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1、On the impact of cross-cultural communication of the main factors1All communication is cultural - it draws on ways we have learned to speak and give nonverbal messages. We do not always communicate the same way from day to day, since factors like context, individual personality, and mood interact wi
2、th the variety of cultural influences we have internalized that influence our choices. Communication is interactive, so an important influence on its effectiveness is our relationship with others. Do they hear and understand what we are trying to say? Are they listening well? Are we listening well i
3、n response? Do their responses show that they understand the words and the meanings behind the words we have chosen? Is the mood positive and receptive? Is there trust between them and us? Are there differences that relate to ineffective communication, divergent goals or interests, or fundamentally
4、different ways of seeing the world? The answers to these questions will give us some clues about the effectiveness of our communication and the ease with which we may be able to move through conflict.The challenge is that even with all the good will in the world, miscommunication is likely to happen
5、, especially when there are significant cultural differences between communicators. Miscommunication may lead to conflict, or aggravate conflict that already exists. We make - whether it is clear to us or not - quite different meaning of the world, our places in it, and our relationships with others
6、Time and Space Time is one of the most central differences that separate cultures and cultural ways of doing things. In the West, time tends to be seen as quantitative, measured in units that reflect the march of progress. It is logical, sequential, and present-focused, moving with incremental certa
7、inty toward a future the ego cannot touch and a past that is not a part of now. Novinger calls the United States a chronocracy, in which there is such reverence for efficiency and the success of economic endeavors that the expression time is money is frequently heard。 This approach to time is called
8、 monochronic - it is an approach that favors linear structure and focus on one event or interaction at a time. Roberts Rules of Order, observed in many Western meetings, enforce a monochronic idea of time.In the East, time feels like it has unlimited continuity, an unraveling rather than a strict bo
9、undary. Birth and death are not such absolute ends since the universe continues and humans, though changing form, continue as part of it. People may attend to many things happening at once in this approach to time, called polychronous. This may mean many conversations in a moment (such as a meeting
10、in which people speak simultaneously, talking over each other as they discuss their subjects), or many times and peoples during one process (such as a ceremony in which those family members who have died are felt to be present as well as those yet to be born into the family).A good place to look to
11、understand the Eastern idea of time is India. There, time is seen as moving endlessly through various cycles, becoming and vanishing. Time stretches far beyond the human ego or lifetime. There is a certain timeless quality to time, an aesthetic almost too intricate and vast for the human mind to com
12、prehend. Consider this description of an aeon, the unit of time which elapses between the origin and destruction of a world system: Suppose there is a mountain, of very hard rock, much bigger than the Himalayas; and suppose that a man, with a piece of the very finest cloth of Benares, once every cen
13、tury should touch that mountain ever so slightly - then the time it would take him to wear away the entire mountain would be about the time of an Aeon。Differences over time can play out in painful and dramatic ways in negotiation or conflict-resolution processes. An example of differences over time
14、comes from a negotiation process related to a land claim that took place in Canada. First Nations people met with representatives from local, regional, and national governments to introduce themselves and begin their work. During this first meeting, First Nations people took time to tell the stories
15、 of their people and their relationships to the land over the past seven generations. They spoke of the spirit of the land, the kinds of things their people have traditionally done on the land, and their sacred connection to it. They spoke in circular ways, weaving themes, feelings, ideas, and exper
16、iences together as they remembered seven generations into the past and projected seven generations forward.When it was the government representatives chance to speak, they projected flow charts showing internal processes for decision-making and spoke in present-focused ways about their intentions fo
17、r entering the negotiation process. The flow charts were linear and spare in their lack of narrative, arising from the bureaucratic culture from which the government representatives came. Two different conceptions of time: in one, time stretches, loops forward and back, past and future are both pres
18、ent in this time. In the other, time begins with the present moment and extends into the horizon in which the matters at hand will be decided.It is also true that cultural approaches to time or communication are not always applied in good faith, but may serve a variety of motives. Asserting power, s
19、uperiority, advantage, or control over the course of the negotiations may be a motive wrapped up in certain cultural behaviors (for example, the government representatives detailed emphasis on ratification procedures may have conveyed an implicit message of control, or the First Nations attention to
20、 the past may have emphasized the advantages of being aware of history). Culture and cultural beliefs may be used as a tactic by negotiators; for this reason, it is important that parties be involved in collaborative-process design when addressing intractable conflicts. As people from different cult
21、ural backgrounds work together to design a process to address the issues that divide them, they can ask questions about cultural preferences about time and space and how these may affect a negotiation or conflict-resolution process, and thus inoculate against the use of culture as a tactic or an ins
22、trument to advance power.This is why a polychronic perspective is often associated with a communitarian starting point. The focus on the collective, or group, stretching forward and back, animates the polychronic view of time. In more monochronic settings, an individualist way of life is more easily
23、 accommodated. Individualists can more easily extract moments in time, and individuals themselves, from the networks around them. If time is a straight line stretching forward and not back, then fate or destiny may be less compelling. (For more on this, see the essay on Communication Tools for Under
24、standing Cultural Difference.)Fate and Personal ResponsibilityAnother important variable affecting communication across cultures is fate and personal responsibility. This refers to the degree to which we feel ourselves the masters of our lives, versus the degree to which we see ourselves as subject
25、to things outside our control. Another way to look at this is to ask how much we see ourselves able to change and maneuver, to choose the course of our lives and relationships. Some have drawn a parallel between the emphasis on personal responsibility in North American settings and the landscape its
26、elf。 The North American landscape is vast, with large spaces of unpopulated territory. The frontier mentality of conquering the wilderness, and the expansiveness of the land stretching huge distances, may relate to generally high levels of confidence in the ability to shape and choose our destinies.
