Cultural Awareness, Psychological Adjustment, Communication Skills and Personality Strength

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Reflection Paper on Intercultural Communication
Introduction
Intercultural communication competence refers to the ability of an individual to adapt and communicate appropriately and effectively across a wide array of cultural contexts. That is to say, for an individual to be considered an intercultural communicator they must understand other’s cultures as well as they understand their own, and apply this understanding to communication (Chen 1-2). With the increasing diversity at the workplace, school and other social settings, it has become increasingly important to learn how to communicate with people from a diverse array of cultures. More importantly, adapting to a more effective intercultural communication competence model provides us with learning opportunities occasioned by the interaction with people from other backgrounds. The intercultural communication competence model comes with some key components, including tolerance for uncertainty, self-knowledge, and motivation. The greatest and most important of these aspects is motivation. An individual must be willing to foster relationships with people from a different cultural background. If an individual lacks the willingness to promote intercultural relationships, then other aspects of the intercultural communication model become moot.
Considering the increasingly globalized world where many people are in contact with people from other differing cultures, contexts and continents, it would be improper to suppose that one’s culture, expectations, behaviors, and beliefs are universal. Therefore, as an international student, I must get out of my comfort zone and build on my intercultural competence by adapting to new situations and taking on more risks. A competent intercultural communicator must be able to apply behaviors that enable the individual to manipulate their environment to assist them in meeting their communication goals.
Intercultural Communication Competence Four Skill Areas
Intercultural communication competence is classified into four dimensions: cultural awareness, psychological adjustment, communication skills and personality strength. The first competence, personality strength, alludes to an individual’s characteristics that elaborate on their personality. These personal characteristics or traits evolve with experiences within a culture and have an influence over how an individual interacts with others (Chen 15). Personality strength is affected by how a person can subtly show a little anxiety while communicating, and a person’s ability to apply gathered social information and modify self-presentation—that is, catch other people’s cues and adapt as per the situation. It is also affected by an individual&rsq...