Introduction
Being the child of immigrant parents and having grown up in a diverse area, I have seen and experienced the challenges of multicultural communication.
My familiarity with intercultural experiences has also made it easy for me to identify related issues in the workplace.
This essay aims to tackle the importance of intercultural communication in many different aspects of society, including education, business, and the everyday workplace.
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Importance of Intercultural Communication
We live in this increasingly globalized age where we frequently interact with people from different cultures. Hence, intercultural communication is quite inevitable.
Communicating with people from different cultural backgrounds is necessary for business, learning, and the community. Globalization has somehow made the world seem smaller, as people from all corners of the world come together due to some common motivations.
Not only is intercultural communication vital in achieving work success; it is pretty much a crucial life skill that all of us need to be adept in. More than being able to communicate effectively, cross-cultural awareness also enables us to share and embrace other cultures.
Even though language skills are an important part of intercultural communication, there are other requirements in developing appropriate intercultural communication skills. These include understanding customs and traditions, way of life, and worldview.
Developing good intercultural communication skills means accepting cultural differences and adapting to them.
Among all the sectors of society, the education sector relies largely on the effective interaction between teachers and learners. With the increasing diversity in schools and universities, intercultural communication is all the more important today.
Clear communication between teachers and students is a must because it precedes the effective transfer of knowledge in class. This includes both verbal and non-verbal communication. Both teachers and students, as they interact, need to know how to sensitively navigate dialogues in order to facilitate learning and maintain a healthy environment.
Intercultural communication has also become an essential skill in the medical field. Take, for example, a healthcare provider serving an ethnic minority patient. Language difficulties, combined with their beliefs and understanding of the disease, can result in a wrong diagnosis.
Within the health sector, communicating with non-English speakers is one of the major challenges facing healthcare providers. That is why healthcare workers are being trained to use alternative means of improving communication with their patients, such as the use of professional interpreters.
Similarly, in the business sector, intercultural communication skills are a requirement due to globalization. This is particularly true for employees in multinational companies. It would be very difficult to grow in your role, as well as communicate and negotiate with people, without a solid understanding of cross-cultural differences.
To effectively understand and communicate well in a cross-cultural workplace, one needs to understand the values, attitudes, beliefs, and behavior of other people.
Today, companies do not just look at technical know-how in assessing a potential employee, but also intercultural skills. The ability to speak different languages, demonstrate respect for other employees, and cope with cultural differences are things that most employers consider deeply.
Managing people from different cultures within an organization is one of the challenges facing many managers, supervisors, and team leaders. While they possess the industry-specific skills and knowledge to be able to make good business decisions, they lack an awareness of how to effectively coach and grow team members who may do things differently. This is why many companies have implemented workplace programs that promote cultural diversity.
Intercultural skills are important for several reasons. One is that they give employees a better understanding of their work environment. Second, it helps them “enculturate” others; enabling them to study and adapt to the prevailing work culture and transition without much culture shock. When intercultural communication is promoted among team members, productivity is positively affected.
Understanding culture is not just about behavior and language; it is about learning how to successfully interact with people from other cultures in a sensitive and respectful way. It is about honoring the cultural identity and dignity of another.
Intercultural communication starts with self-awareness, then progresses into a willingness to accept cultural differences, and finally finding a way to integrate these differences into a healthy cross-cultural relationship.
Essay About Intercultural Communication (Short Essay Sample)
Cross-cultural communication for me is one of the most underrated life skills today. People tend to take the value of understanding intercultural communication lightly. They think it will be easy to do. But the best and healthiest multicultural interactions happen when people really take the time to study and appreciate other backgrounds
Differing cultures are practically a norm in every aspect of society today. Globalization has caused people everywhere to flock to other parts of the globe, be it for career, family, or other personal reasons. Therefore, global communication demands us to be sensitive to possible misunderstandings caused by carelessly communicating from our own cultural lens.
Individual differences are one thing to contend with, even in a homogenous setting. In a multicultural society, a consideration of social groups, cultural origins, and shared meanings is essential. Without the sensitivity or the willingness to go through these layers, it is nearly impossible to function in this type of community.
People respond out of their biases and cultural perspective. Therefore, to achieve healthy levels of interaction with those who are different from us, we need to willingly remove our cultural bifocals and learn to identify with others.
FAQs
Advantages of Intercultural Communication
Intercultural communication has many benefits. Some of them include better self-awareness, healthy relationships, deeper empathy, stronger articulation, greater thoughtfulness, and clear boundaries. At the same time, it indirectly has an impact on output. Better relationships can encourage increased productivity and improved results.
How to Communicate with Someone From a Different Culture
There is no complex system of protocols for communicating with people of different ethnicities. The most crucial skills required of you are active listening and empathy. The hardest part is oftentimes being able to see from their perspective, even if your own doesn’t quite line up with it. Once you have been able to deepen your identification with another person’s point of view, then you can begin to engage by sharing your perspective.
One practical way to increase clarity in these conversations is to echo back or mirror what the other person is saying. You can then ask them if your understanding of their point is accurate before proceeding.
A good starting point is to determine commonalities. Identify things you are both passionate about, interested in, or are similar in your cultures. When you are assured that you do have some things in common, it is then easier to explore differences. You will both be open to overcoming or navigating through these, especially once you have found important things that tie you together.
How Does Culture Affect Communication
Culture determines how and when something is communicated. Your understanding of the world, your values, and your belief determine how you choose your timing, your choice of words, and even your conviction. Culture also informs your belief on whether or not you are the right person to deliver the message. Finally, culture establishes a pattern of dialogue among different groups. Once people have learned the routines of others, they quickly learn how to adapt to their own advantage.
