub-fields of intercultural communication. The author also does an excellent job with the photograph captions that pepper the text, providing clear, concise, but comprehensive commentary for these illustrations that accurately capture the political context of the events, issues, and objects they depict without overt editorializing or, at the other extreme, falling back on such vapid, "pro forma" descriptions that the captions rob the photos of their cultural vibrancy. Not being able to fact-check the entire text, I can’t guarantee that single piece of information it contains is correct in all ways, but I didn’t see any conspicuous errors, or even anything that suggested less than scrupulous attention to factual detail.

This is an extra-ordinarily relevant text. It’s really the model for understanding what “culture” means in the 21st century, especially in pluralistic societies and taking into account the meta-societies created by the emerging acceptance of multiple identities on many dimensions. Even the case studies are contemporary to the moment (this review is being written in January 2021), including as they do references to the Marriage Equality Act, the Summer of Ferguson, Take Back the Night, the Parks 51 controversy, and on-going tensions about Confederate flags and statues. Although as time progresses and events continue to unfold, these “teaching examples” might diminish in terms of their immediacy, they will still provide emotionally accessible insights into tensions, topics, and events that will retain salience for a very long time to come. The text can also be easily amended to augment the current material with anecdotes and information that “brings it up to speed” in subsequent editions.

One of the real joys of reviewing this text was how easy it was to read. The author moves along at a lively rate without short-changing important concepts or down-grading important theories into superficial versions of themselves. Instead, she condenses material without diminishing it, and does so using clear, approachable language that is deftly crafted and judiciously punctuated. Ideas are presented in digestible form and linked concepts are explored without falling into cumbersome, complicated grammatical constructions. Every chapter begins with a list of “key words” and any technical language or specialty vocabulary is explained organically within the text as it flows from point to point.

This book is very consistent in terms of tone and authorial approach as well as structure and organization. Each chapter is organized the same way, utilizing the same elements, and the informational content itself is recognizably the same authorial “voice” all throughout the work. Terminology remains consistent throughout the entire text, as well.

This book would be very easy to use as a course text. It’s broken up into subject-specific chapters that make intuitive sense, and each chapter is well-organized in a way that would translate easily to classroom presentation. Chapters build on each other as the book unfolds, but not to the extent that would prohibit instructors from re-arranging the chapters according to a different course organization, or using some and not others. This useful modularity continues within each chapter itself, in that instructors can avail themselves of all that each chapter offers, or can extract chapter sub-sections that can still stand on their own as teaching tools.

This book is very well-organized, in a way that leverages its modularity while simultaneously making it easy to use as a fully intact text, in its entirety. Specifically, each chapter begins with information about the source of the material within it, followed by a list of keywords and the learning objectives for that chapter. This is followed by the central material, augmented along the way with exercises, illustrations, relevant tables and graphs, and magazine-style “sidebars” in which the author raises pertinent questions or provides a more granulated look at the chapter’s main issues through a short “case study-like” story. Each chapter concludes with an executive summary of “key takeaways,” a chapter bibliography, and more structured and elaborate student exercises.

As far as I can tell, there are no serious problems with the technological interfaces or the various links associated with this book. It’s an especially nice feature to be able to click on citations to add immediate texture and enhancement to what’s being covered in the text at hand.

I didn’t find any grammatical issues in the text. There were a few instances of odd spacing and of double-words, although I strongly suspect that’s a casualty of my own computer clunky “reading” of the pdf rather than something that’s actually there in the text itself. I did notice that the word “Dutch” was not capitalized in the caption for the photo of Tiger Woods.

This book is absolutely culturally sensitive – in fact, I’d call it an exemplary model of how to do that well and gracefully. It’s also wonderfully diverse in the author’s attention to breaking up monolithic labels for what are rightfully heterogeneous populations. For example, she writes eloquently and sensitively about the diverse as well as the shared immigration experiences of the variety of Spanish-speaking peoples in the United States today, noting contrasts among Mexican, Puerto Rican, Central American, and other Latino and Latina groups. She repeats this useful approach several times, even when discussing the social biographies and the residual communication environments for different types of European immigrants. In subsequent editions, I’d love to see her complexify her discussion of the Native American experience a little more, focusing perhaps on the meaningful linguistic differences as well as cultural norms among different tribal groups and addressing the special situations faced by reservations in the Far North, as well as those on which casinos are located, a challenging setting for intercultural communication if ever there was one. Another place where what she’s already doing well could be expanded would be a bit more material on the escalating presence of immigrants from the Indian sub-continent, especially the women who are making such remarkable contributions to American science and medicine.

This is a highly readable, deeply sensitive, excitingly contemporary text. It preserves the best of the field’s canon while simultaneously introducing culturally salient, socially relevant, and intellectually invigorating new material that is highly relatable for today’s students and easily adaptable to a wide range of courses. I’m so taken with it that I’m already trying to figure out how I can use it in the courses I already teach, or use it as a springboard into ones I’ve yet to develop.

Reviewed by Jackie Mosley, Associate Professor, University of Arkansas on 1/6/21, updated 2/2/21

I have yet to find a textbook that fits with my Cultural Competence course, and this might just be the one! This text covers various theories of cultural competence, without going into a "boring theories section", which is difficult to find. The material is presented in an easy way for my undergraduate students to comprehend with tangible examples, rather than larger concepts and ideas that are often boring or more difficult to understand.

Content is timely and accurate.

This book is super relevant right now, and could be utilized in so many different types of social sciences courses. This text was written in 2020, which is imperative, given the current climate in the United States and has timely topics related to cultural events.

Text is very easy to comprehend, especially for undergraduate students in introductory courses related to cultural competence.

Consistent terms and material.

I love that the Learning Objectives are very clear and then what major terms will be focused on in the module - very helpful for readers (students) and faculty who want to organize for their own class. I also enjoy the Takeaways at the end of the module that are bulleted - easier to read quickly vs. a large paragraph of a summary. I think students would enjoy this too.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

I feel that the material (especially in the 1st module) jumps around and covers a lot of material, that I'm not quite sure how I would adapt in my own classroom. It will make it difficult to specify which pages to read (or sections), but it is do-able. Just wish introductory terms were focused on first, and then go into more of the contextual issues later. But I also recognize, each curricula is organized by an Instructor's own preferences; and I may try to use the organization of this text for my class, is possible.

I enjoyed being able to click on citations or other images to discover more; very useful for an online textbook. I do wish there was a way to "highlight" specific things you like in the text that students can see, basically the Instructor telling students what is most important to read (I've seen this in other platforms and really enjoyed that).

No grammar issues.

Inclusive book to all types of identities and communities related to cultural competence in the United States in today's modern age.

Overall, this book is perfect for any course on cultural competence or diversity, equity and inclusion. It covers all the major groups/communities in the US; however, it could use more research and discussion on other diversity issues: ageism, body size issues and neuro-diversity.

CHAPTER 1: Introduction to Intercultural Communication
CHAPTER 2: Social Categorization, Stereotyping, and Discrimination
CHAPTER 3: Beliefs, Values, and Cultural Universals
CHAPTER 4: Introduction to Race and Ethnicity
CHAPTER 5: The Impacts of Social Class
CHAPTER 6: Gender and Gender Inequality
CHAPTER 7: Socialization and Human Sexuality

Ancillary Material

About the book.

Intercultural Communication examines culture as a variable in interpersonal and collective communication. It explores the opportunities and problems arising from similarities and differences in communication patterns, processes, and codes among various cultural groups. It explores cultural universals, social categorization, stereotyping and discrimination, with a focus on topics including race, ethnicity, social class, religion, gender and sexuality as they relate to communication.

About the Contributors

Shannon Ahrndt , University of Missouri-St. Louis

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6 Ch. 6: Nonverbal Communication

Ch. 6: nonverbal communication, learning objectives.

By the end of this chapter, readers should:

Define nonverbal communication, understanding the differences between verbal and nonverbal communication.
Describe the messages that nonverbal behavior communicates.
Explain various types of nonverbal behavior using appropriate terms.
Understand and observe cultural differences in nonverbal behavior.
Understand the potential for intercultural miscommunication due to nonverbal behavior.

Key Vocabulary

Nonverbal messages, mixed messages, nonverbal communication codes, facial expressions, illustrators, conversation distance, intimate space, social space, personal space, public space, contact vs. noncontact, monochronic cultures, polychronic cultures, halo vs. horn effect, cultural space, environment.

You might have studied a second language for many years, and considered yourself fluent, but still find it difficult to communicate with others when you travel to a country where that second language is spoken. Most of us have to live within a culture before we learn the nonverbal communication aspects of culture. Learning nonverbal communication is important and challenging. It’s important because much communication meaning is conveyed nonverbally, and challenging because nonverbal communication is often multi-channeled and culture-specific.

Human beings all have the capacity to make the same gestures and expressions, but not all of those gestures and expressions have the same meaning across cultural boundaries. Types of nonverbal communication vary considerably based on culture and country of origin. Every culture interprets posture, gestures, eye contact, facial expressions, vocal noises, use of space, degree of territory, and time differently.

Principles of Nonverbal Communication

Nonverbal communication is those aspects of communication, such as gestures and facial expressions, that do not involve verbal communication, but which may include nonverbal aspects of speech itself such as accent, tone of voice, and speed of speaking (Dictionary.com 3/3/19). In other words, nonverbal communication is communication through means other than language. A famous study by Albert Mehrabian (1971) found that 93% of communication meaning comes from nonverbal communication. Mehrabian posited that 7% came from the words, 38% through vocal elements, and 55% from through other elements such as facial expressions, posture, gestures, etc. More recent studies have indicated that determining the impact of nonverbal elements on communication meaning is extremely difficult, and results can vary from 60-93%.

