Interpersonal Communication Skills - Essay Example

Introduction Globalization has made interpersonal communication between people from different cultures a daily phenomenon. Due to globalization, the gap between people from different countries has narrowed. Due to advancement in technology and people migrating to foreign countries for work and education, the interaction between people from different countries and cultures has become a common thing. In the US, intercultural communication has become an inevitable part of modern life due to migration of foreign students in the US universities and migration of professionals for work purposes (Hall 2005, p.32). Moreover, the different businesses like manufacturing, media, information technology and farming can grow only when they are expanded to foreign countries (Hall 2005, p.32). Growth and expansion are only possible when the cultures of other countries are understood. Hence, De Vito is right when he says that ““success in interpersonal communication - at your job and in your social and personal life – will depend in great part on your understanding of and your ability to communicate effectively with persons who are culturally different from yourself” (2004, p.41-42). Interpersonal communication skills have become essential for success in professional and social life (Hall 2005, p.32). Hence, it won’t be wrong to say that interpersonal communication cannot be successful without the cultural awareness and intercultural competence, as it is the culture that lies at the core of human behavior and the communication process and it is only by understanding the culture of other persons that meaning behind his message can be understood, which makes the interpersonal communication productive, positive and successful. Definition Culture is the factor that gives human beings their identity. Human beings are considered unique among the animal kingdom on the planet due to their culture and hence, culture is the basic concept in sociology (Kornblum 2012, p.46). The existence of social organizations like family, group, corporations etc., depends on the culture they adhere to (Kornblum 2012, p.46). All the aspects of social organizations like thinking and communicating with each other depend on the culture and hence, society cannot exist without culture (Kornblum 2012, p.46). Culture is defined as “all the modes of thought, behavior and production that are handed down from one generation to next by means of communicative interactions-language, gestures, writing, building and all other communications among humans-rather by genetic transmission, or hereditary” (Kornblum 2012, p.46). This definition shows that everything that is made by man becomes a part of his culture (Kornblum 2012, p.46). As culture is ingrained in a person right from his birth, it gets deeply rooted in the heart and mind of a person. It is this aspect of culture that poses challenge for human beings when it comes to communicating with people from other culture. Interestingly, understanding other culture is not as easy as it seems, as even though culture is a social aspect of human being, it is also an inseparable personal part of identity. Culture and Human Behavior Culture is a complex set of beliefs and behaviors and hence is not a simple thing to understand (Kornblum 2012, p.46). Culture includes thinking patterns, norms, laws, religion, communicating patterns etc (Hall 2005, p.33). The complexity of culture is increased as the core of human beings, i.e. the beliefs, attitudes and values, are the factors that culture is made up of (Hall 2005, p.33). Hence, it is the culture that teaches human being how to behave, how to communicate, how to live life, how to deal with other people and how to be a part of the society (Hall 2005, p.33). Even the essential aspect of society, i.e. the gender behavior, is influenced by the culture that a person is born in (Hall 2005, p.33). According to Payne (2001), even though gender is an aspect of biological make-up, it is not shaped by biological drives but is shaped by culture (Hall 2005, p.33). The difference in attitude, values, beliefs, communication patterns and ways of relating to one another in boys and girls is shaped by culture (Hall 2005, p.33). Hence, it is the culture that teaches boys and girls how to behave and think according to their gender (Hall 2005, p.33). Men and women from different culture behave and think in different ways as they are influenced by their cultural norms regarding gender identity (Hall 2005, p.33). This shows that gender roles are highly influenced by the culture. According to Eckstein and Goldman (2001), as there is a huge difference between the way men and women communicate, the communication between them can be called inter-cultural communication (Hall 2005, p.33). Hence, it is only when men and women understand each other’s culture, that the communication between them can be successful. However, this fact about interpersonal communication is not applicable only to communication between men and women, but is applicable to every communication between people from different cultures, as it is not the intellect that drives the communication but the culture. Interpersonal Communication Interpersonal communication is a dynamic process. It is defined as “the process of message transaction between people to create and sustain shared meaning” (West and Turner 2011, p.10). The process of communication, message exchange and shared meaning are the three critical components of interpersonal communication (West and Turner 2011, p.10). Due to its vibrant and energetic nature, most of the times interpersonal communication becomes a spontaneous and natural process of sharing meaningful ideas and thoughts (West and Turner 2011, p.10). However, it is important to note that ‘shared meaning’ has a very important role to play in interpersonal communication. As messages are sent with an intention of communicating ‘meaning,’ the central aspect of interpersonal communication is ‘meaning’ (West and Turner 2011, p.10). It is interesting to know that words have meaning because people attribute meaning to them (West and Turner 2011, p.10). According to Steve Duck and Julia Wood (1995), personal definition and personal meaning given to words in personal communication and in broader “enterprise of making sense of experience,” are the factors that decide the ‘good’ or ‘bad’ relational experiences (West and Turner 2011, p.11). This shows that one can understand other person in interpersonal communication only when they share the essence of ‘meaning’ in the message. Hence, for interpersonal communication to take place, the ‘meaning’ behind the message needs to be shared (West