Factors Affecting Cross Cultural Communication With Activity Training Ppt

Slide 1

This slide mentions the various sources or causes of miscommunication in cross-cultural communication. 

Instructor’s Notes:

• Language differences: When different people interacting with each other do not speak the same language, or words reflect a different meaning when spoken in the same language, that might cause miscommunication and difficulties in understanding
• Nonverbal misinterpretation: Nonverbal miscommunication takes place when the meaning of nonverbal cues differ across cultures. Body language, gestures, eye contact, postures, etc., play a considerable role in this context. For example, nodding the head is YES in some cultures ; it is a big NO in other cultures (Bulgaria)
• Preconceptions and prejudices: Having prejudices about something, especially language, usually cause differences in understanding. Preconceptions about some nonverbal signals can also cause multiple issues between people. When a person starts assuming a fixed set of characteristics from all group members that they do not like, it can cause misconceptions and differences in communication
• Tendency to evaluate: When a person starts evaluating or analyzing other people in terms of communication, appearance, ways of speaking, etc., it may lead to misconceptions and hence, cause misunderstandings
• High anxiety: When a person sounds anxious while interacting with people from different cultures, it creates confusion leading to misconceptions. Anxiety lowers your power of understanding

Slide 2

This slide illustrates various factors which affect cross-cultural communication

Instructor’s Notes:

• Language: The use of different languages across cultures is one of the most common barriers to cross-cultural communication. In most global organizations, translators are hired to make this process easy
• Conceptions of authority: Authority is viewed differently in every culture. Some cultures follow participative communication, and some rely on authority-based decision-making. People think a lot on how their message will be perceived, considering the status or rank of the receiver. The viewpoint of such authority or hierarchy followed impacts the effectiveness of business communication. Ultimately, how cultures view authority influences the level of communication and its effectiveness between people
• Environment & technology: How individuals use the resources or technology differs across cultures. Culturally-ingrained biases relating to natural and technological environment can create communication barriers. Many environmental factors like population size, availability of resources, climate, etc., have a high influence on the development of cultures
• Nonverbal communication: Knowledge of a culture conveyed using words represents only a portion of the message communicated. Non-verbal aspects like body language, clothes, eye contact, etc., communicate complete information. A wise and intelligent business person will consider understanding the prevailing attitudes in the location of their interest before actually committing resources in a culture that is unfamiliar

Slide 3

This slide illustrates the activity to be conducted by the trainer for cross-cultural perception checking.

Instructor’s Notes:

Example:

• Jessica, a girl who sits next to me in my English speaking class, never raises her hand to ask the professor a question whenever she is having any doubt. She always used to ask me if I would ask the professor instead
• My initial reaction to this was confusion on why couldn't she raise her hand and ask the professor herself that she was confused? Most of the American students did this all the time
• Later on it was found that, Jessica belongs to a collective culture that also has high power distance. For her, it was second nature to rely on her community for support. Also, Jessica belongs to a culture that respects the authority of professor. She was concerned about what impression the professor will carry of her, if she admitted that she didn't understand