In the bigger picture, the exact results don’t matter as much as the fact that nonverbal communication can contribute to well-over half of the emotional or relational meaning of any given message. However you look at it, nonverbal elements are crucial to the study of communication. When comparing verbal and nonverbal communication, it’s important to remember that both are symbolic, and both communicate meaning, but other aspects differ greatly.

Two athletes who speak different languages communicate with hand gestures at a world championship.

Nonverbal Communication Uses Multiple Channels

When we use verbal communication, we use words, and we transmit through one channel at a time. We can speak words, read words, type words, or listen to words, but the channel is words. Nonverbally, when I talk to a friend, I listen to my friend’s tone of voice, I watch my friend’s facial expressions, use of eye contact, and gestures, and possibly touch them (multiple channels) all while trying to make sense of the words (one channel). Or to impress a possible romantic partner, I dress up in my most flattering clothes, put on cologne or perfume, fix my hair, and laugh at their jokes to indicate my interest in them.

Nonverbal Communication is More Ambiguous

Unlike most verbal communication, nonverbal communication and its meanings are primarily learned unconsciously. A smile can express friendliness, comfort, nervousness, and sarcasm, just as catching someone’s eye can convey intimacy, humor, or a challenge, depending on the situation. This ambiguity can pose difficulties for the interpretation of messages—especially across cultural boundaries. Chances are you have had many experiences where words were misunderstood, or where the meaning of words was unclear. When it comes to nonverbal communication, meaning is even harder to discern. We can sometimes tell what people are communicating through their nonverbal communication, but there is no foolproof “dictionary” of how to interpret nonverbal messages.

Some nonverbal behaviors are learned as part of being socialized into a culture. In the United States, we often shake hands when meeting someone new in a formal situation. Words such as “hi, I’m Karen” along with a firm handshake are general expectations in business settings. Or, “it was so nice to meet you” and another firm handshake at parting.

Nonverbal Communication Has Fewer Rules

One reason that nonverbal communication is more ambiguous than verbal communication is because it is governed by fewer rules—and most of those will be informal norms. Verbal communication has literally thousands of rules governing grammar, spelling, pronunciation, usage, meaning, and more. Yes, your parents might tell you to “it’s not polite to stare at people,” but most of these declarations are considered models of good behavior and not something that dictates the meaning of a communication act.

Popular culture is filled with references to “body language” and promises that you can read your boss/lover/parent/friend like a book by the end of the article/tweet/video. Because nonverbal communication is ambiguous, has fewer rules, and co-creates meaning with verbal communication, it would be impossible to teach a universal shorthand for interpreting how individuals express attitudes and emotions through their bodies. There is not a universal code used that could be considered as a “language of the body” with conventionalized meanings which equate to the components that constitute spoken language (Haller & Peeters, retrieved 2/13/19).

Nonverbal Messages Communicate Emotions and Meaning

When we interact with others, we monitor many channels besides their words to determine meaning. Where does a wink start and a nod end? Nonverbal communication involves the entire body, the space it occupies and dominates, the time it interacts, and not only what is not said, but how it is not said. Nonverbal action flows almost seamlessly from one to the next, creating an intention of meaning in the mind of the receiver.

Nonverbal communication often gives our thoughts and feelings away before we are even aware of what we are thinking or how we feel. People may see and hear more than you ever anticipated. Your nonverbal communication includes both intentional and unintentional messages, but since it all happens so fast, the unintentional ones can contradict what you know you are supposed to say or how you are supposed to react.

Our reliance on nonverbal communication becomes even more intense when people display mixed messages or verbal and nonverbal behaviors that convey contradictory meanings (Burgoon & Hoobler, 2002). In such cases, we almost always trust the nonverbal message over the verbal one as nonverbal behavior is believed to operate at the unconscious level. Still, we often assign intentional motives to nonverbal communication when in fact their meaning is unintentional, and hard to interpret.

Nonverbal behavior also communicates status and power. Touch, posture, gestures, use of space and territory, are good indicators of how power is distributed in the relationship, and the perks that status brings. And although research indicates that deceptive behaviors are idiosyncratic to particular individual people, the interplay between verbal and nonverbal can help receivers determine deception.

Nonverbal Communication is Influenced by Culture

The close bond between culture and nonverbal communication makes true intercultural communication difficult to master. Yes, some cues can be learned, but because nonverbal is ambiguous and has fewer rules, it takes most people many years of immersion within a culture before they can fully understand the subtle meanings encompassed within that culture’s nonverbal communication (Chen & Starosta, 2005).

In a 2009 meeting with the emperor of Japan, then president Barak Obama, bowed rather deeply in greeting. US conservative commentators called the bow ‘treasonous’ while former vice-president, Dick Cheney, believed that “there was no reason for an American president to bow to anyone” (Slate, retrieved 3/8/19). The Japanese press, on the other hand, acknowledged the bow as a sign of respect, but believed the 45 degree bend or ‘seikeirei’ bow to be much more exaggerated than it needed to be.

Nonverbal and Verbal Communication Work Together to Create Communication

Despite the differences between verbal and nonverbal forms of communication, and the importance of nonverbal noted by Mehrabian and others, both forms are essential. They both work together to create meaning (Jones & LeBaron, 2002). As communicators, we do not experience or express them separately, but rather jointly to create meaning (Birdwhistell, 1973). We need both to communicate competently. Nonverbal communication can reinforce, substitute for, and contradict verbal communication, but it can never be the words—and we need the words as that tip of the iceberg to have a focus for the meaning and feelings that are being displayed.

Types of Nonverbal Behaviors or Codes

One reason that nonverbal communication is so rich with information is that humans use so many different aspects of behavior, appearance, and environment to convey meaning. Scholars call the different means used for transmitting information nonverbal communication codes (Burgoon & Hoobler, 2002). The seven general codes for nonverbal communication are: kinesics, vocalics, proxemics, haptics, chronemics, physical appearance, artifacts, and environment.

The cultural patterns embedded in nonverbal codes should be used not as stereotypes for all members of particular cultures, but rather as tentative guidelines or examples to help you understand the great variation of nonverbal behavior in humans. Bodenhausen, Todd & Richeson (2009) remind us that prejudice is often based on certain aspects of nonverbal behavior such as appearance. Reread chapter XXX for a reminder how prejudice can hinder the communication process.

Kinesics is thought by some to be the richest nonverbal code in terms of its power to communicate meaning, kinesics includes most of the behaviors we usually associate with nonverbal communication. The word kinesics comes from the Greek word, kinesis , meaning “movement,” and includes facial expressions, eye contact, gestures, and posture.
Facial Expressions communicate an endless stream of emotions, and we make judgements about what others are feeling by assessing their faces . Our use of emoticons to communicate attitudes and emotions in electronic media testifies to the importance of this type of kinesics. In fact, some scholars argue that facial expressions rank first among all forms of communication (Knapp & Hall, 2002). Cultural rules often regulate facial expressions . You might have been taught that smiles are universal, but that simply is not true. Most human beings can smile, but cultures value and interpret smiles in different ways. In other words, the meaning behind a smile is not universal. For example, in Russian, people do not smile because it implies that you are foolish, or possibly sneaky and manipulative. Even family photos, adults often appear with flat or scowling faces. Many Hispanic cultures prefer a proud and elegant facial appearance, which does not include smiling. In Japan, smiling is a way to show respect or to hide what you are actually feeling. In the United States, we smile to show a pleasant face to the people around us, to express happiness, gratitude, and even when we are nervous. We often tend to smile for the purposes of getting along with others (Solomon, 2017).
Eye contact , or Oculesics , serves many purposes. We use our eyes to express emotions, regulate a conversation, indicate listening behavior, show interest in others, respect, status, hostility, and aggression (Burgoon, Buller & Woodall, 1996). Patterns of eye contact vary significantly by culture. Generally, eye contact is considered a good thing in the United States. It can mean that you are interested, confident, and bold (a good thing), but people often avoid eye contact in crowded, impersonal situations such as walking down a busy street or riding a crowded bus. In France, however, someone may feel free to watch someone interesting on the street and consciously make eye contact to indicate interest. In the Middle East, direct eye contact is less common and generally less appropriate, whereas lack of eye contact in Asia is often a sign of respect and considered polite.
Gestures are arm and hand movements used for communication . There are at least four different kinds of gestures that we should consider: emblems , illustrators , regulators , and adaptors . The type of gesture known as emblems represent a specific verbal meaning and can replace or reinforce words (Ekman, 1976). If you are driving down a busy highway in the United States, and another driver quickly changes lanes in front of your car, making you hit the brakes, you can flip them off to easily convey meaning without using any words at all. With emblems, gestures and its verbal meaning are interchangeable, but they are also very culturally specific. If the person who changed lanes abruptly is from another culture, they may have no idea what your emblem means.
Illustrators, or emblematic nonverbal communications, are a nonverbal gesture used to communicate our message effectively and reinforce our point. Your grandfather may describe the fish he just caught and hold up his two hands 36 inches apart to illustrate exactly how big the fish was.
Regulators are nonverbal messages which control, maintain or discourage interaction. (McLean, 2003). For example, if someone is telling you a message that is confusing or upsetting, you may hold up your hand, a commonly recognized regulator that asks the speaker to stop talking.
Adaptors help us feel comfortable or indicate emotions or moods. An adaptor could involve you meeting your need for security, by playing with your hair for example, or hugging yourself for warmth.
Posture is t he last item in our list of kinesics . Humans can stand up straight or slouch, lean forward or backward, round or slump our shoulders, and tilt our heads. Mehrabian (1972) believed that posture communicates immediacy and power . Immediacy is the degree to which you find someone interesting and attractive. Typically, when someone from the United States finds someone attractive, they face the person when talking, hold their head up, and lean in. Whereas a reaction to someone they don’t like might have them look away and lean back. Power is the ability to influence people or events. In the United States, high-status communicators typically use relaxed postures (Burgoon et al., 1996), but in Japan, the opposite is true. Japanese display power through erect posture with feel planted firmly on the floor.

