Lecture 4
Communicating & Negotiating
Across Cultures (Ch.6)
Objectives
1. What is Communication?
•
The process? Cultural fields? Grounding?
2. What are the sources of noise in C/C
Communication (& how to minimize
them)?
a) Language
b) Cultural communication styles
c) Nonverbal Communication
3. Identify the Communication issue
4. Take-aways
Thomas, Cross-Cultural Management 4e.
SAGE Publishing, 2018.
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1. What is Communication?
Communication:
The act of transmitting messages,
including information about the
nature of the relationship, to another
person who interprets these messages
and gives them meaning.
(P112)
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Thomas, Cross-Cultural Management
4e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
What are the five steps in communicating?
• Five communication steps
• Sender->Encoding->Channel->Receiver->Decoding
S
Thomas, Cross-Cultural Management 4e.
SAGE Publishing, 2018.
4
What’s this “cultural field” stuff?
Common
Ground
(for
potential
signal
sharing)
Thomas, Cross-Cultural Management 4e.
SAGE Publishing, 2018.
5
Fault lines in the channel
(=> “not enough grounding to get it”)
Grounding:
Sharing a sufficiently
vast amount of common
information between
sender and receiver to
have a successful
communication event.
(P113)
Thomas, Cross-Cultural Management 4e.
SAGE Publishing, 2018.
6
What do you do if there’s not enough
common ground?
=> Find the sources of noise & try to minimize
them
Thomas, Cross-Cultural Management 4e.
SAGE Publishing, 2018.
7
2. Main sources of Noise
a) Language
b) Cultural Communication Styles
c) Nonverbal Behaviour
Thomas, Cross-Cultural Management 4e.
SAGE Publishing, 2018.
8
2. Sources of Noise
A) LANGUAGE
 Language vs. Meaning (<-cult. field)
 Second language communication
Cognitive strain / exhaustion
Language fluency (a double-edged sword)
 High competency attributions
 “Foreigner speak” (slower/simpler/louder)
EXAMPLE: Jackie Chan 1998
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Rl9Cxc7uZA
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Thomas, Cross-Cultural
Management 4e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
More second-language issues
(reflects expertise & absorptive capacity)
Jargon
Formality vs Slang
Euphemisms (to avoid
Proverbs & Maxims
social awkwardness)
Idioms
U.S.: To make a mountain out of a molehill
Qc: To drown in a glass of water
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Thomas, Cross-Cultural Management 4e. SAGE
Tips for dealing with language
differences
Who should accommodate whom in intercultural
communication?
 => Ethno-linguistic vitality usually rules!
 How to accommodate:
 Sharpen YOUR fluency (second
language skills)
 Avoid using language ‘registers’
(slang, etc.)
 Recognize potential for flawed
competency attributions due to the
other’s degree of fluency
 => language fluency NOT same as
cultural fluency: proactively manage
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those implicit expectations
Thomas, Cross-Cultural Management 4e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
2. Sources of Noise
(B) Cultural Communication Styles
Cultural Uses of praise
 Who/what is typically praised
 (subject of praise)
 How often? (Frequency of use)
 How detailed? (Degree of flowery
elaboration? -- e.g., use of
metaphors)
 Where? (In what situations is it
okay to praise: 1:1 or in front of
others)?
 How to respond?
Thomas, Cross-Cultural Management 4e.
SAGE Publishing, 2018.
12
2. Sources of Noise
(B) Cultural Communication Styles (con’d)
Low context (explicit) vs. High context (implicit)
[most relevant to DECODING]
Thomas, Cross-Cultural Management 4e.
SAGE Publishing, 2018.
13
2. Sources of Noise (Cont.)
(B) Cultural Communication Styles (con’d)
Direct vs. Indirect [Complementary concept for ENCODING]
• Which tends to be associated with individualist vs collectivist
cultures ?
• Indirectness => collectivist cultures; Directness => Individualistic
• Situationally dependent factors (e.g., power relationship)
Examples
Direct: “No”
Indirect: Lengthy pauseThomas,
&/orCross-Cultural
say “It’s14
somewhat
difficult to answer”
Management
4e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
2. Sources of Noise (Cont.)
(B) Cultural Communication Styles (con’d)
Silence vs. Verbal overkill
 Collectivist cultures
 Value more silence
 Individualistic cultures
 Value more talking
 exaggeration, assertion, &
repetition
 But variances also exist within the
above (e.g., relatively Individualistic
Finland)
Thomas, Cross-Cultural Management 4e.
SAGE Publishing, 2018.
15
2. Sources of Noise (Cont.)
(B) Cultural Communication Styles (con’d)
Formal vs. Informal
(approximation)
100-
6040-
Argentina
0-
U.S.
