Culture plays a large part in our communication methods. We define what is normal to us through our own communications, although this may not be normal to others. Because the way we communicate may be different then others, it builds a wall which creates our own world. This world my have its own rules, rituals, symbols, ect. Some cultures even have their own worlds within their culture, not just one building.
Our world of communications may not translate to someone else' world of communications. This is very prevalent in different cultures. One example is how we interact with others. I am Italian, and have been around loud Italian people my whole life. In my family the only way to get heard is by being louder then the person next to you. Thus I am a very loud, extroverted person, and this is completely accepted by my culture, including the elderly. My best friend is Japanese. When I met her grandmother for the first time I think I may have been a little too loud for her. She later told my friend that she was offended by how loud I was. This surprised me because usually the elderly like me. But it taught me a valuable lesson that now all cultures are the same as my own, I was just stuck in my own cultures world.
Another example would be comedy. Ideas that are funny in one culture may not be funny in another. This is because is each cultures world they have their own view of humor. A comedian may be successful in his or her own culture and not in another.
I believe the way to be c=most successful in your own culture is to realize that their may be different worlds within it and to be sensitive to their communication styles. This may have to be done by breaking down walls and finding a common ground.
Until next time,
ImaginePeace
Blogged with the Flock Browser
I agree with your post regardng different cultures and the difficulty that may arise when communicating effecitively.
ReplyDeleteEventhough I am not Italian like yourself, I can relate to that example as well. In my culture, we tend to be somewhat loud and my friends get surprised at the level of volume my family speaks even when we face each other, but that's just what we are used to. I also agree with you that peple have to start finding common ground with other people and start shedding the barrier that has plagued us for so long.
For exapmle: in most Asian culture, the focus of emotions is in the eyes and that is how they usually express emotion, where as in America the focus is on the mouth. We tend to verbally express how we feel.
For a person that has not grown up in America, verbal emotional expression might come off as rude and uncharacteristic, but it is the norm here.