Intercultural Communication
REPORT
LADA STETSENKO (19123248)
Minor Cultural & Diversity Perspectives At Work & Home 2021 period 1
Subject: Intercultural Communication training
Lecturers: Gootje Visser, Hawal Nabi
Prepare for your exams
Study with the several resources on Docsity
Earn points to download
Earn points by helping other students or get them with a premium plan
Guidelines and tips
Prepare for your exams
Study with the several resources on Docsity
Earn points to download
Earn points by helping other students or get them with a premium plan
Case study on intercultural communication, Study Guides, Projects, Research of Professional Communication
This Intercultural Communication report presents the importance of applying the skills as a cultural professional and adjusting behavior by approaching people with different cultural backgrounds.
Typology: Study Guides, Projects, Research
2021/2022
1 / 11
This page cannot be seen from the preview
Don't miss anything!
Related documents
Partial preview of the text
Download Case study on intercultural communication and more Study Guides, Projects, Research Professional Communication in PDF only on Docsity!
Intercultural Communication REPORT
LADA STETSENKO (19123248)
Minor Cultural & Diversity Perspectives At Work & Home 2021 period 1 Subject: Intercultural Communication training Lecturers: Gootje Visser, Hawal Nabi
Contents
- Introduction...........................................................................................................................
- Case study.............................................................................................................................
- Interview................................................................................................................................
- Reflection...............................................................................................................................
- Bibliography..........................................................................................................................
- Appendix. Interview questions..........................................................................................
Case study
For my case study about miscommunication as the result of a cultural misunderstanding I chose the situation which happened to me here in The Netherlands almost 6 years ago during my 2nd^ (high)schoolyear between me and my Dutch classmate. I wrote a case study about it because I wanted to see for myself what went wrong and why I didnât manage to resolve that situation. By objectively analyzing the situation I will have insight into my own norms and values and how they influenced my case. Based on the intercultural knowledge and skills I acquired during lectures and training sessions such as Hallâs basic values and TOPOI-model I will be able to clarify the miscommunication. The core of my case is that my classmate asked me out on a date but misunderstood my ârefusalâ because of me being indirect. During my 2nd^ schoolyear he texted me and asked me out on a date. I didnât refuse his invitation right away but said that âIâm not in the moodâ and âmaybe next timeâ and even started ignoring him later meaning that Iâm not interested in him. But my classmate kept trying several times not taking a hint. I found him nice and kind, so thatâs why I was hesitating to tell him that I donât want to go on a date with him. However, he started to irritate me, and I finally said ânoâ. In that moment he told me that Iâm weird because I was telling him before that I would go on a date âlaterâ or when âIâm in the moodâ. So, he was being very direct by calling me weird and I found this so rude and impolite because I personally would never do that. Maybe it was just him who got angry, but I assumed that all Dutch people here are like him with no manners, because Iâve never experienced something like that before. He didnât tell me that in my face but through WhatsApp. So maybe he wasnât that serious and was joking, but I blocked him afterwards. We didnât talk at school that much, so that âmiscommunicationâ issue was never resolved. Because of me being shy and insecure about my speaking skills in my second year I couldnât communicate with him properly face-to-face. We didnât make it to explain to each other our behavior and things said by then because of my language barrier (Bhasin, 2021). What I noticed in this case even before following the Intercultural Communication trainings is the difference between my culture and Dutch culture. In my country people are extremely indirect (N, 2020). Itâs totally normal over there to say one thing by meaning or thinking another. Because of that you canât be sure, or a person is being honest with you or just polite trying not to hurt your feelings. You can also be honest by still staying polite by using different words. For example, instead of saying âyou look uglyâ you can say âIt doesnât suit you wellâ or âI donât think it looks good on youâ. In Dutch culture itâs very different. Most people here are straightforward and less polite, while I expect others to read between the lines (Dereis, 2018). After following the Intercultural Communication trainings, I learned about basic values of Hall and analyzed my case again by adding the rules of behavior. I figured out which rules, norms and values are most important for me and for my classmate. By analyzing miscommunication in my case, I applied two specific Hallâs values which are context and fast and slow
information flows (Hall, E. T. & Hall, M.R., 2002).
Context One of the issues in my case is the difference in context. Iâm from a culture with a high context while my classmate was raised in a low context society. According to Hallâs theory high context cultures can be found in Southern Europe, where my country (Ukraine) makes part of. While low context cultures can be found in Northwestern Europe, which also means The Netherlands. I was using indirect/implicit communication and words like âmaybeâ and âlaterâ trying not to hurt my classmateâs feelings, while he was using direct/explicit communication by calling me âweirdâ. He had also the preference for written communication
by asking me out via a text message and not in person and I would prefer oral/verbal
communication to make things clear (Hall, E. T. & Hall, M.R., 2002).
