An Introduction to Intercultural Communication. Fred E. Jandt
1 Affective or intercultural sensitivity—to acknowledge and respect cultural differences
2 Cognitive or intercultural awareness—self-awareness of one’s own personal cultural identity and understanding how cultures vary
3 Behavioral or intercultural adroitness—message skills, knowledge of appropriate self-disclosure, behavioral flexibility, interaction management, and social skills
Focus on Skills 2.1 Assessing Intercultural Communication Competence
Read the following court transcript:
Magistrate: Can you read and write?
Defendant: Yes.
Magistrate: Can you sign your name?
Defendant: Yes.
Magistrate: Did you say you cannot read?
Defendant: Hm.
Magistrate: Can you read or not?
Defendant: No.
Magistrate: [Reads statement.] Do you recall making that statement?
Defendant: Yes.
Magistrate: Is there anything else you want to add to the statement?
Defendant: [No answer.]
Magistrate: Did you want to say anything else?
Defendant: No.
Magistrate: Is there anything in the statement you want to change?
Defendant: No.
Magistrate: [Reads a second statement.] Do you recall making that statement?
Defendant: Yes.
Magistrate: Do you wish to add to the statement?
Defendant: No.
Magistrate: Do you want to alter the statement in any way?
Defendant: [Slight nod.]
Magistrate: What do you want to alter?
Defendant: [No answer.]
Magistrate: Do you want to change the statement?
Defendant: No.
1 Assess the intercultural communication competence of the magistrate and the defendant from the transcript alone.
2 The defendant is an Aboriginal in an Australian court. Liberman (1990a, 1990b) describes the unique form of public discourse that evolved among the isolated Aboriginal people of central Australia: Consensus must be preserved through such strategies as unassertiveness, avoidance of direct argumentation, deferral of topics that would produce disharmony, and serial summaries so that the people think together and “speak with one voice.” If any dissension is sensed, there are no attempts to force a decision, and the discussion is abandoned. Western European discourse style is direct, confrontational, and individualistic. Thus, it can be said that the Aboriginal defendant in the example finds it difficult to communicate a defense by opposing what has been said and rather frequently concurs with any statement made to him (Liberman, 1990b). Now that you have this information, does the defendant’s strategy of giving the answers “Yes,” “No,” or “Hm” to placate the magistrate demonstrate intercultural communication competence?
3 Obviously the magistrate knows the defendant is an Aboriginal. Does the magistrate’s questioning demonstrate intercultural communication competence?
Source: Quoted in Liberman (1981).
Chen (1989, 1990) identifies four skill areas: personality strength, communication skills, psychological adjustment, and cultural awareness.
Personality Strength.
The main personal traits that affect intercultural communication are self-concept, self-disclosure, self-monitoring, and social relaxation. Self-concept refers to the way in which a person views the self. Self-disclosure refers to the willingness of individuals to openly and appropriately reveal information about themselves to their counterparts. Self-monitoring refers to using social comparison information to control and modify one’s self-presentation and expressive behavior. Social relaxation is the ability to reveal little anxiety in communication. Competent intercultural communicators must know themselves well and, through their self-awareness, initiate positive attitudes. Individuals must express a friendly personality to be competent in intercultural communication.
Communication Skills.
Individuals must be competent in verbal and nonverbal behaviors. Intercultural communication skills require message skills, behavioral flexibility, interaction management, and social skills. Message skills encompass the ability to understand and use language and feedback. Behavioral flexibility is the ability to select an appropriate behavior in diverse contexts. Interaction management means handling the procedural aspects of conversation, such as the ability to initiate a conversation. Interaction management emphasizes a person’s other-oriented ability to interact, such as attentiveness and responsiveness. Social skills are empathy and identity maintenance. Empathy is the ability to think the same thoughts and feel the same emotions as the other person. Identity maintenance is the ability to maintain a counterpart’s identity by communicating back an accurate understanding of that person’s identity. In other words, a competent communicator must be able to deal with diverse people in various situations.
Psychological Adjustment.
Competent intercultural communicators must be able to acclimate to new environments. They must be able to handle the feelings of culture shock, such as frustration, stress, and alienation in ambiguous situations caused by new environments.
Cultural Awareness.
To be competent in intercultural communication, individuals must understand the social customs and social system of the host culture. Understanding how peoples think and behave is essential for communication with them.
In Chapter 1, you read that the definition of communication itself reflects the culture defining it. In a like manner, the understanding of intercultural communication competence reflects the culture defining it. Consider how it might be defined in high-context, collectivistic cultures. C. M. Chua (2004) showed that intercultural communication competence in collectivistic Malaysian culture differs from Western definitions in that in Malaysia there is more emphasis on relational issues. Komolsevin, Knutson, and Datthuyawat (2010) explain this by showing that people in high-context cultures are hesitant to engage in communication—that is, they are reserved and silent—until they have sufficient information to encode messages appropriate for the receiver. So being quiet and reserved in Malaysia and Thailand is a necessary first step for the competent intercultural communicator. But that same behavior might be evaluated negatively in more individualistic cultures.
Rhetorical sensitivity (R. P. Hart & Burks, 1972) refers to a communicator’s attitudes about how to encode messages for the best receiver understanding and effect. The theory of rhetorical sensitivity describes three types of communicators (Darnell & Brockriede, 1976):
1 Noble selves—view themselves as the primary basis for communication choices; egotism and individualism communicating messages with little regard to the effect on the receiver
2 Rhetorical reflectors—view the desires and needs of the others as the primary basis for communication choices; display behavior believed to be desirable by the receiver
3 Rhetorical sensitives—combine concern for self with concern for others to encourage engagement in making decisions as to how to communicate
Komolsevin