Vocal characteristics we use to communicate nonverbal messages are called vocalics or paralanguage (with-language) . Vocalics involves verbal and nonverbal aspects of speech that influence meaning, including rate, pitch, tone, volume, intensity, pausing, and even silence. As previously discussed, silence or vocal pauses can communicate hesitation, indicate the need to gather thought, or serve as a sign of respect. Sometimes we learn just as much, or even more, from what a person does not say as what they do say.

Coming from the Latin proximus, meaning “near,” proxemics refers to communication through the use of physical distance or space. When we discuss space in a nonverbal context, we mean the space between objects and people. Space is often associated with social rank and is an important part of communication. Who gets the corner office? Who sits at the head of the table and why?

People from diverse cultures may have different normative space expectations. If you are from a large urban area, having people stand close to you may be normal. If you are from a culture where people expect more space, someone may be standing “too close” for comfort and not know it.

Edward T. Hall, serving in the European and South Pacific Regions in the Corps of Engineers during World War II, traveled around the globe. As he moved from one place to another, he noticed that people in different countries kept different distances from each other. In France, they stood closer to each other than they did in England. Hall (1963) wondered why that was and came up with a theory on spatial relations and boundaries.

The first aspect, Hall called “ territory ” and it is related to control. As a way of establishing control over your own room, maybe you painted it your favorite color, or put up posters that represent your interests or things you consider unique about yourself. Territory means the space you claim as your own, are responsible for, or are willing to defend.

The second aspect Hall highlights is conversation distance , or the “bubble” of space surrounding each individual. We recognize the basic need for personal space, but the normative expectations for space vary greatly by culture. In the United States, intimate space ranges from 0-18 inches. Personal space is the distance we occupy during encounters with friends and ranges from 18 inches to 4 feet. Many people use social space in social situations or with strangers, and ranges from 4 to 12 feet. In public space , the distance ranges from 12 feet and beyond. North American use of space tends to be much larger than most other cultures, especially people from Latin America and the Middle East where such vast use of personal space will make you seem aloof or distant.

Touch in communication interaction is called haptics , from the ancient Greek word “ haptien.” Touch can vary based on its duration, the part of the body being touched, and the strength of the contact (Floyd, 1999).

Cultural norms have a strong impact on how people use and perceive touch. For example, Hispanic cultures tend to hug more than do Europeans. Researchers in a study at outdoor cafes in London, England and San Juan, Puerto Rico found that Puerto Ricans touched each other an average of 180 times per hour whereas the British average was zero (EPA, 2002).

Hall (1963) suggests that the use of proxemics and haptics merge within a culture to create what researchers now call contact and noncontact cultures. In contact cultures , people stand closer together while talking, make more direct eye contact, touch more frequently, and speak in louder voices. Some examples of contact cultures would be South America, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe with the Middle East being the highest contact.

In noncontact cultures , people stand farther apart while talking, maintain less eye contact, and touch less. Some examples of noncontact cultures would be Great Britain, the United States, and Japan.

Chronemics is the study of how we refer to and perceive time. Cultures vary widely in their time orientation , although context can also play a major role as well. “Time is money” is a common saying across cultures that display a high value for time. In social contexts, time often reveals social status and power. Who are you willing to wait for? A doctor for an office visit when you are sick? A potential employer for a job interview? Your significant other or children?

Some Mexican American friends may invite you to a barbecue at 8 p.m., but when you arrive you are the first guest, because it is understood that the gathering actually doesn’t start until after 9 p.m. Similarly in France, an 8 p.m. party invitation would be understood to indicate you should arrive around 8:30, but in Sweden 8 p.m. means 8 p.m., and latecomers may not be welcome.

In the United States, we perceive time as linear, flowing along in a straight line. We did one task, we’re doing another task now, and we are planning on doing something else later. In monochronic time orientation, time is a commodity. Being punctual, completing tasks, and keeping schedules is valued, and may be more important than building or maintaining personal relationships.

In polychronic time orientation, time is more holistic and circular. It is expected that many events happen at once, and things get done because of personal relationships, not in spite of personal relationships. The Euro Railways trains in Germany are famous for departing and arriving according to the schedule no matter what. In contrast, if you take the train in Argentina, you’ll find that the schedule is more of an approximation of when the train will leave or arrive. Engineers, conductors, and even passengers influence the schedule, not a clock.

Physical Appearance

Visible attributes such as hair, clothing, body type, personal grooming, jewelry, glasses, backpacks, briefcases, and purses profoundly influence our communication encounters. In other words, how you look conveys as much about you as what you say. Across cultures, people credit individuals they find physically attractive with higher levels of intelligence, persuasiveness, poise, sociability, warmth, power, and employment success than they credit to unattractive individuals (Hatfield & Sprecher, 1986). Communication researchers call this tendency to make a blanket judgement of a person based on one trait the halo (positive) or horns (negative) effect. As physical attractiveness is variable across cultures, and constantly being redefined, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Artifacts are the things we possess that influence how we see ourselves and that we use to express our identity to others. They can include rings and tattoos, but may also include brand names and logos. From clothes to cars, watches, briefcases, purses, and even eyeglasses, what we choose to surround ourselves with communicates something about our sense of self. They may project gender, role or position, class or status, personality, and group membership or affiliation.

Environment

A final way in which we communicate nonverbally is through our environment . The environment involves the physical aspects of our surroundings. More than the tables and chairs in an office, environment is an important part of the dynamic communication process. The perception of one’s environment influences one’s reaction to it. For example, Google is famous for its work environment, with spaces created for physical activity and even in-house food service around the clock. The expense is no doubt considerable, but Google’s actions speak volumes. The results produced in the environment, designed to facilitate creativity, interaction, and collaboration, are worth the effort.

Cultural Space

Although, the idea of cultural space doesn’t fit neatly into the category of nonverbal behaviors, many intercultural communication researchers find significance in the idea as it merges culture, environment and identity. The seed originates in the writings of French philosopher and social theorist, Michel Foucault (1970). The argument is that culture is dynamic and redefines itself from one generation to the next so many scholars are now referring to this broad area of research by the metaphor of cultural space. Cultural space is the social and cultural contexts in which our identities are formed.

One of the earliest cultural spaces that humans experience is home. Home can be a tremendous source of identification. It often communicates social class and norms, as well as safety and security. Home is not the same as the physical location it occupies, but rather the feelings invoked. Home can be a specific address, cities, states, regions, and even nations.

A neighborhood is an area defined by its own cultural identity. This area can revolve around race and ethnicity, and certain cultural groups can define who gets to live where by dictating the rules by which other groups must live. Historical forces and power relations have led to different settlement patterns of cultural groups in the United States and around the world.

Many people identify strongly with particular regions. Regionalism is loyalty to an area that holds cultural meaning. This loyalty can be expressed symbolically by flying regional flags, wearing special clothing, celebrating regional holidays, and participating in other cultural activities. This loyalty can also be expressed through protests or armed conflict.

Social media has added a new dimension to cultural spaces by pushing definitions and boundaries. This notion of fluid cultural space is in contrast with previous notions of space which were rooted in landownership & occupation, along with borders, colonies, and territories. We will explore this idea more in our social media and popular culture chapter.

Cultural space influences how we think about ourselves and others therefore, changing cultural space is not easy to do. Travel raises important issues related to changing how we interact and communicate with others and is often associated with transformation of the traveler. Migration involves a more permanent kind of change than traveling, and is also an impetus of cultural space change.

Wrapping Up

People may not understand your words, but they will certainly interpret your nonverbal communication according to their accepted norms. Notice the word their . It is their perceptions that will count when you are trying to communicate, and it’s important to understand that those perceptions will be based on the teachings and experiences of their culture—not yours.

The ideas and theories presented in the previous sections note how we look at the structures of cultures, values, and communication. They also provide a framework for talking about and comparing cultures, but it’s always important to remember that cultures are heterogeneous, and constantly changing. One size does not fit all and nonverbal communication is ambiguous even in the best of times.

References:

Intercultural Communication for the Community College Copyright © 2019 by Karen Krumrey-Fulks is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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What Is Intercultural Communication: Learning New Styles

Updated: June 19, 2024

Published: April 30, 2020

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Intercultural communication is a necessary part of today’s world, whether in business, school, or everyday life. It is essential in being a part of the growing global community and knowing how to communicate cross-culturally is a skill you must have to succeed. But just what is intercultural communication? Let’s dive into what is intercultural communication, and how you can increase your intercultural communication skills to succeed in whatever you set your mind to.

Cultures Meet Communication

Everyone communicates, and everyone has a culture, whether it is highly defined or not. This means that inherently, we all must communicate with people of other cultures. That is what intercultural communication is all about.

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Defining culture.

Culture isn’t only about the language you speak, the foods you eat, and the way you dress. There are much more nuanced aspects of our everyday life that can be attributed to culture. Our lifestyle, including ways of personal life, family life, and social life are all part of our culture .