and Turner 2011, p.11). Interestingly, as meanings are given by people, the factor that affects the interpersonal communication is the culture of a person. According to Martin and Nakayama (2007), one cannot assume that his ‘meaning’ will be automatically clear to others and result in shared meaning as more than language differences, it is the culture of a person that affects the meaning (West and Turner 2011, p.11). Hence, culture plays an essential role in success of interpersonal communication. Influence of Culture on Interpersonal Communication Different cultures have different ideologies that drive their behavior, thinking and interactions with others. For example, the traditional norms of people from Malaysia drive their behavior pattern. The traditional norms, known as ‘adat,’ are the foundation for formation and construction of Malay culture (Hussain 2010, p. 371). Hence, it is by exploring the ‘adat’ of Malay people that one can understand the Malay culture (Hussain 2010, p. 371). According to Hannerz (2000), it is by listening, looking, sensing and reflecting on the behavior of individual that one can understand the culture of other person (Hussain 2010, p. 371). It is only when one understands the culture of other person, that he can understand everything about that person. That is, by understanding the culture of people, one can understand why they are behaving, communicating, thinking and interacting in the way they do. For example, the identity of people from Malaysia is shaped by the folk model of ‘adat’ (Hussain 2010, p. 372). People from Malay culture believe that altruism and proper respect for others’ feelings, status and position brings peace and harmony in life (Hussain 2010, p. 371). Hence, one can find humble and respectful behavior in a young man from Malay when he interacts with people who are superior or elder to him. However, a person who is not aware of Malay culture can assume the behavior of young man as a sign of inferiority complex, weakness or submissiveness. This sort of misunderstanding and wrong assumption can hamper the communication pattern between people from different cultural backgrounds. The importance of understanding of culture is applicable not only in personal or social relationships, but also in the business relationships. Another example of formation of social construct on the basis of culture is the Chinese social phenomenon ‘guanxi’ (Ma 2011,p. 25). Yan (1996) has defined ‘guanxi’ as “strategically constructed network of personal connection selected from the body of all personal relations” (Ma 2011,p. 25). In other words, an extraordinary mutual commitment between partners constitutes the essence of ‘guanxi’ (Ma 2011,p. 25). According to Hwang (1997), Chinese communication considers ‘guanxi’ as its key element (Ma 2011,p. 25). Lou (2000) has noted that Chinese social behavior and business practice is heavily influences by ‘guanxi’ and is entrenched by its norms (Ma 2011, p. 25). This means that when people from China make business deals, they expect faithful and devotional commitment towards the deal. However, if a person from Western culture is not aware of the Chinese culture and its norm of ‘guanxi,’ then he might fail to understand the behavior and communication pattern of Chinese colleagues which will be driven by ‘guanxi’. The lack of knowledge can lead to misunderstanding and development of mistrust between the business partners. Hence, the interpersonal communication can be productive only when a person is aware of the cultural norms of other person. According to Berger and Bradac (1982), one can make certain assumptions concerning how to behave or interact with other person as long as the person speaks his language and is from his culture (Hussain 2010, p. 379). However, when it comes to communicating and interacting with people from other culture, people cannot make assumptions as they are not aware of the norms that other cultures follow. This can lead to problems in business, personal or social relationship between people involved from different cultural background. The misunderstanding can lead people to think that their cultural values are not respected by others. There are various ways in which respect is communicated across cultures (Mackenzie and Wallace 2011, p.11). Various communication ways like verbal, non-verbal and paralinguistic can act as means for communication of respect (Mackenzie and Wallace 2011, p.11).However, if a person sends a message of disrespect by mistake, then person from other culture can feel offended. According to Bailey (1997), “it isn’t a single instance of disrespectful communication that damages a relationship, but instead a constellation of interactional features in cultural practices which communicate disrespect” (Mackenzie and Wallace 2011, p.11). Hence, only knowledge of cultural norms can prevent misunderstandings and disruptions in relationship between people from different cultural background. Conclusion The discussion above shows that culture is an essential aspect of interpersonal communication as human being is completely shaped by the culture he belongs to. As the ‘meaning’ to the messages in communication is given by culture, understanding another person and making the communication productive is only possible when one understands the culture of that person. Hence, it won’t be wrong to say that a person can be successful in interpersonal communication only when he has the knowledge and understanding of other person’s culture and has the ability to make his communication effective by keeping it in sync with the cultural values of the other person. Reference List DeVito, J.A. 2004. Interpersonal Communication Book. 10th ed. Boston: Pearson Education. Hall, E.T. Culture is Communication and communication is culture. In: J.A. Devito, ed. 2005. Interpersonal Communication Book. 11th ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Ch.2. Hussain, R.B. 2010. Exploring Ethno-Religious Identity: Transition in Malay Muslim Culture and Practice. The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, 5(8), pp.371-380. Kornblum, W. 2012. Sociology in the changing world. 9th ed. Belmont: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Ma, R. 2011. Social Relations (Guanxi): A Chinese Approach to Interpersonal Communication. China Media Research, 7(4), pp.25-33. Mackenzie, L. and Wallace, M. 2011. The Communication of Respect as a Significant Dimension of Cross-Cultural Communication Competence. Cross-cultural Communication, 7 (3), pp.10-18. West, R. and Turner, L.H. 2011. Understanding Interpersonal Communication: Making Choices in Changing Times. 2nd ed. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning Read More