Intercultural miscommunication

First of all, to understand how miscommunication between different cultures happens we need to know the definition of the word ‘perception’.  Perception is a process in which people proceed information from their environment. It is how we feel, hear, see or smell the world around us. In other words, perception is the process of attaining awareness and understanding information. Perception is culture- dependent and the largest part is taught by our parents, school and environment. The following example implies that, if children grow up in the same environment, live in de same neighborhood, go to the same school and have the same friends, their experiences and observations of the world will probably be the same. If all children in the neighborhood go to church on Sunday, none of the children would consider to go to the playground on that day. Because they have similarities in their perception it will be easier to communicate with each other, they now the rules. These similarities include language, rituals, beliefs, norms and values.

So back to cultures “First of all, what is a culture?” Culture is everything you have ever learned about how to communicate and how to think about things. You learn all this by, talking to others, observing how they talk to you and observing how others react to your way of talking. Communication between people with different backgrounds and perceptions is more complicated compared to communication between people with the same background. In general, it can be said that effective communication will occur if the cultural background of people is similar.  The fact that perception is strongly influenced by culture implies that people with different cultural backgrounds can even assign different meanings to similar things. Thus, in all cultures a cat, a dog or an elephant may have the same label or name. However, the meaning of that name varies by cultural differences. In some cultures, like ours, a dog is a pet and companion, in other cultures it is regarded as functional and used for surveillance.

Language
Language differences between people are the most typical indicators for intercultural communication. First of all people can hardly communicate with each other, but also the indirect effects have major consequences. Even if people use a third language, the mother-language still influences the effectiveness of the conversation. Thus, the mother-language influences the think and reasoning skills of people and their communications styles.

Non verbal communication            
Also differences in nonverbal behaviors can provide misunderstandings in intercultural communication. Cultures differ in the way they use gestures such as, eye contact, emotional facial expression and touch behavior during the communication. When it comes to issues such as eye contact, distance and behaviors, a distinction can be made between ‘contact cultures’ and ‘non-contact’ cultures.

Standards and values
Cultures also differ in their standards and values, such as the way ‘sorrow’ and ‘joy’ are experienced. Also the way people perceive and structure time is different, in one culture it is an obligation to be on time, while in another culture, a more flexible view of time is used. For example doing more than one activity at the same time in Latin America can be seen as a sign of lack of attention and carelessness in North America.

Business and globalization
Another important term connected to culture- communication is ‘globalization’ this is a process by which regional economies, societies, and cultures have become integrated through a global network of political ideas through communication, transportation and trade. Businesses are crossing bounderies. In this world, is doesn’t matter who you are or where you live, it doesn’t matter what nation or culture you come from, it is necessary to know some very important facts when it comes down to business across cultures.

Other people, although they may dress like you, speak your language or work in the same company, are different en not just like you. You will work with people who have different backgrounds, languages, gestures, humor, sense of time and ways of doing business. It is important to know the rules, if you are interacting with people from other cultures, you need to know something about them.

Inter- cultural understanding does not come overnight, it will only come with preparation, effort, and an open mind.

                                          

Miscommunication between man and women

Nowadays men and women are equal but women have not always had the same status as men. I think we can all agree that this is a positive change. But the fact remains that there are gender differences in appearance, behavior and communication. It is striking that men and women in many situations, adopt different attitudes and gestures.

One of the reasons that communication between men and women often do not go well is because of the different point of view. Women usually talk out their feelings and forget to say which needs are behind this feeling. For example, a woman says to her husband: “I feel so alone” (she expects that he will understand that she likes it when he stays home tonight) The man would say; “Call a friend or grab or watch a movie”. The woman can then be disappointed, misunderstood and even lonelier.

Men talk mostly from their needs, and forget to explain the feelings hiding behind these needs. For example, a man says; “I want you to stay at home tonight (he expects that she will understand that he feels alone) on the other hand, the women may say. “Well, I decided to go out for a drink. In this case the man can be disappointed.

In conclusion, if men will express their feeling behind their needs more and women will speak out their needs behind their feelings more, they both can feel much more understood.