Introducing Intercultural Communication

If you are just beginning your journey of intercultural competence, it can be confusing where to start. One of the best ways to introduce yourself is to start with the concept of intercultural communication, discussed below.

What Is Intercultural Communication?

Intercultural communication is much more than just your typical types of communication such as verbal and nonverbal. It is about the broader exchange of ideas, beliefs, values, and views.

Cultural values impact how people speak, write, and act — all essential aspects of communication. Culture also has a lot to do with how people think about and judge other people. Being aware of our own cultural biases, and others’ biases goes a long way in being able to effectively communicate with anyone.

Other Intergroup Relations Terms

Other relevant terms when discussing intercultural communication are multicultural, diversity, and cross-cultural. While these all might seem to be the same, there are small differences that make each unique.

Multicultural means a group or organization that has multiple cultures within it, or is made up of several cultures. Cross-cultural means between multiple groups of different cultures, whereas intercultural means between members of those cultures.

To further clarify, a company might be multicultural, where it fosters many cross-cultural interactions, which means everyone has to be involved in intercultural communication.

Importance Of Intercultural Communication

Intercultural communication is an important part of intercultural competence — or the ability to effectively function across cultures , and with those from other cultures. As our world gets smaller and globalization gets stronger, intercultural competence and great intercultural communication become a necessity to be successful.

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Applying and managing intercultural communication.

Intercultural communication skills must be applied when you are in an intercultural exchange. Use these 7 tips when managing intercultural communication:

1. Common Traps And Problems

Every culture has their own gestures and ways of speaking. If you know in advance that you will be speaking to a person or group of another culture, it’s important to educate yourself on some common faux-pas of that culture.

For example, a handshake may not be the appropriate way of greeting in every culture. Similarly, Spanish speakers find that specific words can have either neutral or negative meanings depending on the country you are in.

2. Learn Phrases In Their Language

Learning a few common phrases in another language is an important part of intercultural communication. It shows that you recognize the cultural difference, respect their culture, and are willing to learn about it. Start with learning hello and thank you if you are meeting with someone you know speaks another language.

3. Adapt Your Behavior

When you enter in an intercultural communication exchange, there may be an expectation on both sides for the other party to adapt to the others’ cultures. If you stop expecting that, and start adapting your own behavior, you will find more willingness on both sides to understand one another.

4. Check Your Understanding

Listen carefully and check your own understanding regularly throughout the conversation. If you find you aren’t able to articulate back what the other person is saying, don’t be afraid to ask for clarification. It’s better to ask than to walk away with misunderstandings.

5. Apologize

If you realize you have offended someone, apologize promptly — don’t let it fester or become awkward. It’s better to apologize without needing to than leave someone feeling bad after your conversation.

6. Use Television

Watching series of other cultures can really aid you in intercultural understanding if you have no other way to access that culture. It will help you see cultural norms and how another culture lives, all which will help you effectively communicate with that culture.

7. Reflect On Experience

Try to take a few moments to reflect on previous intercultural exchanges — ones of your own or ones you have simply observed. What made them effective, or what made them not work out the way it was intended? Take note and adjust your future communication accordingly.

Communicating With People Of Different Cultures

Communication across cultures can be a challenge, especially if you’re not accustomed to working with people from other cultures.

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An understanding of difference.

First, in order to effectively communicate with people of other cultures, there is a fundamental aspect you must be aware of which is understanding differences. Different cultures have different standards, expectations, and norms, and you must realize that those differences shape individuals in some ways but they are not bound by those ways.

Developing Intercultural Sensitivity And Competence

By default, we automatically feel something different when we interact with someone from an unfamiliar culture, or one that is starkly different than our own. If you want to increase your intercultural communication abilities, it is up to you to work on your intercultural sensitivity.

It starts with the idea that as you begin to recognize and understand cultural differences and the more you interact with people of other cultures, the more competent you become and the more complex your ideas of culture become as well. Therefore, the more sensitive you will be each time you communicate interculturally.

Intercultural Communication At University Of The People

University of the People is an American accredited university that prides itself on its globality and accepting applicants from all countries, backgrounds, and cultures. It is a high priority of ours to maintain excellent intercultural communication, and to instill these skills into our students. No matter what degree program you choose, you can count on being able to use it in conversation across a range of cultures.

The Bottom Line

So, what is intercultural communication, and why should you improve your intercultural skills? Our world is only getting smaller, and the ability to competently communicate with other cultures is vital for success in all areas of life. Adapt your behavior, check your understanding, reflect on your experiences and follow our tips to foster excellent intercultural communication.

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7.1 Nonverbal Communication

Nonverbal communication is defined as communication that is produced by some means other than words (eye contact, body language, or vocal cues, for example). 1 Imagine the lack of a variety of emotional facial expressions if everyone’s face was frozen. The world would be a much less interesting place, and it would be more challenging to stimulate accurate meaning in the minds of others; thus, we will begin this chapter by discussing the importance of nonverbal communication.

Importance of Nonverbal Communication in Interaction

The role of nonverbal in everyday life.

We communicate nonverbally constantly. It’s the primary way that we communicate with other people. In this section, we’re going to explore the role that nonverbal communication plays in our day-to-day lives.

Nonverbal has Communicative Value

The meaning associated with nonverbal communication in any given interaction cannot be underestimated. In this chapter, you will learn about the many types of nonverbal communication present in the interaction. For example, if you are having a conversation with your friend who just broke up with her girlfriend, you will use more than the words, “I just broke up with my girlfriend” to understand how to communicate with your friend. Your friend’s facial expression, way of standing, rate of speech, tone of voice, and general appearance, just to name a few, will indicate to you how you should respond. If she is sobbing, gasping for air, hunched over, and appears emotionally pained, you might attempt to comfort her. If she says, “I just broke up with my girlfriend” and sighs while placing her hand over her heart, she might appear relieved. Your response might be, “it seems like you may be a little relieved. Were things not going well?”

Thus, nonverbal communication plays a tremendous role in successfully engaging in interactions. The successful use of nonverbal communication requires an awareness of the value of nonverbal communication and the belief that it is valuable. When individuals are unaware of the importance of nonverbal communication, they may be overlooking crucial interactional information. For example, one of the authors of this textbook was once meeting with a colleague who was repeatedly sighing during a meeting. Later, when she and her colleague were discussing the meeting, he said, “Didn’t you notice that I was sighing?” She told him she did notice that he was sighing, but she was unsure why. We will discuss this further in the ambiguity of nonverbal communication. In this example, the author’s colleague was aware of the importance of nonverbal communication and attempted to use it deliberately.

In addition to awareness, individuals must believe that nonverbal communication is valuable. If your parent /guardian ever said to you, “it wasn’t what you said, it was how you said it , ” then your parent /guardian was demonstrating a belief that nonverbal communication is essential . An individual may acknowledge that nonverbal communication exists but may discount its value. For example, one of the authors had a recurring argument with the author’s spouse , who would sigh or roll her eyes as a response in interaction. The author would ask the spouse what it meant , and the spouse would inevitably say, “I can sigh or roll my eyes without it meaning anything.” This is not an uncommon response, but the authors of this text hope to dispel this perception.

For a better understanding of the value of communication, Google “value of communication.” Your search will return over a billion links. While it is not possible to review all of the search results, read through a few of the articles . For this exercise we found titles like “The Value of Effective Communication in the Workplace” a and “Why Communication Is Today’s Most Important Skill.” 2 In fact, we found almost 300,000 articles with the phrase “value of communication.” These news articles tell readers that effective communication secures customer, creates bonds between employees, and increases revenue s.

Nonverbal Used for Relational Purposes

Nonverbal communication is an essential element in relating to others. Nonverbal communication is often the very first way in which we invite a relationship with another, or, at the very least, invite communication. To communicate with another, we must make eye contact with a few exceptions. Thus, relationships begin with nonverbal communication. Also, consider how humans relate to others through touch, scent, hand gestures, physical appearance, and more.

Humans often use nonverbal communication to relay to others an interest in continuing a conversation or leaving a conversation. For example, you may run into a colleague and strike up a spontaneous conversation in the hall. The conversation is enjoyable, and you each relate to the other that you are enjoying conversing about work. Your colleague may recognize that he needs to get to a meeting and relates this information to you by looking at his watch, beginning to back away, or looking at the door he needs to enter.

Another way in which we relate to others via nonverbal communication is through the communication of emotion. Through a myriad of nonverbal behaviors, we can communicate emotions such as joy, happiness, and sadness. The nonverbal expression of emotion allows others to know how to communicate with us.

Nonverbal is Ambiguous

A particularly challenging aspect of nonverbal communication is the fact that it is ambiguous. In the seventies, nonverbal communication as a topic was trendy. Some were under the impression that we could use nonverbal communication to “read others like a book.” One of the authors remembers her cousin’s wife telling her that she shouldn’t cross her arms because it signaled to others that she was closed off. It would be wonderful if crossing one’s arms signaled one meaning, but think about the many meanings of crossing one’s arms. An individual may have crossed arms because the individual is cold, upset, sad, or angry. It is impossible to know unless a conversation is paired with nonverbal behavior.

Another great example of ambiguous nonverbal behavior is flirting! Consider some very stereotypical behavior of flirting (e.g., smiling, laughing, a light touch on the arm, or prolonged eye contact). Each of these behaviors signals interest to others. The question is whether an individual engaging in these behaviors is indicating romantic interest or a desire for platonic friendship…have you ever walked away from a situation and explained a person’s behavior to another friend to determine whether you were being flirted with? If so, you have undoubtedly experienced the ambiguity of nonverbal communication.

