Muhammad Afzaal ENG51F21S083 BS2 ENG SS2 Sir Ahmad Bilal Intercultural Communication “HOW TO OVERCOME CROSS CULTURAL BARRIERS FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICASTION?” Culture is all socially transmitted and shared behaviors, manners, customs, rituals, beliefs, ideas, arts, knowledge, values, morals and ideals that are learned in a group of the same nationality, religion or ethnicity. It is handed down from generation to generation, slowly evolving, and creating many subcultures in the process. Cultural diversity can make communication difficult, especially in the workplace, where a misunderstanding can cause costly problems. When people from different cultures work together, several factors can become barriers. We have been through these matters earlier, now will discuss how to overcome them on a global level. Be Open Minded:First and foremost, you need to check your own attitude towards different cultures. You have to get to know different cultures, their backgrounds and origins, and find out a bit about how they communicate in their part of the world. For instance, if you don’t seem to understand each other when it comes to certain phrases or ideas, don’t automatically blame it on the person’s laziness or irresponsibility. Also, don’t go over the top with showing everyone how open and tolerant you are. Embrace Diversity and Accommodate Cultural Differences:As a member of global society, you must make your people understand that culturally diverse environment produce more innovative and and creative results as opposed to homogenous groups. Therefore, cultural differences should be appreciated, openly discussed and utilized to support each other, rather than creating barriers. You want a society to work well because of their differences, not in spite of them. Create opportunities around to learn about their different perspectives and ways of life to build open-mindedness and appreciation. Focus on the strengths that each culture brings to the mix and discuss how these strengths can be integrated in the way your society work together, handles challenges and tackles projects. Linguistic awareness:These are language-based points. The first thing you can do is to learn to use a few key phrases in the target language. Know the proper greetings, and the protocol for properly addressing the person. Learn relevant phrases. It would be most effective if the phrases are specific to your field or industry. For example, if you’re in sales, then you’ll want to have the appropriate sales lingo to get the job done. If you’re in the fashion industry, you know the phrases that pop up in that world. If you’re in the tech world, then you are up to speed on the jargon. Doing this will help even out the playing field. You are showing that you are making an effort to be on the same page as they. Pay Attention To Nonverbals:This step is tied to sociocultural awareness.Some people are oblivious to the fact that hand gestures, certain types of body language and other nonverbal cues are not universal. For example, in one culture a specific hand gesture could be perceived as highly rude and vulgar whereas in another culture it is innocuous Be aware of what is interpreted as appropriate body language in said culture For this, you’ll want to do your research to know how to gesticulate appropriately within the given context. Remember, these are often context-based. Avoiding Religious Conflicts:- Accommodate your people around you from different cultures in their special religious needs or practices. In order to avoid culture clashes in a society, it is best to give people leeway to fulfill their religious duties, even if they interfere with your regular schedule. Muslims, for instance, pray 5 times per day at various prescribed times, including midday, afternoon, and evening. For your Islamic mates in the society, these prayer sessions aren’t “breaks” but essential acts of spiritual devotion, so that should be respected by other society members. Communicate With Non Native Speakers In Clear, Polite Manner Make it a point to use simple words and phrases as much as possible, and stay away from potentially-confusing slang terms or sayings unless you’re sure that the person knows what you mean. It can be hard enough to get your point across to someone who speaks the same language as you, let alone someone who’s struggling to master a second or third language. Be sure to apply this simplified mode of communication to emails, memos, important documents, in-house literature, and all other written materials. Talking to someone in a way they can understand doesn’t just enhance the exchange of information between you. It also makes the person feel more comfortable and better able to respond to instructions and requests. By Staying Composed In Unpleasant Situations:It’s important to remember that even if you do everything right, you can’t control everything, and communication gaps will occasionally happen no matter how hard you try to prevent them. Cultural barriers have a lot to do with how people were raised and which ideas were imprinted on them from a very early age. A couple of conversations and a cultural awareness training session aren’t going to solve cultural misunderstandings for good. Sometimes, the situation will even escalate out of proportion, and it may get quite uncomfortable. Naturally, you should do everything to anticipate this and react before it happens. Nevertheless, if this happens, you’ll have to stay composed and help deescalate the situation. This doesn’t mean pretending nothing has happened. That’s by far the worst thing you can do. Try to solve things with conversation whenever it’s possible. Sometimes, what seems like bad blood is only a temporary communication breakdown combined with impulsive temperament. Final Thoughts:The only way to fix cultural communication issues is to nurture the ideas of understanding, openness, and embracing differences in our society. This is the starting point, and you should always have it in mind when trying to bridge communication gaps. Comporting yourself well in cross-cultural encounters doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, it’s usually as simple as remembering the Golden Rule: “treat others the way you want to be treated. Becoming more in tune with another culture doesn’t mean suppressing or apologizing for your own. It’s completely possible to be proud of your cultural heritage and accepting of other people’s at the same time.
