A culture, by definition, is a set of shared beliefs within a society; learning how to interact with people from different cultures is important in order to communicate and work with each other. It helps us become understanding of one another and widens our perspective of what the world has to offer. To be able to cross cultural communicate with others, the first step is to be aware that every culture is complex and has its differences. While traveling to new countries and trying to understand each other, there is a large possibility of miscommunication, which can come in the form of misinterpreting messages or body language; therefore, it is crucial to keep an open mind whilst communicating. There are multitudes of factors in various cultures that play a role in decision making, so being aware of the expectations that are influenced by someone’s culture will help you understand their choices. To include everyone is shaped differently by their background, society, education, financial status, and own unique personalities. Therefore should not be generalized using stereotype that strips them of their individuality. …show more content…
DuPraw’s and Marya Axner’s article “Working on CommonCross-cultural Communication, they pointed out that “[a]n appreciation of patterns of cultural difference can assist us in processing what it means to be different in ways that are respectful of others…”. We usually see different cultures as abnormal or “wrong” because it is not what we’re used to. This quote from the article is telling us that we need to become empathetic to successfully understand others from different backgrounds. When you stop to listen and put yourselves in others’ shoes, you are respecting and understanding their ideas. To fully succeed in cross cultural communications, you need to learn, accept and appreciate the differences each culture has and be considerate of people with diverse developmental
As soon as you understand more about a person, you can be more empathetic and understanding of different cultures. I come from a Hispanic and German background so I have had the chance to enjoy multiple cultures already. Yet, experiencing and learning about new cultures is important to create better more understanding
Cultural competence is an ongoing journey. There is a need for society to continue to learn and improve the ways we interact with others. I consider it important that as I becomes more diverse, I must adjust to such changes. It is vital for me to determine and appreciate the unspoken beliefs and assumptions of others. I should respect the dignity of each person, irrespective of age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity or cultural group.
Learning how to replace the common feelings, emotions, and behaviors, and undertaking different approaches to a situation regarding conflict are two methods of coping I wish I would have known when I was experiencing culture shock, as this would have prevented many of the negative emotions I felt in this situation (Neuliep, 2014). Furthermore, taking a more open-minded approach to different customs and mannerisms would further help delay judgment and rejection to cultural elements I may find offensive or simply different than mine (Neuliep, 2014). This open-mindedness could better assist me in forming healthy relationships with people from foreign cultures, and increase my admiration of the
No one should be stereotyped with just their appearances or how they may speak and are judged by
No one should be stereotyped with just their appearances or how they may speak and are judged by
A group of people can not be defined by the few people who express themselves and show themselves off because that is what a stereotype is. Having stereotypes is a very simple way of categorizing people, but it is not always the right way to think about the
However, this leads to the generalization of whole groups of individuals who have many different qualities outside of the characteristics stereotypically
Showing respect with a non-judgmental attitude is required for successful interactions with people of diverse cultures. Understanding their ways which may be different from our own can explain a lot about how they react and deal with the problems they are having. Understanding the different cultural roles and dynamics within diverse families can better mediate familial problems. Understanding other cultures’ feelings about counseling and the stigma it may carry is another important aspect of cultural competence. These are some reasons for having cultural competence.
When we look at a group of people that stand out from the norm, we put them into another category without identifying their merits. It always happen in society that is people stereotype people. We sometimes put a tag of superiority or inferiority onto a stereotype. We judge and criticize these stereotypes, and we do not even recognize the individuals in their groups. It is a stubborn thought as the stereotyped expression that each person from that group has the same qualities.
Introduction Amy Tan, who was born in California, Oakland, USA in 1952 and became an outstanding American Chinese writer. She began to write novels at the age of thirty-three. Based on the experiences of her grandmother and mother, a full-length novel called The Joy Luck Club was published and her reputation in the literary world has been established. The Joy Luck Club vividly depicted the delicate feelings between mothers and daughters, not only won the National Book Award this year, but also adapted into a film and set up a high box office record.
If you understand the culture context you have chosen to learn about you will know how to manage the way you approach the process. A good start would be to take the time and interest to broaden our understanding of the differences we all have. Keeping an open mind and embracing the diversities can make us stronger and more accepting of people that are from another culture. I trust some of the easy things you can do to make an effort to comprehend a new culture is, listen to their music, attempt to learn their language and try the traditional food of their culture.
We read about the Stumbling Blocks in Intercultural Communication by Laray M. Barna in class, and watched three videos that showed us of some real-life situations. The 6 stumbling blocks are the assumption of similarities, language difference, nonverbal misinterpretations, tendency to evaluate, stress and culture. The first video was a video that the man and their family were from different cultures, therefore their eating behaviors were different too. The baseball man thought the Japanese’s manner was to slurp when they eat soba. When the women tried to serve the man for some vegetables, he thought he did not need to take it because in the U.S, it is normal for people to serve themselves.
I am glad that you brought the subject of empathy cross cultures; this is an important issue for the reason that we form our perception based on our upbringing, religious believes, and education to name a few. To have empathy for people from other cultures we must take several considerations. We must show the person we dealing with a genuine interest in learning more about the characteristics of their culture. In addition, it is well recommended to increase the knowledge of political and historical backgrounds of those individuals’ cultures. Furthermore, we should have some notion of the prejudices, powerlessness, and oppression that his/her culture has gone through.
Abstract Communicating successfully with people from different cultures can be a real challenge. Cultural differences may lead to tensions, arguments, and even wars between peoples and nations. This paper deals with one of the most common problems in intercultural communication cultural shock, it introduces its concepts and basic traits, causes and symptoms, stages of adjustment and strategies of overcoming culture shock with the aim of improving intercultural communication competence for smoothing intercultural communication. Key words: Cultural shock; Intercultural communication; Stages of adjustment; Intercultural communication competence Wang, M. L. (2015).
However, there are some practices which have been found in many cultures and have been taken to be standard universally. When communicating to people from other cultures there are very many things which you should pay attention to. These are mostly grouped into verbal and non-verbal ones. The verbal cues are mostly about what you say and all that accompanies your words i.e. the choice of words, language, facial expressions, and gestures. The non-verbal are mostly means of communication which does not involve speaking e.g. how you dress.