Nonverbal is Culturally Based

Just as we have discussed that it is beneficial to recognize the value of nonverbal communication, we must also acknowledge that nonverbal communication is culturally based. Successful interactions with individuals from other cultures are partially based on the ability to adapt to or understand the nonverbal behaviors associated with different cultures. There are two aspects to understanding that nonverbal communication is culturally based. The first aspect is recognizing that even if we do not know the appropriate nonverbal communication with someone from another culture, then we must at least acknowledge that there is a need to be flexible, not react, and ask questions. The second aspect is recognizing that there are specific aspects of nonverbal communication that differ depending on the culture. When entering a new culture, we must learn the rules of the culture.

Regarding recognizing differences, you may encounter someone from a culture that communicates very differently from you and perhaps in an unexpected way. For example, one of the author’s brothers, Patrick, was working in Afghanistan as a contractor on a military base. He was working with a man from Africa. During their first conversation, he held Patrick’s hand. Patrick later told his sister, the author, this story and said he wasn’t sure how to respond, so he “just rolled with it.” Patrick’s response allowed for the most flexibility in the situation and the best chance of moving forward productively. Imagine if he had withdrawn his hand quickly with a surprised look on his face. The outcome of the interaction would have been very different.

Patrick’s response also exemplifies the second aspect of understanding that nonverbal communication is culturally based. Patrick was hired by a contractor to work on the military base in Afghanistan. The contracting firm could have trained Patrick and his coworkers about communicating with the various cultures they would encounter on the base. For example, many people from the Philippines were working on the base. It would have been helpful for the contractors to explain that there may be differences in spatial distance and touch when communicating with other males from the Philippines. Researching and understanding the nonverbal communication of different countries before entering the country can often mean a smoother entry phase, whether conducting business or simply visiting.

Attribution Error

A final area to address before examining specific aspects of nonverbal communication is “attribution error.” Attribution error is defined as the tendency to explain another individual’s behavior in relation to the individual’s internal tendencies rather than an external factor. 3 For example, if a friend is late, we might attribute this failure to be on time as the friend being irresponsible rather than running through a list of external factors that may have influenced the friend’s ability to be on time such as an emergency, traffic, read the time wrong, etc. It is easy to make an error when trying to attribute meaning to the behaviors of others, and nonverbal communication is particularly vulnerable to attribution error.

On Saturday, September 8, 2018, Serena Williams may have been a victim of an umpire’s attribution error on the part of the judge. Let’s just say Serena did suffer as a result of attribution error. The judge spotted Serena Williams’ coach gesturing in the audience and assumed that the gesture was explicitly directed toward Serena as a means to coach her. Her coach later acknowledged that he was “coaching” via nonverbal signals, but Serena was not looking at him, nor was she intended to be a recipient. Her coach indicated that all coaches gesture while sitting in the stands as though they are coaching a practice and that it’s a habit and not an other-oriented communication behavior. This is a perfect example of attribution error. The judge attributed the coaches’ gesture to the coach intending to communicate rather than the gesture merely being due to habit. The judge’s attribution error may have cost Serena William’s comeback match. While the stakes may not be so high in day-to-day interaction, attribution error can create relational strife and general misunderstandings that can be avoided if we recognize that it is necessary to understand the intention behind a specific nonverbal behavior.

Omnipresent

According to Dictionary.com, omnipresent is indicative of being everywhere at the same time. Nonverbal communication is always present. Silence is an excellent example of nonverbal communication being omnipresent. Have you ever given someone the “silent treatment?” If so, you understand that by remaining silent, you are trying to convey some meaning, such as “You hurt me” or “I’m really upset with you.” Thus, silence makes nonverbal communication omnipresent.

Another way of considering the omnipresence of nonverbal communication is to consider the way we walk, posture, engage in facial expression, eye contact, lack of eye contact, gestures, etc. When sitting alone in the library working, your posture may be communicating something to others. If you need to focus and don’t want to invite communication, you may keep your head down and avoid eye contact. Suppose you are walking across campus at a brisk pace. What might your pace be communicating?

When discussing the omnipresence of nonverbal communication, it is necessary to discuss Paul Watzlawick’s assertion that humans cannot, not communicate. This assertion is the first axiom of his interactional view of communication. According to Watzlawick, humans are always communicating. As discussed in the “silent treatment” example and the posture and walking example, communication is found in everyday behaviors that are common to all humans. We might conclude that humans cannot escape communicating meaning.

Can Form Universal Language

When discussing whether nonverbal communication is a universal language, caution must be used. We must remember that understanding the context in which nonverbal communication is used is almost always necessary to understand the meaning of nonverbal communication. However, there are exceptions concerning what Paul Ekman calls “basic emotions.” These will be discussed a bit later in the chapter.

Can Lead to Misunderstandings

Comedian Samuel J. Comroe has tremendous expertise in explaining how nonverbal communication can be misunderstood. Comroe’s comedic routines focus on how Tourette’s syndrome affects his daily living. Tourette’s syndrome can change individual behavior, from uncontrolled body movements to uncontrolled vocalizations. Comroe often appears to be winking when he is not. He explains how his “wink” can cause others to believe he is joking when he isn’t. He also tells the story of how he met his wife in high school. During a skit, he played a criminal and she played a police officer. She told him to “freeze,” and he continued to move (due to Tourette’s). She misunderstood his movement to mean he was being defiant and thus “took him down.” You can watch Comroe’s routine here .

Although nonverbal misunderstandings can be humorous, these misunderstandings can affect interpersonal as well as professional relationships. One of the authors once went on an important job interview for a job she was not offered. She asked the interviewer for feedback, and he said, “your answers sounded canned.” The author did not think to do so in the moment, but what she should have said is that she may have sounded canned because she frequently thinks about work, her work philosophy, and how she approaches work. Thus, her tone may have been more indicative of simply knowing how she feels rather than “canned.”

As you continue to learn about nonverbal communication, consider how you come to understand nonverbal communication in interactions. Sometimes, the meaning of nonverbal communication can be fairly obvious. Most of the time a head nod in conversation means something positive such as agreement, “yes,” keep talking, etc. At other times, the meaning of nonverbal communication isn’t clear. Have you ever asked a friend, “did she sound rude to you” about a customer service representative? If so, you are familiar with the ambiguity of nonverbal communication.

Usually Trusted

Despite the pitfalls of nonverbal communication, individuals typically rely on nonverbal communication to understand the meaning in interactions. Communication scholars agree that the majority of meaning in any interaction is attributable to nonverbal communication. It isn’t necessarily true, but we are taught from a very early age that lack of eye contact is indicative of lying. We have learned through research that this “myth” is not necessarily true; this myth does tell a story about how our culture views nonverbal communication. That view is simply that nonverbal communication is important and that it has meaning.

Another excellent example of nonverbal communication being trusted may be related to a scenario many have experienced. At times, children, adolescents, and teenagers will be required by their parents/guardians to say, “I’m sorry” to a sibling or the parent/guardian. Alternatively, you may have said “yes” to your parents/guardians, but your parent/guardian doesn’t believe you. A parent/guardian might say in either of these scenarios, “it wasn’t what you said, it was how you said it.” Thus, we find yet another example of nonverbal communication being the “go-to” for meaning in an interaction.

According to research, as much as 93% of meaning in any interaction is attributable to nonverbal communication. Albert Mehrabian asserts that this 93% of meaning can be broken into three parts. 4

Mehrabian’s Explanation of Message Meaning

a pie chart: 38% Vocalics, 55% Body language, 7% verbal.

Mehrabian’s work is widely reported and accepted. Other researchers Birdwhistell and Philpott say that meaning attributed to nonverbal communication in interactions ranges from 60 to 70%. 5 , 6 Regardless of the actual percentage, it is worth noting that the majority of meaning in interaction is deduced from nonverbal communication.

The Six Functions of Nonverbal Communication

As we have established, nonverbal communication plays an important role in communicating successfully and effectively. Because nonverbal communication plays a significant role in interactions, nonverbal communication was studied heavily in the early days of studying communication. These studies resulted in the discovery of multiple utilitarian functions of nonverbal communication.

Six Functions of Nonverbal Communication

Complementing

Complementing is defined as nonverbal behavior that is used in combination with the verbal portion of the message to emphasize the meaning of the entire message. An excellent example of complementing behavior is when a child is exclaiming, “I’m so excited” while jumping up and down. The child’s body is further emphasizing the meaning of “I’m so excited.”

Contradicting

At times, an individual’s nonverbal communication contradicts verbal communication. Recently, when visiting an aunt’s house, one of the author’s folded her arms. She asked the author if she was cold and if she needed to turn up the air conditioning. The author said no because she was trying to be polite, but her aunt did not believe her. The author’s nonverbal communication gave away her actual discomfort! In this case, the nonverbal communication was truly more meaningful than verbal communication.

Consider a situation where a friend says, “The concert was amazing,” but the friend’s voice is monotone. A response might be, “oh, you sound real enthused.” Communication scholars refer to this as “contradicting” verbal and nonverbal behavior. When contradicting occurs, the verbal and nonverbal messages are incongruent. This incongruence heightens our awareness, and we tend to believe the nonverbal communication over verbal communication.

Accenting is a form of nonverbal communication that emphasizes a word or a part of a message. The word or part of the message accented might change the meaning of the message. Accenting can be accomplished through multiple types of nonverbal behaviors. Gestures paired with a word can provide emphasis, such as when an individual says, “no (slams hand on table), you don’t understand me.” By slamming the hand on a table while saying “no,” the source draws attention to the word. Words or phrases can also be emphasized via pauses. Speakers will often pause before saying something important. Your professors likely pause just before relaying information that is important to the course content.

