Mindful
Communication = Effective Cross-Cultural Understanding
By Prof.
Jonathan Acuña Solano
Tuesday,
April 28, 2015
Twitter:
@jonacuso
Post 156
How do we know we have communicated
effectively? Sounds like a question that can be easily answered, but the fact
is that this is not exactly true especially when one is dealing with people
from a different culture. Gudykunst & Kim (2002) warns us of the dangers of
talking to someone from a different culture or cultural background on
“automatic pilot;” this can simply be catastrophic for both the speaker, -the
one on automatic pilot-, and the listener, -the member of a different culture-.
“Effective communication involves
minimizing misunderstanding” (Gudykunst & Kim 2002); thus, how do we avoid misunderstanding?” To be a good
communicator with a member of another culture, it is imperative that we become
mindful. That is, we must be aware of our differences and be open-minded in
terms of the other’s view of the world and his interpretations of what we may
simply call day-to-day situations in life. Part of being mindful is to
comprehend that our interpretation of cultural symbols is and will be different
when dealing with members of a different and, why not, contrasting culture if
compared to ours. As Brooks (n.d.) pointed out, “culture is thus a product of
human learning that takes place within a particular group;” yet if one is not a
member of that group, it is crucial to have some good understanding of that
group alien to us to be a more competent communicator with the members of that
culture.
Berger (1979, also quoted by Gudykunst
& Kim 2002), acknowledges the importance of the “knowledge to how to gather
information” to be better equipped when dealing with people from a different
cultural group. We need to become “unobtrusive observers,” a passive strategy
that can give us the chance to compare people’s responses to certain
situations to predict future behavior. Berger continues to point out another
strategy that Gudykunst & Kim (2002) labeled as “active strategies.” As
part of these strategies one gets to talk to members of or visitors to that
culture to gather information about their behavior. But, be careful! Data
gathered in this way may be biased somehow and a combination of strategies is
mindful in this case. And one last strategy to get information about people’s
behavior in another culture is by asking them directly: “The interactive
strategies of verbal interrogation (question asking) and self-disclosure, in
contrast, are used when we interact with the other person” (Berger 1979, also
quoted by Gudykunst & Kim 2002), a member of the other culture.
By means of this gathering of
information of the other culture and its members, one can develop some
awareness of “group differences,” “personal similarities,” and “alternative
interpretations” (Gudykunst & Kim 2002). It is impossible to generalize
behavior among humans; for that reason, one can witness how people react
differently according to their interpretations and learned behaviors. For
effective communication one needs to focus on group differences rather than
their similarities. Furthermore, “personal similarities” is also part of being
mindful since it is wise to find similarities at the individual level. Though
individuals belong to a larger cultural group, it is crucial to acknowledge
their individuality. For Gudykunst &
Kim (2002), “effective communication requires that we minimize misunderstanding
or maximize the similarity in the ways messages are interpreted.” By doing so,
our mindfulness will be telling us that though there are expected behaviors,
messages can be interpreted differently and that can trigger lots of
misunderstanding if one is not prepared to deal with divergent behavior that
does not seem to fit what one has anticipated.
To sum up, the “understanding of
another way of life begins to achieve significance” (Seelye 1993) when we,
visitors to a different culture or to a divergent cultural group, become
mindful and try to effectively communicate with these individuals. Our
mindfulness goes beyond communication on “automatic pilot.” Communication with
members of another culture or cultural group requires conscious behavior and
willingness to understand the others.
Brooks,
F. (n.d). Language and Culture. Florida State University.
Gudykunst, W. & Kim, Y. (2002).
Communicating with Strangers, an Approach to Intercultural Communication. New York: The
McGraw-Hill Companies
Seelye, H. (1993). Teaching Culture:
Strategies for Intercultural Communication. National Textbook Company
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
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