COM 263 assignment # 3 - Essay Example

Communication Between Cultures: Assignment 3 Why is awareness of your cultural identities important to improving your intellectual communication skills?Much of our communication takes place on a cultural level where words and ideas are assumed based on the persons identity. When we transmit a message it contains an emotional, social, and intellectual component. Improving our intellectual communication skills requires that we understand the influence and impact that out cultural identity has on the message.

If a woman was giving a lecture on Big Game Hunting she would need to be aware that the cultural identity of being female would influence the meaning of her words and the description of a given scenario. By understanding this, she could choose her words to convey the intellectual meaning without the cultural identity becoming an obstacle. This would extend to her non-verbal communications such as attire, stance, and demeanor. Cross culture communications requires that we look at ourselves and reach beyond our limitations in an effort to fit ourselves into the situational context and become more universal (Fitzgerald, 197).

Understanding our own cultural identities is the building block that intellectual communication is based on.What are at least 2 of your different identities that impact the effectiveness of your intercultural communication skills? Being a woman and returning to school as an older student has influenced my ability to communicate effectively between cultures. As a woman, I must be aware that my communication may become genderized. When speaking to a male or mixed audience, it is imperative that I understand the communication methods I have acquired as a female as well as the perception of the audience.

If I am speaking to a diverse audience that has various ethnic groups or races, it is important that I understand how my identity is viewed by their culture. If I were speaking about the right of a woman to equal pay for equal work, my vocabulary and presentation would vary depending on if I am speaking to a black woman or a Muslim man. As an older student, I can be caught mistakenly thinking that I know more than lifes experience has actually given me. My skills at presenting a case for a viewpoint may be lacking even though I have an emotional understanding of the argument.

My identity as older does not directly coincide with that of being a better student. When communicating with other students, age may garner respect or the opposite may occur. Only by understanding my own identity can I find ways to communicate more clearly and effectively deal with this obstacle.How does your identity of the work or that job you do affect your communication behaviors?In the situation of working in another department temporarily, there are several identities that are brought to the situation.

An important identity is that all the people work for the same company. As such we have a common goal and a common bond. However, the temporary employee is coming in for a short period of time and will be perceived as an outsider. People may not be as outgoing or eager to inform you about the new department since you are not a part of it. You may not understand their jargon, slang, or dress code. To identify with their cultural group, it would be natural to associate yourself with the company first and not the department.

This would give you a motivation to talk about your other job or position within the company. To more effectively communicate with the other workers in the new department it would be essential to develop an identity within the new department. Conversation about department specific topics would gain some identity as a member. Showing an interest and understanding of the departments organization and culture would also be helpful to establish yourself as a department member.Describe an identity that you want to develop in order to increase the effectiveness of your intercultural communication skills and explain how you can use the identity development model to increase this identity.

I would like to develop my identity as a respected member of the academic community. Academic communication is often void of a cultural persuasion and as a member of this culture group different cultures are able to exchange and understand ideas about science, society, and religion while minimizing the trappings of misunderstanding. The modern era of liberalization has made it possible for even the most marginalized viewpoints to defend their intellectual uniqueness (Niezen, 167). Developing this identity requires that I first develop a self-concept of what an academic is.

I associate with the academic world through attendance at a university or through reading. I learn the accepted norms of academic communication and begin to utilize them in my communication with the group. I strive to fulfill the requirements for acceptance into the academic community.Why is it important to understand that the old thinking about a fixed cultural identity is becoming outdated and that identity is becoming more of a discussion and negotiator between what you call yourself and what other people decide to call you or identify you?

Mass communication, travel, and the media has made it possible to more readily assimilate into a culture or take on the attributes of a new culture. Our culture identities change and evolve throughout our lifespan and inoculation from other civilizations, concepts, and political ideas is not a realistic possibility (Niezen, 2). Globalization has made cultural identity more of an ideological, social, or political aspect rather than a fixed basis for identification with a culture. The value of an identity group may extend to politics only for so long as it is of political value.

Ethnicity may become a secondary identification and only celebrated for its uniqueness. There may be a wide difference between our own cultural identity and that which is perceived by other people. It is this ever-changing factor that makes the study of intercultural communication of such importance. Our communication methods and skills are a rapidly changing set that continually requires examination and updating. Works ConsultedFitzgerald, Thomas K. Metaphors of Identity : A Culture-communication Dialogue.

Albany, NY: Albany State University of New York Press, 1993.Niezen, Ronald. A World Beyond Difference: Cultural Identity in the Age of Globalization. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2004.Samovar, Larry, Richard Porter, and Lisa Stefani. Communications Between Cultures. 3rd ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing, 1998.