Nonverbal communication that repeats the meaning of verbal communication assists the receiver by reinforcing the words of the sender. Nonverbal communication that repeats verbal communication may stand alone, but when paired with verbal communication, it servers to repeat the message. For example, nodding one’s head while saying “yes” serves to reinforce the meaning of the word “yes,” and the word “yes” reinforces the head nod.

Regulating the flow of communication is often accomplished through nonverbal behavior communication. Paul Ekman and Wallace Friesen state that regulators are “acts which maintain and regulate the back-and-forth nature of speaking and listening between two or more interactions” (1969, p. 82). You may notice your friends nodding their heads when you are speaking. Nodding one’s head is a primary means of regulating communication. Other behaviors that regulate conversational flow are eye contact, moving or leaning forward, changing posture, and eyebrow raises, to name a few. You may also have noticed several nonverbal behaviors people engage in when trying to exit a conversation. These behaviors include stepping away from the speaker, checking one’s watch/phone for the time, or packing up belongings. These are referred to as leave-taking behaviors. Without the regulating function of nonverbal behaviors, it would be necessary to interrupt conversational content to insert phrases such as “I have to leave.” However, when interactants fail to recognize regulating behavior, verbal communication will be used instead.

Substituting

At times, nonverbal behavior serves to replace verbal communication altogether. Substituting nonverbal behaviors must be understood within a context more often than not. For example, a friend may ask you what time it is, and you may shrug your shoulders to indicate you don’t know. At other times, your friend may ask whether you want pizza or sushi for dinner, and you may shrug your shoulders to indicate you don’t care or have no preference.

Emblems are a specific type of substituting nonverbal behavior that have direct verbal translation. Emblems may generally be understood outside of the context in which they are used. Some highly recognizable emblems in the U.S. culture are the peace sign and the okay sign. Emblems are a generally understood concept and have made their way into popular culture. The term “emblem” may not be applied within popular culture. In the popular television show, Friends , the main characters Ross and Monica are siblings. Ross and Monica are forbidden to “flip the bird” to each other, so they make up their own “emblem,” which involves holding one’s palms upward in a fist and bumping the outside of the palm’s together. Whether flipping the bird in the traditional manner or doing so Ross and Monica style, each of these represents an emblem that does not require context for accurate interpretation. Emblems will be discussed in greater depth later in the chapter.

Key Takeaways

Nonverbal cues help the receiver decode verbal messages.
Each function of nonverbal communication is distinct.
The functions of nonverbal communication are evident in everyday interactions.

Categories of Nonverbal Communication

In addition to the functions of nonverbal communication, there are categories of nonverbal communication. This chapter will address several categories of nonverbal communication that are of particular importance in interpersonal relationships. These categories include haptics (touch), vocalics (voice), kinesics (body movement and gestures), oculesics/facial expressions (eye and face behavior), and physical appearance. Each of these categories influences interpersonal communication and may have an impact on the success of interpersonal interactions.

Haptics is the study of touch as a form of nonverbal communication. Touch is used in many ways in our daily lives, such as greeting, comfort, affection, task accomplishment, and control. You may have engaged in a few or all of these behaviors today. If you shook hands with someone, hugged a friend, kissed your romantic partner, then you used touch to greet and give affection. If you visited a salon to have your hair cut, then you were touched with the purpose of task accomplishment. You may have encountered a friend who was upset and patted the friend to ease the pain and provide comfort. Finally, you may recall your parents or guardians putting an arm around your shoulder to help you walk faster if there was a need to hurry you along. In this case, your parent/guardian was using touch for control.

Several factors impact how touch is perceived. These factors are duration, frequency, and intensity. Duration is how long touch endures. Frequency is how often touch is used, and intensity is the amount of pressure applied. These factors influence how individuals are evaluated in social interactions. For example, researchers state, “a handshake preceding social interactions positively influenced the way individuals evaluated the social interaction partners and their interest in further interactions while reversing the impact of negative impressions.” 7 This research demonstrates that individuals must understand when it is appropriate to shake hands and that there are negative consequences for failing to do so. Importantly, an appropriately timed handshake can erase the negative effects of any mistakes one might make in an initial interaction!

Touch is a form of communication that can be used to initiate, regulate, and maintain relationships. It is a very powerful form of communication that can be used to communicate messages ranging from comfort to power. Duration, frequency, and intensity of touch can be used to convey liking, attraction, or dominance. Touch can be helpful or harmful and must be used appropriately to have effective relationships with family, friends, and romantic partners. Consider that inappropriate touch can convey romantic intentions where no romance exists. Conversely, fear can be instilled through touch. Touch is a powerful interpersonal tool along with voice and body movement.

It’s also essential to understand the importance of touch on someone’s psychological wellbeing. Narissra Punyanunt-Carter and Jason Wrench created the touch deprivation scale to examine the lack of haptic communication in an individual’s life. 8

Touch Deprivation Scale

Read the following questions and select the answer that corresponds with how you perceive physical contact with other people. Do not be concerned if some of the items appear similar. Please use the scale below to rate the degree to which each statement applies to you:

_____1. I do not receive as much touch in my life as normal people.

_____2. I receive a normal, healthy amount of touch from people.

_____3. Human touch is not a daily occurrence in my life.

_____4. Touch from other people is a very common and natural part of my daily life.

_____5. I often go for days without being touched by someone.

_____6. I often feel like I’m untouchable because of the lack of touch from others in my life.

_____7. I receive a variety of forms of touch from a variety of different people.

_____8. I can go long periods of time without being touched by another person.

_____9. There are days when I would do anything just to be touched by someone.

_____10. I have longed for the touch of another person, any person.

_____11. Some days I long to be held, but have no one to hold me.

_____12. I often wish I could get more hugs from others.

_____13. I’ve engaged in sexual behaviors for the pure purpose of being touched by someone.

_____14. I would never engage in sex with someone, just to be touched.

SCORING: To compute your scores follow the instructions below:

Absence of Touch

Step One: Add scores for items 1, 3, 5, 6, & 8_____

Step Two: Add scores for items 2, 4, & 7_____

Step Three: Add 18 to Step One._____

Step Four: Subtract the score for Step two from the score for Step Three._____

Longing for Touch

Step One: Add scores for items 9, 10, 11, & 12_____

Sex for Touch

Step One: Add scores for item 13_____

Step Two: Add scores for item 14_____

Step Three: Add 6 to Step One._____

Step Four: Subtract the score for Step Two from the score for Step Three._____

Interpreting Your Score:

For absence of touch, scores should be between 7 and 35. If your score is above 17, you are considered to have an absence of touch. If your score is below 16, then touch is a normal part of your daily life.

For longing for touch, scores should be between 4 and 20. If your score is above 10, you are considered to have a longing for touch in your life. If your score is below 9, then touch is a normal part of your daily life.

For sex for touch, scores should be between 2 and 10. If your score is above 5, you have probably engaged in sexual intimacy as a way of receiving touch in your life. If your score is below 5, then you probably have not in sexual intimacy as a way of receiving touch in your life.

Punyanunt-Carter, N. M., & Wrench, J. S. (2009). Development and validity testing of a measure of touch deprivation. Human Communication, 12 , 67-76.

As you can see, Punyanunt-Carter and Wrench found that there are three different factors related to touch deprivation: the absence of touch, longing for touch, and sexual intimacy for touch. First, the absence of touch is the degree to which an individual perceives that touch is not a normal part of their day-to-day interactions. Many people can go days or even weeks without physically having contact with another person. People may surround them on a day-to-day basis at work, but this doesn’t mean that they can engage in physical contact with other people.

Second, there is the longing for touch. It’s one thing to realize that touch is not a normal part of your day-to-day interactions, but it’s something completely different not to have that touch and desire that touch. For some people, the lack of touch can be psychologically straining because humans inherently have a desire for physical contact. For some people, this lack of physical contact with other humans can be satisfied by having a pet.

Lastly, some people desire touch so much that they’ll engage in sexual activity just as a way to get touched by another human being. Obviously, these types of situations can be risky because they involve sexual contact outside of an intimate relationship. In fact, “hooking up” can be detrimental to someone’s psychological wellbeing. 9

In the Punyanunt-Carter and Wrench study, the researchers found that there was a positive relationship between touch deprivation and depression and a negative relationship between touch deprivation and self-esteem. The study also found that those individuals who felt that they did not receive enough touch growing up (tactile nurturance) also reported higher levels of touch deprivation as adults. This is just a further indication of how important touch is for children and adolescents.

In this section, we are going to discuss vocalics, that is, vocal utterances, other than words, that serve as a form of communication. Our discussion will begin with vocal characteristics, including timbre, pitch, tempo, rhythm, and intensity.

According to Merriam-Webster online dictionary, timbre refers to the “quality given to a sound by its overtones: such as the resonance by which the ear recognizes and identifies a voiced speech sound.” ( https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/timbre accessed on November 25, 2018.) Pitch refers to the frequency range between high and low. Pitch is not generally thought of much unless an individual’s pitch stands out. For example, if a female’s vocal pitch is low, meaning might be assigned to the low pitch, just as meaning might be attached to a male voice with a high pitch. Also, pitch that is at a higher or lower end of a range will be noticed if there is a momentary or situational change to an individual’s pitch that will trigger an assignment of meaning. For example, when children become excited or scared, they may be described as “squealing.” The situation will determine whether squealing children are thought to be excited or scared.