The communication of women is to maintain relationships; communication to men is for implantation and accomplishments of tasks. For women, the relationship is more important than the content, they focus more on maintaining the relationship, they are helpful and are happy to assist one another. Women are better talkers than men and do so much more than men. They like to build an exciting story around the existing facts. Therefore, they say something they have experienced from the beginning to the end and keep the punch line for last. When they talk about their problems, they expect their partner mostly to listen instead of bringing a quick solution. Also, they are very interested in the nonverbal messages and they focus on atmosphere and emotion. Themselves, they use a lot of facial expressions and gestures to make their intentions clear. They assess the situation not only the facts but also on their feelings and ‘feminine’ intuition. Women have a better overview and are more relationship (team) focused.

“Perhaps that makes us better managers”

A study by Deborah Tannen provides the different styles of communication between men and women. Men tend to speak more in public places, however, women speak more at home. Women are more intimate with each other and make eye contact when they talk to each other, while men tend to look at each other less. Women can detail about a subject, while man jump more from topic to topic. When women are listening, they make more sounds like “mhm, uhu”. However, not all research supports these results.

Do we speak the same language?

Men and women may think they speak the same language, but our words have completely different meaning. Men use them for communication and information. For women it is a means to solve problems, reduce stress, feel better, and create emotional ties to stimulate creativity and new ideas. Women pursue certain rituals that men do not know. For example, apologies are not to admit guilt, but to clarify: I’m sorry that this happened to you.

Move your hand in the world of the opposite sex, and then communication will be successful.

Tips for men
Ask specific questions showing that you know what she is doing.
Make eye contact when she talks to you or shake your hand.
If you say you'll do something, make sure you do it.
Create a reassuring gesture if they do something wrong.
If a discussion of the emotions up, then read a pause.

Tips for women
Only complain if you can imagine a solution.
Give a man always credit and recognition if he has achieved something.
Be optimistic about his chances of success.
Do not put an expert to come to him to point out errors.
Try to say no in a nice way.

How does miscommunication happen?

Miscommunication frequently occurs in our everyday lives. This is a result of many different factors as information is transmitted

When we misinterpret the real meaning of words, miscommunication can happen. We get a different meaning of the words than they intended.  Miscommunication occurs when the recipient receives a message other than those intended by the sender. Different factors can be responsible for miscommunication.  I want to tell you something about the two most important questions.

How does miscommunication happen? And what can you do to avoid this? With a little knowledge of communication you can approve the relationship with friends, family, colleges and your partner.  

We use social media to communicate

Nowadays, there is a lot of Computer- Mediated Communication (CMD). CMD is communication that takes place between people through the instrumentality of computers. For example, Facebook, MSN, Hyves, Twitter or E-mail. We can’t deny that this way of communication changed the way people interact and communicate with each other.  There are changes noticed that occur through the use of communication technology in the way people interact, communicate and interact. When we are using Social Media such as Facebook or Hyves we are not communicating in the real time, the context of the other person is missing. This form of Asynchronous communication does not allow immediate feedback or response, so our minds will interpret what the other person is saying based upon their words alone. 

Our minds fill in missing information based on fear

Our minds will fill in the missing information with our own creative insight.

Think about your boy/ girlfriend who forgot the call you or send you a text message when he or she is going out with friends. Because the lack of communication in this case, you will begin to worry and your mind will immediately switch to fear mode. Did something happen? Is he/ she cheating?  Are thoughts are often fear- based, our minds will always think of the worst possible outcomes based on our fears and insecurities.

Our mood

Our mood could also play a large factor in miscommunication. A person in a anger mood may easily interpret the most innocuous statement as something filled with malice. Hence, it is important to consider the non-verbal aspects of communication as importantly as you would consider what a person says.

What can we do?

In conclusion, miscommunications occur when one side doesn’t communicate enough information to us, or when we misinterpret the meaning of certain words or gestures.

First of all, put in the time and effort to ensure that your message is properly received and interpreted by the other person.

Second, keep an open and alert mind and be aware that our brains will fill in missing information by itself.

Third, do not adopt a certain truth about the other person until you know exactly from them what they are thinking.

Fourth, to transfere information choose and use the right medium.

Finally, keep your mind open to additional possibilities, you can break the assumption triangle and prevent miscommunication conflict from happening.

“Simply tell yourself, my thoughts may all be true, but  I don’t know the truth yet”