27、Now consider places in the world with much smaller territory, whose history reflects repeated conquest and harsh struggles: Northern Ireland, Mexico, Israel, Palestine. In these places, there is more emphasis on destinys role in human life. In Mexico, there is a legacy of poverty, invasion, and terr
28、itorial mutilation. Mexicans are more likely to see struggles as inevitable or unavoidable. Their fatalistic attitude is expressed in their way of responding to failure or accident by saying ni modo (no way or tough luck), meaning that the setback was destined.This variable is important to understan
29、ding cultural conflict. If someone invested in free will crosses paths with someone more fatalistic in orientation, miscommunication is likely. The first person may expect action and accountability. Failing to see it, they may conclude that the second is lazy, obstructionist, or dishonest. The secon
30、d person will expect respect for the natural order of things. Failing to see it, they may conclude that the first is coercive or irreverent, inflated in his ideas of what can be accomplished or changed.Face and Face-SavingAnother important cultural variable relates to face and face-saving. Face is i
31、mportant across cultures, yet the dynamics of face and face-saving play out differently. Face is defined in many different ways in the cross-cultural communication literature. Novinger says it is the value or standing a person has in the eyes of others.and that it relates to pride or self-respect.5
32、Others have defined it as the negotiated public image, mutually granted each other by participants in communication.6 In this broader definition, face includes ideas of status, power, courtesy, insider and outsider relations, humor, and respect. In many cultures, maintaining face is of great importa
33、nce, though ideas of how to do this vary.The starting points of individualism and communitarianism are closely related to face. If I see myself as a self-determining individual, then face has to do with preserving my image with others and myself. I can and should exert control in situations to achie
34、ve this goal. I may do this by taking a competitive stance in negotiations or confronting someone who I perceive to have wronged me. I may be comfortable in a mediation where the other party and I meet face to face and frankly discuss our differences.If I see my primary identification as a group mem
35、ber, then considerations about face involve my group. Direct confrontation or problem-solving with others may reflect poorly on my group, or disturb overall community harmony. I may prefer to avoid criticism of others, even when the disappointment I have concealed may come out in other, more damagin
36、g ways later. When there is conflict that cannot be avoided, I may prefer a third party who acts as a shuttle between me and the other people involved in the conflict. Since no direct confrontation takes place, face is preserved and potential damage to the relationships or networks of relationships
37、is minimized.Nonverbal CommunicationNonverbal communication is hugely important in any interaction with others; its importance is multiplied across cultures. This is because we tend to look for nonverbal cues when verbal messages are unclear or ambiguous, as they are more likely to be across culture
38、s (especially when different languages are being used). Since nonverbal behavior arises from our cultural common sense - our ideas about what is appropriate, normal, and effective as communication in relationships - we use different systems of understanding gestures, posture, silence, spacial relati
39、ons, emotional expression, touch, physical appearance, and other nonverbal cues. Cultures also attribute different degrees of importance to verbal and nonverbal behavior.Low-context cultures like the United States and Canada tend to give relatively less emphasis to nonverbal communication. This does
40、 not mean that nonverbal communication does not happen, or that it is unimportant, but that people in these settings tend to place less importance on it than on the literal meanings of words themselves. In high-context settings such as Japan or Colombia, understanding the nonverbal components of com
41、munication is relatively more important to receiving the intended meaning of the communication as a whole.These differences of interpretation may lead to conflict, or escalate existing conflict. Suppose a Japanese person is explaining her absence from negotiations due to a death in her family. She m
42、ay do so with a smile, based on her cultural belief that it is not appropriate to inflict the pain of grief on others. For a Westerner who understands smiles to mean friendliness and happiness, this smile may seem incongruous and even cold, under the circumstances. Even though some facial expression
43、s may be similar across cultures, their interpretations remain culture-specific. It is important to understand something about cultural starting-points and values in order to interpret emotions expressed in cross-cultural interactions.Another variable across cultures has to do with proxemics, or way
44、s of relating to space. Crossing cultures, we encounter very different ideas about polite space for conversations and negotiations. North Americans tend to prefer a large amount of space, perhaps because they are surrounded by it in their homes and countryside. Europeans tend to stand more closely w
45、ith each other when talking, and are accustomed to smaller personal spaces. In a comparison of North American and French children on a beach, a researcher noticed that the French children tended to stay in a relatively small space near their parents, while U.S. children ranged up and down a large ar
46、ea of the beach。The difficulty with space preferences is not that they exist, but the judgments that get attached to them. If someone is accustomed to standing or sitting very close when they are talking with another, they may see the others attempt to create more space as evidence of coldness, cond
47、escension, or a lack of interest. Those who are accustomed to more personal space may view attempts to get closer as pushy, disrespectful, or aggressive. Neither is correct - they are simply different。Also related to space is the degree of comfort we feel moving furniture or other objects. It is sai
48、d that a German executive working in the United States became so upset with visitors to his office moving the guest chair to suit themselves that he had it bolted to the floor。 Contrast this with U.S. and Canadian mediators and conflict-resolution trainers, whose first step in preparing for a meetin
49、g is not infrequently a complete rearrangement of the furniture.Finally, line-waiting behavior and behavior in group settings like grocery stores or government offices is culturally-influenced. Novinger reports that the English and U.S. Americans are serious about standing in lines, in accordance with their beliefs in democracy and the principle of first come, first served。The French, on the other hand, have a practice of resquillage, or line jumping,
