4-1Copyright 1998 by Prentice Hall, Inc. Communication Chapter 4

4-2Copyright 1998 by Prentice Hall, Inc. Learning Objectives Explain the basic communication process and define cross-cultural communication Understand how language affects communication and how different cultures use the four styles of verbal communication Discuss various types of nonverbal communication

4-3Copyright 1998 by Prentice Hall, Inc. Learning Objectives (cont.) Enhance your cross-cultural communication skills Identify major barriers to communicating cross-culturally

4-4Copyright 1998 by Prentice Hall, Inc. Communication The process of transmitting thoughts or ideas from one person to another

4-5Copyright 1998 by Prentice Hall, Inc. The Communication Process Thought Encoding Transmitting Receiving Decoding Understanding Noise Feedback SenderReceiver

4-6Copyright 1998 by Prentice Hall, Inc. Cross-Cultural Communication Differences Language Usage Verbal Communication Styles Nonverbal Communication

4-7Copyright 1998 by Prentice Hall, Inc. Major Characteristics of the Four Verbal Styles Verbal Style Variation Major Characteristic Cultures Where Found Direct Vs. Indirect Elaborate Vs. Succinct Direct Indirect Elaborate Exacting Succinct Message is more explicit Message is more implicit Quantity of talk is relatively high Quantity of talk is moderate Quantity of talk relatively low Individualistic, low-context Collective, high-context Moderate uncertainty avoidance, high-context Low uncertainty avoidance, low-context High uncertainty avoidance, high-context

Major Characteristics of the Four Verbal Styles (cont.) Verbal Style Variation Major Characteristic Cultures Where Found Personal Vs. Contextual Instrumental Vs. Affective Personal Contextual Instrumental Affective Focus on speaker “personhood” Focus of role of speaker, role relationships Language is goal oriented, sender focused Language is process oriented, receiver focused Low power distance, individualistic, low context High power distance, collective, high-context Individualistic, low-context Collective, high-context Copyright 1998 by Prentice Hall, Inc. 4-8

4-9Copyright 1998 by Prentice Hall, Inc. Forms of Nonverbal Communication Kinesics Kinesics Communication through body movements, including facial expression, gestures, and posture Oculesics Oculesics Communication through eye contact and gaze Haptics Haptics Communication through the use of body contact Proxemics Proxemics Communication through the use of space Chronemics Chronemics Communication through the use of time within a culture Chromatics Chromatics Communication through the use of colors

4-10Copyright 1998 by Prentice Hall, Inc. Barriers to Cross-Cultural Communication Culture Perception Experience

4-11Copyright 1998 by Prentice Hall, Inc. Convergence or Divergence? Increasing ease of communication Widespread use of English Similar words and concepts in different languages Number of different languages Barriers to cross- cultural communication

4-12Copyright 1998 by Prentice Hall, Inc. Implications for Managers Cross-cultural communication a critical skill Awareness of differences can improve communication skill Important to learn other languages