Tempo refers to the rate at which one speaks. Changes in tempo can reflect emotions such as excitement or anger, physical wellbeing, or energy level. One of the author’s aunts is a brittle diabetic. When talking to her aunt, the author can detect whether the aunt’s blood sugar is too low if her aunt is speaking extremely slow. Rhythm refers to the pattern used when speaking. Unusual speaking rhythms are often imitated. Consider the speaking rhythm of a “surfer dude” or a “valley girl.” One of the most well-known forms of rhythm used in a speech was Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I have a Dream” speech. More recently, the speaking rhythm of President’s Obama and Trump are easily identifiable and often imitated by comedians.

Finally, intensity refers to how loudly or softly an individual speaks. Intensity can be tied to emotion. When individuals speak loudly, the increased volume may be used to convey anger, emotional distress, happiness, or heightened excitement. When individuals speak at a lower volume, the decreased volume may be an effort to diffuse an emotionally intense conversation. Lower volume could also be the result of sharing bad news, discussing taboo or sensitive topics (i.e., when people whisper “sex” or “she died”), or conveying private information.

Other Vocal Features

Paralanguage.

Paralanguage is another term for vocalics and refers to “extra-linguistic” features involved in speaking, such as the characteristics of speech just discussed, pauses and silences, and nonverbal vocalizations.

Pauses and Silences

Pauses and silences are an important part of creating meaning during an interaction. Pauses draw attention to important parts of messages. The “pregnant pause” is an extra-long pause that precedes particularly weighty information. Pauses are a type of silence that are brief in nature, but prolonged silence such as minutes, hours, or even days can be used to convey meaning as well. Consider a conversation in which the other person does not respond to you. What meaning is conveyed? Is the individual thinking? Is the individual hurt, angry, or too shocked to speak? Myriad meanings of silence help emphasize the significance of silence and that it is as impactful as verbal communication, if not more so.

Dysfluencies, Vocal Fillers, or Verbal Surrogates

Dysfluencies, vocal fillers, or verbal surrogates are sounds that we make as we attempt to fill dead air while we are thinking of what to say next. In the United States, “um” or “uh” are the most commonly used dysfluencies. In conversation, these dysfluencies may pass unnoticed by both the sender or receiver, but consider how the recognition of dysfluencies increases when listening to a speaker who says “uh” or “um” during a speech. When giving a presentation, the speaker may even call attention to dysfluencies by speaking of them directly, and audience members may become distracted by dysfluencies. One of the author’s classmates used to count the number of “ums” used by a particular professor who was known to frequently use “um” when teaching. Though focusing on dysfluencies may be common, it is best for the speaker to attempt to reduce an excessive amount of dysfluencies and for listeners to focus on the meaning rather than the “ums” and “uhs.”

Kinesics, first coined by Ray Birdwhistell, is the study of how gestures, facial expression, and eye behavior communicate. Gestures can generally be considered any visible movement of the body. These movements “stimulate meaning” in the minds of others.

Facial Expressions

Facial expressions are another form of kinesics. Paul Eckman and Wallace V. Friesen asserted that facial expressions are likely to communicate “affect” or liking. 10 Eckman and Freisen present seven emotions that are recognized throughout the world. These emotions are often referred to by the acronym S.A.D.F.I.S.H. and include surprise, anger, disgust, fear, interest, sadness, and happiness. Facial expressions are especially useful in communicating emotion. Although not all facial expression is “universally” recognized, people are generally able to interpret facial expressions within a context. We generally consider happiness is indicated by a smile. Smiling might, however, also communicate politeness, a desire to be pleasing, and even fear. If an individual attempts to use a smile to diffuse a volatile interaction where the individual fears being attacked verbally or physically, then the smile may be an indication of fear. In this case, the smile cannot be accurately interpreted outside of the context.

In a study investigating preferences for facial expressions in relation to the Big Five personality traits, it was found that most participants showed the strongest preferences for faces communicating high levels of agreeableness and extraversion. Individuals who are high in openness preferred a display of all facially-communicated Big Five personality traits. In relation to females who report being highly neurotic, they preferred male faces displaying agreeableness and female faces communicating disagreeableness. Male faces communicating openness were preferred by males who were higher in neuroticism. Interestingly, males reporting higher levels of neuroticism had a lower preference for female faces communicating openness. 11 This study underscores the importance of facial expressions in determining who we prefer.

Oculesics is the study of how individuals communicate through eye behavior. Eye contact is generally the first form of communication for interactants. Consider when a stranger speaks to you in a grocery store from behind you with a question such as, “Can you reach the Frosted Flakes for me?” When a general question such as this is asked with no eye contact, you may not be aware that the question was meant for you.

Often when discussing eye behavior, researchers refer to “gaze.” Research consistently demonstrates that females gaze at interaction partners more frequently than males. 12 , 13 , 14 Also, gaze has been studied concerning deception. Early research determined the significance of eye contact in the interpretation behavior. When people gaze too long or for too little, there is likely to be a negative interpretation of this behavior. 15 However, later researchers acknowledge that there is a much greater range of acceptable “gazing” as influenced by verbal communication.

Kinesics serve multiple functions when communicating—such as emblems, illustrators, affect displays, and regulators.

Many gestures are emblems. You may recall from earlier in the chapter that gestures are clear and unambiguous and have a verbal equivalent in a given culture. 16 Only a handful of emblematic gestures seem to be universal, for example, a shrug of the shoulders to indicate “I don’t know.” Most emblems are culturally determined, and they can get you into difficulty if you use them in other countries. In the United States, some emblematic gestures are the thumb-up-and-out hitchhiking sign, the circled thumb and index finger Ok sign, and the “V” for victory sign. However, be careful of using these gestures outside the United States. The thumb-up sign in Iran, for example, is an obscene gesture, and our Ok sign has sexual connotations in Ethiopia and Mexico. 17

Illustrators

While emblems can be used as direct substitutions for words, illustrators help emphasize or explain a word. Recall the Smashmouth lyric in All Star: “She was looking kind of dumb with her finger and her thumb in the shape of an L on her forehead.” The “L” gesture is often used to illustrate “loser.”

Affect Displays

Affect displays show feelings and emotions. Consider how music and sports fans show enthusiasm. It is not uncommon to see grown men and women jumping up and down at sports events during a particularly exciting moment in a game. However, there are different norms depending on the sport. It would simply be inappropriate to demonstrate the same nonverbal gestures at a golf or tennis game as a football game.

Regulators, as discussed earlier, are gestures that help coordinate the flow of conversation, such as when you shrug your shoulders or wink. Head nods, eye contact/aversion, hand movements, and changes in posture are considered to be turn-taking cues in conversation. Individuals may sit back when listening but shift forward to indicate a desire to speak. Eye contact shifts frequently during a conversation to indicate listening or a desire to speak. Head nods are used as a sign of listening and often indicate that the speaker should continue speaking.

Proxemics is the study of communication through space. Space as communication was heavily studied by Edward T. Hall, 18 and he famously categorized space into four “distances. These distances represent how space is used and by whom (Figure 5.4).

Edward T. Hall’s Four Spaces

Two figures in a blue circle labeled Intimate space (0 to 18 inches). Another figure is a bit to the right in a green circle labeled Personal space (18 inches to 4 feet). Another figure is a little further away in a yellow circle labeled Social Space (4 to 12 feet), and a last figure in a red circle labeled Public Space (12 to 25 feet)

Hall’s first distance is referred to as intimate space and is often referred to as our “personal bubble.” This bubble ranges from 0 to 18 inches from the body. This space is reserved for those with whom we have close personal relationships.

The next distance is referred to as personal space and ranges from 18 inches to 4 feet. You will notice that, as the distances move further away from the body, the intimacy of interactions decreases. Personal space is used for conversations with friends or family. If you meet a friend at the local coffee shop to catch up on life, it is likely that you will sit between 18 inches and four feet from your friend.

The next distance is “social” distance, ranging from 4 feet to 12 feet. This space is meant for acquaintances.

Finally, the greatest distance is referred to as “public” distance, ranging from 12 feet to 25 feet. In an uncrowded public space, we would not likely approach a stranger any closer than 12 feet. Consider an empty movie theatre. If you enter a theatre with only one other customer, you will not likely sit in the seat directly behind, beside, or in front of this individual. In all likelihood, you would sit further than 12 feet from this individual. However, as the theatre begins to fill, individuals will be forced to sit in Hall’s distances that represent more intimate relationships. How awkward do you feel if you have to sit directly next to a stranger in a theatre?

Artifacts are items with which we adorn our bodies or which we carry with us. Artifacts include glasses, jewelry, canes, shoes, clothing, or any object associated with our body that communicates meaning. One very famous artifact that most everyone can recognize is the glasses of Harry Potter. Harry Potter’s style of glasses has taken on their own meaning. What does his style of eyewear communicate when donned by others? Clothing also stimulates meaning. Do you recall Barney Stinson’s famous line “suit up” in How I Met Your Mother? Why was it necessary to suit up? Recently, Snoop Dogg was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Snoop Dogg was wearing a beautiful, classic camel hair overcoat. In contrast, he was wearing large bulky jewelry. What do these two types of artifacts communicate? One of the authors is a big fan. The author interpreted the classic overcoat as Snoop having excellent taste and the jewelry as strength and wealth. Together the artifacts were interpreted as power.