Fast and slow information flows In my culture we mostly use slow information flows. Thatâs why I donât share all the information easily, especially when it comes to people I donât know well. The same happened in my case. I didnât dare to tell my classmate that Iâm not interested in him as a boyfriend and kept this information a secret. At the same time my classmate told me right away how he felt
about me rejecting him (Hall, E. T. & Hall, M.R., 2002).
Another important theoretical concept I learned during the Intercultural communication trainings is TOPOI-model which stands for Tongue, Order, Person, Organization, Intentions and influence. This model helped me to become aware of intercultural communication and to analyze my case by applying 3 specific areas to look at misunderstandings in communication: Tongue, Persons and Intentions and influence (Wieringa, F. & Fontys Hogescholen, 1996). Tongue Non-verbal communication has for me a deeper meaning than verbal communication. By looking at my case I can tell that because of lack of non-verbal communication my classmate couldnât see my mood and emotions while talking to him. If he spoke to me in person, he would notice on my attitude that Iâm not into him (Wieringa, F. & Fontys Hogescholen, 1996). Person The way I communicate depends on the relationship I have with a particular person. In my case I was polite to my classmate because I considered him as a stranger. Even after he called me âweirdâ I remained calm and polite. I only managed to talk about how I felt to close friends and family because of having a stronger relationship with them (Wieringa, F. & Fontys Hogescholen, 1996). Intentions and influence My classmate didnât recognize my good intention in our conversation. By using indirect communication, I didnât want to upset him, but he figured out that Iâm just a weird person. Because my classmate didnât see that I was coming from a good place the effect of my communication wasnât best (Wieringa, F. & Fontys Hogescholen, 1996). By working on this case, I learned a lot about myself. I discovered that being indirect and being a reserved, closed person is not only part of my culture, but also a part of my personal identity as well. By analyzing my behavior in this case, I also looked at important causes of miscommunication by Pascal (2017) which I will try to avoid by adjusting my behavior as a cultural professional. By choosing between implicit and explicit communication itâs better to phrase your message in an explicit way to prevent miscommunication. This way is highly recommended by communicating with the person you donât well, like my classmate who I knew for a short period of time. In my case verbal communication wouldâve been a better choice than written communication to understand each other thoughts and feelings. Another important thing by preventing miscommunication is getting rid of negativity bias. In my case my classmate influenced my view on Dutch culture, and I started to think that Dutch people are rude and impolite. In the future I will keep in mind the cultural differences to avoid prejudging people. Good listening and speaking skills are essential within communication. As mentioned before, because of my poor language skills I didnât manage to explain myself and now I understand the importance of language. Finally, with gained intercultural knowledge and skills I know how to deal with miscommunication as a cultural professional.
conflicts. He thinks that personal space is important and prefers to have his own workplace. When it comes to physical contact, he is always waiting for another person to make the first step. For him personally there is no need to greet someone with three kisses on the cheeks like most Dutch people do/did but if someone wants to greet him that way, he goes for it. My colleague also told me that he shares the information with pleasure, especially when it comes to his friends. He doesnât make any difference in communication with older people and stays informal by talking to them. He also doesnât like when someone approaches him in a formal way and finds it very distant. The most important values my colleague learned from his parents are respecting each other, being kind and not hurting others. According to my colleague the most respectful in The Netherlands is the way of communication with foreigners and people from different countries. On the other hand, he sees as most disrespectful that some people within the Dutch society expect the government to adjust everything for one and each. He thinks that people should realize that the world doesnât revolve around them and that they have to make some adjustments too. He himself is very grateful for things he has here in The Netherlands such as living close to his work, having a house and living in a peaceful environment.
