The Main Challenge of Intercultural Relations - Essay Example

Communication is an essential aspect of life and people’s interaction. The school of journalism, mass media, and communication offers various important courses. Although all the courses that I have learnt at school are important, this particular course has proved to be of great importance to both my career and personal life. This course comes as a unique course of the entire curriculum; its benefits go beyond the boundaries of the subject. In this paper, I will give reflection of the course with relation to various activities and assignments that we carried out as part of the course. The paper will emphasize on my change of perception towards intercultural relations and communication. This course has been quite helpful for my future career and personal life. Through this course, I have learnt important skills that have enabled me change my perception towards other people and their cultures. Reaction towards other cultures is the first determinant of intercultural relations. Although other forms of interactions determine intercultural relations, communication remains the most important factor (Lustig & Koester, 2010). Having a negative reaction or attitude towards people from a different culture is intrinsic to human nature. After going through this course, I have learnt that our cultural diversity is the basis of our strength. This has enabled me to have a positive attitude towards people from different cultural background. This has greatly improved my reaction towards people from different cultural backgrounds. Before taking this course, I considered intercultural communication as something almost impossible and unachievable. The course has enabled me to realize that the difficulty is just a perception. I have also learnt that positive attitude is beyond cultural barriers. Effective communication starts with effectiveness in basics of communication. Similarly, effective intercultural communication will depend on the effectiveness of different factors of communication. Speaking and listening are the basics of communication. From the course, I have realized that effective intercultural communication starts with effective listening skills followed by effective communication. Although acquiring these skills can be difficult, the difficulty is nothing if one has a positive attitude. Every person belongs to a certain culture and, therefore, the qualities or characteristics in a given culture depend on the general characteristics of the people. This implies that the average strength and weakness of people in a given culture might be considered as the weakness or strength within the culture. Identifying personal weakness and strength is an important aspect in effective communication. Tolerance is the ability to give other people a chance to express themselves and their ideas. This course has enabled me to acknowledge tolerance as an important element in culture. I also realized that I am a very analytical person. In addition, I realized that I have good listening skills and this is my basic strength in intercultural interactions. Good listening skills enable to give people from different cultural backgrounds the chance to express their views and ideas (Lustig & Koester, 2010). Using this skill, I am able to learn other people and this contributes to effective intercultural relation. Our culture promotes good listening and analytical skills. However, the culture has some few weaknesses that act as a barrier to effective communication. The course has enabled me to realize that members of our culture are very judgmental. I have also learnt this is the basis of having negative attitude towards people from different cultures. If people from our culture improve in this area, I believe that we can become more competent in our intercultural interaction and communication. The knowledge from this course is very vital not only in relation to my academic life but also to my future. Acquiring knowledge is important. However, applying knowledge is of greater importance. Considering my personal experiences and knowledge I have acquired from this course, I have been able to acknowledge the importance of real-world application of knowledge. Eliminating or nullifying stereotypes has been my first application of knowledge acquired from this course (Lustig & Koester, 2010). The course has enabled me to have positive attitude towards other people. This is the first step towards eliminating or nullifying stereotypes. With the current success am looking forward towards completing this course successfully. In addition, I am looking forward towards a brighter career in the communication industry. I consider the knowledge acquired within this course to be of great importance I also acknowledge that its application to be of greater importance. I, therefore, look forward to achieving great benefits resulting from application of intercultural communication in the real world. To achieve effective intercultural communication I will begin by practicing the knowledge that I have acquired from the course. Although much of the knowledge learnt within the framework of the course is theoretical, it is still applicable. Learning other people’s culture will also be an important part of applying the knowledge in the real world. Becoming an effective intercultural communicator is an important factor in my future career. Perfecting my intercultural interactions and communication will, therefore, depend on how I handle possible challenges. People from different cultures may have negative attitude towards our interaction due to lack of knowledge on the importance of intercultural relations. This will be the main challenge that I am likely to encounter in my intercultural interaction. I will handle this challenge by informing the other party about the importance of good relations in intercultural communication. Language barrier is likely to be a major challenge in intercultural relations. To handle this challenge I intend to work on my non-verbal communication skills. I also consider learning different languages as an important part of intercultural relations. Good intercultural communication will not only benefit me as an individual but it will be of great importance to the society. In conclusion, negative attitude towards people from different cultures is the main challenge of intercultural relations. Negative attitude is a barrier on the way to effective communication and intercultural relations. This course, therefore, has helped me realize that positive attitude is the basis of effective intercultural relations and communication. My personal experiences from interaction with people from different cultures have enabled me to realize that practicing the acquired knowledge can bridge the gap. Effective intercultural communication will improve our intercultural understanding and this will promote cohesiveness and development. I have also realized that effective intercultural interactions are vital if one want to live a rewarding life. Reference Lustig, M. W., & Koester, J. (2010). Intercultural competence: Interpersonal communication across cultures (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.  Read More