Germany
India
Brazil
U.K.
China
France
Japan
20-
Nigeria
Mexico
Spain
Percentage
80-
16 ways that culture affects negotiating
Adapted from Salacuse, J.W. (1998). “Ten
style: Some survey results”. Negotiation Journal, July, pp.221-240.
Tips for dealing with
communication style differences
• Beforehand, learn about cultural
communication norms regarding:
• Praise
• High-low context/directness/formality
• (& related) Silence/talkativeness
• During interactions, consider benefits of
being accommodating:
• helpful to adapt to their style in order
to bridge cultural distance & improve
communication
• This requires behavioral effort to step
outside your comfort zone
 Behaviour => Attitudinal change
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 contribute to similarity-attraction
Thomas, CrossCultural
Management 4e.
SAGE Publishing,
2018.
2. Sources of Noise (Cont.)
(C) Nonverbal Communication behaviors (NVB)
Why are they important to communication?
 Serve important functions in “rescuing” communication
(when understood !!! ), such as:
 R = repeating (e.g., nod with “yes”)
 E = emphasizing (e.g. gestures)
 S = substituting (e.g., shrug vs “no”)
 C = contradicting (e.g., leakage)
 U = underhanded cues (e.g., finger to nose)
 E = ease up (e.g., hand up for slow down)
 Which is more subject to cultural influence: Verbal/NVB?
 “gesture boundaries” (Desmond Morris)
 Which is more “credible”: Verbal or NVB?
 (involuntary leaks)
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Thomas, CrossCultural
Management 4e.
SAGE Publishing,
2018.
2. Sources of Noise (Cont.)
(C) Nonverbal Communication
• Chronemics
• (already discussed as a cultural value &
communication style; it’s also NVB)
• Delays/interruptions/use of silence
• Chromatics
• Colour of clothes, objects
• Material Possessions
• Style of dress, items in office décor
• Olfactory
• Smell/scent
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Thomas, Cross-Cultural Management
4e. SAGE Publishing, 2018.
2. Sources of Noise (Cont.)
(C) Nonverbal Communication
<Tone of voice (paralanguage)
Pitch, volume, speed/tempo,
tension, variation, enunciation, breathiness,
creakiness, accent
Cultural norms about tone of voice
Source: https://giphy.com/gifs/antm-tiffany-tyra-banks2FDvOgN8XQoGA
 Proxemics >
 Use of personal space
 Intimate, personal, social, &
public distances
 Cultural norms
 Haptics (touch: could be own
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nose too, etc)
https://giphy.com/gifs/fBeiAwgmcBFza
Thomas, Cross-Cultural Management 4e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
2. Sources of Noise (Cont.)
(C) Nonverbal Communication
• Kinesics (Body positions &
gestures/movements)
• Can mean different things
• Emblems (=hand gestures) => Avoid until one
is sure of meaning
• Facial expression
• Culture can influence facial expression, but:
• 6 basic expressions are the same around the
world
• Oculesics (Eye contact)
• Cultural differences in gaze patterns
Thomas, Cross-Cultural Management 4e.
SAGE Publishing, 2018.
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Take-Away Tips
• Plan to not communicate on auto-pilot
• Retain a modest level of uncertainty about your cultural
knowledge (excessive C/C self-confidence is as
unhelpful as excessive insecurity)
• Remain aware of all possible sources of noise
• Strive to see people 1st (& representatives of culture 2nd)
• Focus on shared value with other person
• If not evident, seek to develop further common ground
via shared positive experiences/exchanges
• Avoid quick interpretations/judgments
• Reduce ambiguity by asking questions
• Avoid use of NVBs in another
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Xion/American Role Play (Preparation)
1. Group setup for the negotiation exercise (10 min)
• Class will be split into males & females
• 3 females & 2 males into each role play group
• Each role-play group will have 2 cultural groups:
• Xions (sub-team of 2 Females & 1 Male)
• Americans (sub-team of 1 Female & 1 Male)
• Observers (if any extra individuals)
2. Learning about your role (10 min)
• Each role play group’s Male Xion + Male American will come up
to the front of the class to collect one copy of the role for their
respective cultural group
• Share the role ONLY with the cultural peers in your role play
group !!!
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Xion/American Role Play (Preparation)
3. Negotiation Process
 Negotiate with the other cultural in your role play (4 min)
 Recess & re-strategize (2 min)
 Re-negotiate to complete your objective (4 min)
VERY IMPORTANT:
 Do NOT divulge your role instructions to the other side, even
AFTER the negotiation
 Please wait until I ask you to share the info in our class-wide
discussion !!!!
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