Chronemics, as explained by Thomas J. Bruneau, 19 is the use of time to communicate. The use of time is considered to be culturally bound, with some cultures using monochronic time and others using polychronic time. Cultures using monochronic time engage in one task at a time. Cultures using polychronic time engage in multiple tasks at the same time. This use of time involves fluidity with individuals feeling free to work on multiple tasks simultaneously rather than completing a task before moving to the next task, as in the monochronic use of time. When considering how time is used, it is necessary to consider individual preferences as well as cultural preferences. Traditionally, the U.S. is a monochronic culture along with Canada or Northern Europe. Korea is an example of a polychronic culture along with Latin America, the Arab part of the Middle East, and Sub-Saharan Africa. However, one can live in each of these cultures and express the opposite orientation toward time. One of the authors is admittedly uptight when it comes to time. She is highly monochronic. This author went to a conference in Puerto Rico, which represents a polychronic orientation toward time. Buses usually run 30 minutes late, if not longer. Time is a bit more fluid rather than incremental in polychronic cultures. Unfortunately, the author failed to take this into account and nearly missed a presentation. This resulted in stress that could have been avoided had she remembered to pay more attention to the time orientation of those around her.

Finally, olfactics generally refers to the influence of scent on perceptions. Scent can draw others in or repel them, and the same scent can have different impacts on different people. According to statistica.com, the global estimated sales value of the fragrances worldwide in 2016 was $47 billion U.S. dollars. This is in addition to $39 billion U.S. dollars in shower and bath products and another $20.5 billion in deodorants. The total spending in these categories was $106.5 billion U.S. dollars. These figures underscore the importance of “smelling good” across the globe. Consider the impact of failing to manage one’s natural scent in the workplace. Countless articles in the popular media address how to deal with a “smelly coworker.” Thus, it is crucial to be aware of one’s scent, including the ones we wear in an effort not to offend those around us. Although smelling “bad” may end a relationship or at least create distance, an attractive scent may help individuals begin a new relationship. Have you ever purchased a new scent before a first date? If so, you are aware of the power of scent to attract a mate. Although we regularly try to cover our scent, we also attempt to control the scent of our environments. The air freshener market in 2016 was valued at $1.62 billion U.S. dollars. Go to your local grocery store and investigate the number of products available to enhance environmental scents. Be prepared to spend a significant amount of time to take in the many products to keep our environments “fresh.” 20

The amount of money spent on fragrances for the body and home highlights the meaning of scent to humans. Ask yourself the following questions:

What meaning do you associate with a floral scent vs. a spicy scent?
When comparing men’s fragrances to women’s fragrances, what differences do you notice?
Are there scents that immediately transport you back in time, such as the smell of honeysuckle or freshly baked cookies?

Regardless of the scent you prefer, when using scent to communicate positively with others, do not make the mistake of believing the scent you like is loved by those around you!

Physical Appearance

Although not one of the traditional categories of nonverbal communication, we really should discuss physical appearance as a nonverbal message. Whether we like it or not, our physical appearance has an impact on how people relate to us and view us. Someone’s physical appearance is often one of the first reasons people decide to interact with each other in the first place.

Dany Ivy and Sean Wahl argue that physical appearance is a very important factor in nonverbal communication:

The connection between physical appearance and nonverbal communication needs to be made for two important reasons: (1) The decisions we make to maintain or alter our physical appearance reveal a great deal about who we are, and (2) the physical appearance of other people impacts our perception of them, how we communicate with them, how approachable they are, how attractive or unattractive they are, and so on. 21

In fact, people ascribe all kinds of meanings based on their perceptions of how we physically appear to them. Everything from your height, skin tone, smile, weight, and hair (color, style, lack of, etc.) can communicate meanings to other people.

The Matching Hypothesis

One obvious area where physical appearance plays a huge part in our day-to-day lives is in our romantic relationships. Elaine Walster and her colleagues coined the “matching hypothesis” back in the 1960s. 32 , 33 The basic premise of the matching hypothesis is that the idea of “opposites attracting” really doesn’t pertain to physical attraction. When all else is equal, people are more likely to find themselves in romantic relationships with people who are perceived as similarly physically attractive.

In a classic study conducted by Shepherd and Ellis, the researchers took pictures of married couples and mixed up the images of the husbands and wives. 34 The researchers then had groups of female and male college students sort the images based on physical attraction. Not surprisingly, there was a positive relationship between the physical attractiveness of the husbands and the physical attractiveness of the wives.

Other physical appearance variables beyond just basic physical attractiveness have also been examined with regards to the matching hypothesis. A group of researchers led by Julie Carmalt found that matching also explained the dating habits of young people. 35 In their study, Carmalt et al. found that individuals who were overweight were less likely to date someone who was physically attractive.

Overall, research generally supports the matching hypothesis, but physical attractiveness is not the only variable that can impact romantic partners (e.g., socioeconomic status, education, career prospects, etc.). However, the matching hypothesis is a factor that impacts many people’s ultimate dating selection ability.

Research Spotlight

Matching behavior (or swiping right) was not based on the initiator’s physical appearance. So, people often matched with others who were physically more attractive than them. However, people only tended to respond to initiators when their physical attractiveness was similar.

Shaw Taylor, L., Fiore, A. T., Mendelsohn, G. A., & Cheshire, C. (2011). “Out of my league”: A real-world test of the matching hypothesis. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37(7), 942–954. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167211409947

Communication is multifaceted with the combination of verbal and nonverbal cues culminating in a richer communication experience.
Vocal cues such as rate, pitch, and volume have an impact on whether communication is effective.
Facial expressions and body movements enhance communication, but may detract from the effectiveness of communication.

Improving your Nonverbal Skills

In this chapter, we’ve examined a wide range of issues related to nonverbal communication. But it’s one thing to understand nonverbal communication and something completely different to communicate using nonverbal behaviors effectively. In this section, we’re going to explore some ways that you can start to improve your nonverbal skills.

The Nonverbal Mindset

When it comes to effective communication, you need to develop an appropriate mindset towards nonverbal communication. First, individuals must be aware that nonverbal communication plays a significant role in creating meaning.

Second, individuals must believe nonverbal communication is important and impactful. Awareness of nonverbal communication without the belief that it is important can result in negative outcomes. For example, students in nonverbal communication begin to learn about the importance of clothing and general appearance in creating impressions. Some students “rebel” against the idea that appearance and clothing matter stating, “people should accept me no matter what I am wearing.” While this would be ideal, the fact of the matter is that humans size up other humans using visual cues in initial interactions.

Lastly, individuals can analyze their nonverbal communication. This can be accomplished in several ways. Individuals might observe the behavior of individuals who seem to be liked by others and to whom others are socially attracted. The individual should then compare the behaviors of the “popular” person to their own behaviors. What differences exist? Does the other individual smile more, make more or less eye contact, engage in more or less touch, etc.? Based on this comparison, individuals can devise a plan for improvement or perhaps no improvement is needed!

Nonverbal Immediacy

In addition to awareness of nonverbal communication, believing that nonverbal communication is important and analyzing one’s own behavior, individuals should be aware of nonverbal immediacy. Immediacy is defined as physical and psychological closeness. More specifically, Mehrabian defines immediacy as behaviors increasing the sensory stimulation between individuals. 36 Immediacy behaviors include being physically oriented toward another, eye contact, some touch, gesturing, vocal variety, and talking louder. Immediacy behaviors are known to be impactful in a variety of contexts.

In instructional, organizational, and social contexts, research has revealed powerful positive impacts attributable to immediacy behaviors, including influence and compliance, liking, relationship satisfaction, job satisfaction, and learning, etc. In the health care setting, the positive outcomes of nonverbally immediate interaction are well documented: patient satisfaction, 37 , 38 understanding of medical information, 39 , 40 patient perceptions of provider credibility, 41 patient perceptions of confidentiality, 42 parent recall of medical directives given by pediatricians and associated cognitive learning, 43 affect for the provider, 44 , 45 and decreased apprehension when communicating with a physician. 46 Individuals can increase their immediacy behaviors through practice!

Voice, body movement, eye contact, and facial expression can be assessed and improved upon to become a more effective communicator.
Successful communicators can be observed and modeled.
Practicing nonverbal communication is no different from practicing other skills, such as playing an instrument or cooking.

Chapter Wrap-Up

In this chapter, we discussed the importance of nonverbal communication. To be an effective nonverbal communicator, it is necessary to understand that nonverbal communication conveys a tremendous amount of information. However, the meaning of nonverbal communication most often must be understood within the context of the interaction. There are very few nonverbal behaviors that can be understood outside of context.

This chapter also discusses the functions of nonverbal communication. Nonverbal communication serves many purposes and works to clarify the meaning of verbal communication. Verbal communication and nonverbal communication, in combination, increase the chances of stimulating accurate meaning in the minds of others. One without the other dilutes the effectiveness of each.

Finally, this chapter discusses the subcategories of nonverbal communication. The subcategories of nonverbal communication allow us to account for the multitude of cues sent between the sender and receiver. The human brain must account for cues resulting from eye contact, facial expressions, distance between sender and receiver, touch, sound, movement, and scent. Amazingly, the human brain processes all of these cues very quickly and with a high degree of accuracy.

“Nonverbal Communication” by Dr. Kathryn Weinland is adapted from “ Nonverbal Communication ” in Interpersonal Communication by Jason S. Wrench, Narissra M. Punyanunt-Carter, and Katherine S. Thweatt, licensed CC BY-NC-SA .

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CHAPTER 6: INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

6.1 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

6.2 WHAT IS INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION?

6.3 GOALS OF INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

6.4 LANGUAGE SHAPES CULTURAL PERCEPTION

6.5 CULTURAL DIMENSIONS

WHERE INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION OCCURS

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6 Ch. 6: Nonverbal Communication

Key Vocabulary

Principles of Nonverbal Communication

Nonverbal Communication Uses Multiple Channels

Nonverbal Communication is More Ambiguous

Nonverbal Communication Has Fewer Rules