Communicating With Communicating With Cultural AwarenessCultural Awareness

#1 Be open minded about cultural differences!

Be mindful or aware of how other cultures’ behaviors and ways of thinking are likely to differ from your own. Be sensitive to the

differences.

Avoid ethnocentrism, the tendency to judge other

cultures’ practices as inferior to one’s own. Realize your

way of doing things isn’t the only right way.

#2 Be knowledgeable

about different communication

codes!

Communication codes are verbal and nonverbal

behaviors whose meanings are often understood only by people from the same culture (e.g., idioms, jargon, gestures)

An idiom is a phrase whose meaning is purely figurative.

We cannot understand its meaning by interpreting the

words, and they don’t translate from one culture to the next

(e.g., The girl has two left feet = She is not a good dancer)

Jargon is language whose technical meaning is

understood by people within a given co-culture but not

necessarily by those outside of it. Being culturally aware means switching to plain language to

be understood by others.

Gestures are movements of the hand or arm that express an idea, and their meaning varies from one culture to

another. Being culturally aware means being knowledgeable

about different meanings associated with gestures and

using them appropriately.

#3 Be flexible and

respectful when interacting with

others!

When interacting cross-culturally expect ambiguity, or uncertainty, and use it as an opportunity to learn more

about the other culture.

Realize and appreciate that there are differences in access to technology. Not everyone

has access to the Internet!

Adapt, or change, your communication behaviors to

match others. However, make sure you do it respectfully, not

in a mocking way. It should appear natural, not forced.

Competent communicators

communicate with cultural awareness!