Intercultural business communication

Intercultural business communication

THE BASIC FORMS OF COMMUNICATION

As David Glass is well aware, effective communicators have many tools

at their disposal when they want to get across a message. Whether writing

or speaking, they know how to put together the words that will convey their

meaning. They reinforce their words with gestures and actions. They look

you in the eye, listen to what you have to say, and think about your

feelings and needs. At the same time, they study your reactions, picking up

the nuances of your response by watching your face and body, listening to

your tone of voice, and evaluating your words. They absorb information just

as efficiently as they transmit it, relying on both non-verbal and verbal

cues.

NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION

The most basic form of communication is non-verbal. Anthropologists

theorize that long before human beings used words to talk things over, our

ancestors communicated with one another by using their bodies. They gritted

their teeth to show anger; they smiled and touched one another to indicate

affection. Although we have come a long way since those primitive times, we

still use non-verbal cues to express superiority, dependence, dislike,

respect, love, and other feelings.

Non-verbal communication differs from verbal communication in

fundamental ways. For one thing, it is less structured, which makes it more

difficult to study. A person cannot pick up a book on non-verbal language

and master the vocabulary of gestures, expressions, and inflections that

are common in our culture. We don't really know how people learn non-verbal

behaviour. No one teaches a baby to cry or smile, yet these forms of self-

expression are almost universal. Other types of non-verbal communication,

such as the meaning of colors and certain gestures, vary from culture to

culture.

Non-verbal communication also differs from verbal communication in

terms of intent and spontaneity. We generally plan our words. When we say

"please open the door," we have a conscious purpose. We think about the

message, if only for a moment. But when we communicate non-verbally, we

sometimes do so unconsciously. We don't mean to raise an eyebrow or blush.

Those actions come naturally. Without our consent, our emotions are written

all over our faces.

Why non-verbal communication is important

Although non-verbal communication is often unplanned, it has more

impact than verbal communication. Non-verbal cues are especially important

in conveying feelings; accounting for 93 percent of the emotional meaning

that is exchanged in any interaction.

One advantage of non-verbal communication is its reliability. Most

people can deceive us much more easily with their words than they can with

their bodies. Words are relatively easy to control; body language, facial

expressions, and vocal characteristics are not. By paying attention to

these non-verbal cues, we can detect deception or affirm a speaker's

honesty. Not surprisingly, we have more faith in non-verbal cues than we do

in verbal messages. If a person says one thing but transmits a conflicting

message non-verbally, we almost invariably believe the non-verbal signal.

To a great degree, then, an individual's credibility as a communicator

depends on non-verbal messages.

Non-verbal communication is important for another reason as well: It can be

efficient from both the sender's and the receiver's standpoint. You can

transmit a non-verbal message without even thinking about it, and your

audience can register the meaning unconsciously. By the same token, when

you have a conscious purpose, you can often achieve it more economically

with a gesture than you can with words. A wave of the hand, a pat on the

back, a wink—all are streamlined expressions of thought.

The functions of non-verbal communication

Although non-verbal communication can stand alone, it frequently works

with speech. Our words carry part of the message, and non-verbal signals

carry the rest. Together, the two modes of expression make a powerful team,

augmenting, reinforcing, and clarifying each other.

Experts in non-verbal communication suggest that it have six specific

functions:

• To provide information, either consciously or unconsciously

• To regulate the flow of conversation

• To express emotion

• To qualify, complement, contradict, or expand verbal messages

• To control or influence others

• To facilitate specific tasks, such as teaching a person to swing a golf

club.

Non-verbal communication plays a role in business too. For one thing, it

helps establish credibility and leadership potential. If you can learn to

manage the impression you create with your body language, facial

characteristics, voice, and appearance, you can do a great deal to

communicate that you are competent, trustworthy, and dynamic. For example,

Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton has developed a homespun style that puts people

at ease, thereby helping them to be more receptive, perhaps even more open.

Furthermore, if you can learn to read other people's non-verbal messages,

you will be able to interpret their underlying attitudes and intentions

more accurately. When dealing with co-workers, customers, and clients,

watch carefully for small signs that reveal how the conversation is going.

If you aren't having the effect you want, check your words; then, if your

words are all right, try to be aware of the non-verbal meanings you are

transmitting. At the same time, stay tuned to the non-verbal signals that

the other person is sending.

VERBAL COMMUNICATION

Although you can express many things non-verbally, there are limits to

what you can communicate without the help of language. If you want to

discuss past events, ideas, or abstractions, you need words—symbols that

stand for thoughts — arranged in meaningful patterns. In the English

language, we have a 750,000, although most of us recognize only about

20,000 of them. To create a thought with these words, we arrange them

according to the rules of grammar, putting the various parts of speech in

the proper sequence.

We then transmit the message in spoken or written form, hoping that

someone will hear or read what we have to say. Figure 1.1 shows how much

time business people devote to the various types of verbal communication.

They use speaking and writing to send messages; they use listening and

reading to receive them.

Speaking and writing

When it comes to sending business messages, speaking is more common than

writing. Giving instructions, conducting interviews, working in small

groups, attending meetings, and making speeches are all important

activities. Even though writing may be less common, it is important too.

When you want to send a complex message of lasting significance, you will

probably want to put it in writing.

Listening and reading

It's important to remember that effective communication is a two-way

street. People in business spend more time obtaining information than

transmitting it, so to do their jobs effectively, they need good listening

and reading skills. Unfortunately, most of us are not very good listeners.

Immediately after hearing a ten-minute speech, we typically remember only

half of what was said. A few days later, we've forgotten three-quarters of

the message. To some extent, our listening problems stem from our

education, or lack of it. We spend years learning to express our ideas, but

few of us ever take a course in listening.

FIGURE 1.1

Forms of Business Communication

Similarly, our reading skills often leave a good deal to be desired.

Recent studies indicate that approximately 38 percent of the adults in the

United States have

trouble reading the help-wanted ads in the newspaper, 14 percent cannot

fill out a check properly, 26 percent can't figure out the deductions

listed on their paycheques, and 20 percent are functionally illiterate.

Even those who do read may not know how to read effectively. They have

trouble extracting the important points from a document, so they cannot

make the most of the information presented.

College student are probably better at listening and reading than are

many other people, partly because they get so much practice. On the basis

of our own experience, no doubt realise that our listening and reading

efficiency varies tremendously, depending on how we approach the task.

Obtaining and remembering information takes a special effort.

Although listening and reading obviously differ, both require a similar

approach. The first step is to register the information, which means that

you must tune out distractions and focus your attention. You must then

interpret and evaluate the information, respond in some fashion, and file

away the data for future reference.

The most important part of this process is interpretation and evaluation,

which is no easy matter. While absorbing the material, we must decide what

is important and what isn't. One approach is to look for the main ideas and

the most important supporting details, rather than trying to remember

everything we read or hear. If we can discern the structure of the

material, we can also understand the relationships among the ideas.

BASICS OF INTERCULTURAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

As Bill Davila knows, the first step in learning to communicate with

Страницы: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5



Реклама
В соцсетях
рефераты скачать рефераты скачать рефераты скачать рефераты скачать рефераты скачать рефераты скачать рефераты скачать