1. Interpersonal Communication: Relating to Others
Beebe/Beebe/Redmond
Presentation Prepared by: Jill Harms, Iowa State University
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2. Chapter 4: Interpersonal Communication and Diversity: Adapting to Others
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3. Objectives
Describe five human differences that influence communication.
Define culture and identify and describe the six dimensions of culture.
List and describe barriers that inhibit effective intercultural communication.
Identify and apply strategies for developing knowledge, motivation, and skills that can improve intercultural competence.
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4. Strangers, people different from us, stir up fear, discomfort, suspicion, and hostility. They make us lose our sense of security just by being “other.”
Henri J. M. Nouwen
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5. A Diversity Almanac
2/3 of the immigrants on this planet come to the United States
More than 30% of graduate assistants teaching in the universities in the United States are foreign born
One out of every eight United States residents speaks a language other than English at home
Non-Hispanic whites constitute a minority of the population in Texas, New Mexico, and California
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6. A Diversity Almanac (Continued)
Gay men make up from 1 to 9 percent of the general male population and lesbians make up from 1 to 5 percent of the general female population
One in seven marriages occurs between spouses of different races or ethnicities
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7. Understanding Diversity: Describing Our Differences
Sex and gender
Sexual orientation
Race and ethnicity
Discrimination
Age
Social class
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8. Summary of Generational Characteristics
Matures work hard; have a sense of duty; willing to sacrifice; have a sense of what is right; work quickly Baby Boomers value personal fulfillment and optimism; crusade for causes; buy now, pay later; support equal rights for all; work efficiently
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9. Summary of Generational Characteristics (Continued)
Generation X live with uncertainty; consider balance important; live for today; save; consider every job as a contract
Millennials close to their parents; feel “special”; are goal- oriented; are team oriented; focus on achievement
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10. Understanding Culture: Dimensions of Our Mental Software
Worldview
Co-Culture
Enculturation
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11. Understanding Culture: Dimensions of Our Mental Software (Continued)
Individualism: One and many
Context: High and low
Gender: Masculine and feminine
Uncertainty: High and low tolerance
Power: Centralized and decentralized
Time: Short-term and long-term
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12. Intercultural Communication
Communication between or among people who have different cultural traditions.
Culture shock
Wesley Roberts/Alamy
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13. Barriers to Effective Intercultural Communication
Ethnocentrism
Different communication codes
Stereotyping and prejudice
Assuming similarities
Assuming differences
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14. How to Enhance the Quality of Online Intercultural Relationships
Provide more explicit verbal references to your feelings and emotions
Consider asking more questions than you normally would to clarify meanings and the interpretation of messages
Use “small talk” to build a relationship
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15. How to Enhance the Quality of Online Intercultural Relationships (Continued)
Summarize and paraphrase messages that you receive to increase the accuracy of the message content
Remember and respect the difference between your time zone and the other person’s time zone
If you find a relationship is awkward or you notice an increase in conflict, use the richest medium you have
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16. Intercultural Communication Competence
Ability to adapt one’s behavior toward another in ways that are appropriate to the other person’s culture.
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17. Are Human Emotions Universal?
Pearson Education
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18. Improving Intercultural Communication Competence
Develop knowledge
Seek information
Ask questions and listen effectively
Create a “third culture”
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19. Improving Intercultural Communication Competence (Continued)
Developing motivation: strategies to accept others
Tolerate ambiguity
Be mindful
Avoid negative judgments
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20. Improving Intercultural Communication Competence (Continued)
Develop skill
Develop creative flexibility
Become other-oriented
Social decentering
Empathy
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21. Improving Intercultural Communication Competence (Continued)
Develop skill (continued)
Appropriately adapt your communication
Adapt
Communication accommodation theory
Adapt predictively
Adapt reactively
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22. End Show
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