Reflection
By doing the intercultural interview (Stetsenko, 2021) I was able to recognize the differences between the culture of my colleague and my own. While in The Netherlands men and women have equal roles, in my culture women are mostly seen as housewives and men as hard workers. Another difference is that in The Netherlands itâs normal to greet each other with three kisses and in my culture, people never do that. This has to do with a different look at reality which is called Order in TOPOI-model (Wieringa, F. & Fontys Hogescholen., 1996). Also, the difference in approaching someone in formal/informal way struck me in this interview. Within the Dutch society itâs normal to address someone who is older than you informally and within my culture you have to approach older people in a formal way. This shows the difference in social perspectives within Dutch culture and my culture and has to do with Person in TOPOI-model (Wieringa, F. & Fontys Hogescholen., 1996). During the interview I also applied basic values of Hall (Hall, E. T. & Hall, M.R., 2002) when asking about context (19:45), space (21:00) and fast and slow information flows (22:40). Also, by talking about space my colleague told me that his physical connection with someone depends on relationship he has with this person which has to do again with Person in TOPOI-model (Wieringa, F. & Fontys Hogescholen., 1996). In this intercultural interview I noticed that I went against my own norms and values and on the other hand respected the norms and values of my colleague. Through the whole interview I approached my colleague who is older than me informally but because my colleague prefers an informal way of communication (25:00-26:00) I made him comfortable and talked informally to him so he wouldnât feel distant. I also applied value of Hall (Hall, E. T. & Hall, M.R., 2002) fast and slow massages by giving my colleague the opportunity to slowly analyze the question and take his time so I patiently waited for his answer (03:10). What went well during the interview is that I managed to apply the skills I learned during the 3 rd^ training. I applied a specific technique which is called LSD when you first have to listen, then to summarize and then to ask the following question (02:00-02:30). There also was a moment that didnât go well (03:00) when I was struggling with which question I was going to ask next because I somehow lost the question in my Word-document. However, I quickly managed to find the right question and continued the interview. Next time I will try not to panic and to act in a more professional way. My personal experience during the trainings was great. In the 1st^ training I had a chance to think about a situation in which I can express what is recognizable about my identity. I picked an argument as an example and realized that Iâm probably going to stay calm and relaxed. So, I realized that Iâm a quiet, shy person but also easygoing and peaceful. I donât like to argue and if there is a conflict between others, Iâm trying to stay neutral and not to take sides. During this 1st^ training I also learned about different cultures within the training group and became more aware of cultural differences. I liked the 2nd^ training in which we were playing board game the most. We were exchanging opinions and I gained new knowledge about cultural facts. I was able to express my thoughts and interact with other students. It was interesting to get to know each other better and to discuss some statements. When we were playing the game with no verbal communication in the 3rd^ training, I learned how important verbal communication is. You get frustrated when you are not allowed to express yourself through words. The others canât fully understand you as well as you canât understand them. In some moments you just have to go with the flow of the group, what I personally did. I played the cards and hoped for the best, but I was also afraid that I may mess up the game. I learned about myself that I prefer not to take the lead, so I donât have to panic or stress about the end of the game. I wonât be blamed that hard since Iâm not the leader.
Bibliography
Bhasin, H. (2021, October 18). Miscommunication â Definition, Causes and How to Avoid It? Marketing91. Retrieved November 5, 2021, from https://www.marketing91.com/miscommunication/ Dereis, J. (2018, January 11). Direct and Indirect Communication Styles. Validity Counselling: Between Sessions with Jenny. Retrieved November 2, 2021, from https://betweensessionswithjenny.com/2017/10/05/direct-and-indirect-communication-styles/ Hall, E. T. & Hall, M.R. (2002). âKey concepts: Underlying structures of cultureâ, in J.N. Martin, T.K. Nakayama and L. Flores (eds.) Readings in Intercultural Communication: Experiences and Contexts. N. (2020, December 12). Direct and Indirect Communication Styles. Multicultural You. Retrieved November 2, 2021, from https://multiculturalyou.com/2020/06/22/direct-and- indirect-communication-styles/ P. (2017, July 13). 8 Causes of Miscommunication and Misunderstanding. Userlike Live Chat. Retrieved November 1, 2021, from https://www.userlike.com/en/blog/causes-of- miscommunication Stetsenko, L. (2021, November 7). Intercultural interview. Microsoft Stream. Retrieved November 7, 2021, from https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/f39b4a7c-2c24-48a8-9b06- 73a59b7e0cac Wieringa, F. & Fontys Hogescholen. (1996). The TOPOI-model: a challenge model for intercultural communication [E-book].
Appendix. Interview questions
- What does culture mean to you? How would you describe it?
- Whatâs your nationality?
- What is your native language?
- How do you define âfamilyâ?
- Where does your family come from?
- Do you have a good connection with your family?
- Whatâs the social economic status of your family?
- Whatâs the level of education of your parents?
- How important is education in your family?
- Do you think that education is important nowadays?
- What are your best qualities?
- Are there things you would like to achieve but are not able to because of your skill limitations? What are they?
- Is religion important in your family? Why?
- What do you believe in?
- What is the role of men in your country?
- What is the role of women in your country?
- What are the roles of men and women in your family?
- Do you think that men and women should be equal?
- What is your view on LGBTQIA+ community?
- How did you become who you are?
- How would you describe the work environment or culture in where you are most productive and happy?
- Do you prefer to say things the way they are?
- Do you prefer to get straight to the point or having a small talk first?
- How is physical contact viewed in your culture?
- Is personal space important for you?
- Do you prefer to be open and share the information with others or keep it to yourself?
- Do you think that non-verbal communication is important?
- Do you communicate in a different way with people who are older than you? Are you trying to be more formal with them or you just stay informal?
- What are the norms and values you learned from your parents?
- What is the most important value for you?
- What is seen as the most respectful in your country?
- And the most disrespectful?
- What is the best thing about living in The Netherlands?