Intercultural Communication

Intercultural Communication
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Intercultural Communication
How people from different cultures and social groups communicate enhances the understanding of cross-cultural communication experience. In other others, one may want to understand how people from a specific culture or subculture pass their messages. Besides, multicultural communication may identify similarities between different cultures (Neuliep, 2009). However, there are some fundamental assumptions as far as intercultural communication is concerned. They come in handy in informing communication management approaches with other people. In this essay, I discuss my application of the implications of the assumptions and their influence on my communication management style.
First Assumption: Message Sent Does Not Correspond To Message Received
In my daily communication with other people, I try to understand how they will perceive my messages lest they misunderstand me. For instance if I am talking to a Chinese, I would want to maintain eye contact and greet them to help set the mood right. One might have wanted to say “I think you need to do more” only for the other person to interpret it as, “You are lazy and incompetent.” Maybe they meant to encourage creativity, only to be taken out of context. Based on these likely challenges when communicating with other people, I will always try to be transparent in how I interact with others. I will seek to understand their perceptions and behaviors so that I eliminate any misunderstanding or miscommunication that may arise.
Second Assumption: Intercultural Communication is a Nonverbal Act
Contrary to the common perception that communication is about words, it is more of nonverbal acts (Neuliep, 2016). For example, smiling first before greeting someone indicates a warm welcome. If one frowns before making remarks, they will already have turned off the recipients of the intended messages. Nonverbal cues are thus crucial in intercultural communication. Fidgeting could imply anxiety, lack of confidence or shyness (Neuliep, 2009). From this assumption, I learn that when I communicate with others I must ensure we understand each other’s body language. For me, I would want to maintain a straight posture, keep eye contact, and have an air of authority or aura around me. To make others believe in me, I must exude confidence. To encourage others to open up, I will help them by appreciating them, clapping, nodding and giving them the green light.
Third Assumption: Intercultural Communication Implies Clash of Communicator Style
How a person communicates matters a lot and determines how others will perceive them. A communicator who adopts the authoritarian style for instance will mostly evoke fear among his listeners (Ne...