Business communication building critical skill 3rd by locker module 3

PPT
PPT

Module
Module 33
Communicating
Communicating
Across
AcrossCultures
Cultures

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

©2007, The McGraw-Hill Companies, All Rights


3-2

Communicating
Communicating Across
Across
Cultures
Cultures
♦To learn how to
 Continue to analyze your audiences.
 Begin to adapt your message to
your audiences.
 Begin to understand what your
organization wants.

3-3

Communicating
Communicating Across
Across
Cultures
Cultures
Start by answering these questions:
 Who is my audience?
 Why is audience so important?
 What do I need to know about my
audience(s)?


3-4

Communicating
Communicating Across
Across
Cultures
Cultures
Start by answering these questions:
 Now that I have my analysis, what
do I do with it?
 What if my audiences have different
needs?
 How do I reach my audience(s)?


3-5

Diversity
Diversity and
and Culture
Culture Basics
Basics
♦ Diversity has always been with us—
even if people didn’t recognize it or its
value.
♦ There is no “one-size-fits-all”
approach to working with cultural
differences.
 Use the information in this module as
guidelines, not rules set in stone.
 Remember that people are individuals as well
as members of groups.

♦ Be open to change and difference.


3-6

Diversity
Diversity in
in the
the Workplace
Workplace
♦ Gender
♦ Race and ethnicity
♦ Regional and national origin

♦ Social class
♦ Religion
♦ Age
♦ Sexual orientation
♦ Physical ability


3-7

Diversity
Diversity in
in the
the Workplace
Workplace
♦High-Context Cultures
 Most information is
inferred from the context
of a message.
 Little is “spelled out.”
 Examples: Japanese,
Arabic, and Latin
American cultures.


3-8

Diversity
Diversity in
in the
the Workplace

Workplace continued
continued
♦Low-Context Cultures
 Context is less
important than words.
 Most information is
spelled out; words are
privileged
 Examples: German,
Scandinavian, and
dominant U.S. cultures.


3-9

Diversity
Diversity in
in the
the Workplace
Workplace continued
continued
♦Remember
 In nations like the U.S., Canada,
and Brazil, multiple cultures exist.
While the dominant culture may be
privileged, recognize that minority
cultures may have different norms
with regard to behavior.

3-10

Dimensions
Dimensions of
of Culture
Culture
♦ Values, Beliefs, and
Practices
♦ Nonverbal
Communication
♦ Body Language
♦ Eye Contact
♦ Gestures
♦ Space
♦ Spatial
Arrangements

♦ Time
♦ Dress
♦ Colors
♦ Height
♦ Oral
Communication
♦ Understatement,
Exaggeration, and
Silence


3-11

Conversational
Conversational Style
Style
♦ How long a pause tells
you that it’s your turn to
speak?
♦ Do you see interruption
as rude?
♦ Do you show interest by
asking lots of
questions?


3-12

Communicating
Communicating with
with Different
Different
Cultures
Cultures
♦Brenda Arbaleez suggests being
 Aware that values and behaviors
are influenced by culture.
 Flexible.
 Sensitive.
 Aware of the others’ values, beliefs,
and practices.
 Sensitive to differences among
individuals.

3-13

Ways
Ways to
to Make
Make Language
Language
Nonsexist
Nonsexist
♦Use
 Words that treat both
sexes respectfully.
 Titles that do not imply
one sex “ought” to do a
certain job.
 The appropriate gender
pronoun when referring
to a specific person.


3-14

Ways
Ways to
to Make
Make Language
Language
Nonsexist

Nonsexist continued
continued
♦ Use
 “Ms.” As the
courtesy title for
a woman unless
• The woman has a
professional title.
• You know that a
woman prefers to
be addressed by a
traditional title.


3-15

Ways
Ways to
to Make
Make Language
Language
Nonsexist
Nonsexist continued
continued
♦When you write about anyone who
may be in a job or position, make
pronouns nonsexist.
 Use plurals.
 Use you.
 Revise the sentence to omit the

pronoun
 Use pronoun pairs.


3-16

Ways
Ways to
to Make
Make Language
Language
Nonracist
Nonracist
♦Eliminate adjectives that reinforce
negative stereotypes.
 Biased: The motivated black
students were assigned to internship
positions throughout the company.
 Bias-free: The students were
assigned to internship positions
throughout the company.


Ways
Ways to
to Make
Make Language
Language
Nonracist
Nonracist continued

continued
♦Identify race or ethnic origin only if
it’s relevant.
 Biased: Paloma Esteban, a Latino,
has been appointed Vice-President
of Finance.
 Bias-free: Mike Waters, a Sioux,
translated the governor’s speech into
the Lakota language.

3-17


Ways
Ways to
to Make
Make Language
Language
Nonracist
Nonracist continued
continued
♦Eliminate words and phrases with
negative connotations.
 Biased: Many of our managers who
come from culturally deprived
backgrounds now function as role
models for young people through our
mentoring program.

3-18

Ways
Ways to
to Make
Make Language
Language
Nonracist
Nonracist continued
continued
 Bias-free: Many of our managers
whose family heritage is African,
Asian, or Spanish now function as
role models for young people
through our mentoring program.

3-19


3-20

Talking
Talking about
about People
People with
with
Diseases
Diseases or
or Disabilities
Disabilities

♦Use “people first” language and
avoid using adjectives as nouns.
 Biased:

• the alcoholic
• the drug addict
• the handicapped

 Bias-free:

• the woman who is an alcoholic
• the man who abuses drugs
• people with disabilities


3-21

Talking
Talking about
about People
People with
with
Diseases
Diseases or
or Disabilities
Disabilities continued
continued
♦Emphasize people’s abilities, not
their limits or disabilities.
 Biased: Jenny Ling has done an

outstanding job as our
spokesperson, even though she has
diabetes.
 Bias-free: Jenny Ling has done an
outstanding job as our spokesperson
for the past seven years.


Ways
Ways to
to Make
Make Language
Language
Nonagist
Nonagist
♦Refer to age only if it’s truly
relevant.
 Biased: Tomoko Watanabe, 67, is
president of Competitive Data
Management.
 Bias-free: Tomoko Watanabe is
president of Competitive Data
Management.

3-22


Ways
Ways to
to Make

Make Language
Language
Nonagist
Nonagist continued
continued
♦Avoid stereotypes.
 Biased: With her grandmotherly
ways, good old Mary Grace makes
everyone in Unit 2 feel special.
 Bias-free: For the past 35 years,
Mary Grace has been helping to
create team spirit in Unit 2.

3-23


Ways
Ways to
to Make
Make Language
Language
Nonagist
Nonagist continued
continued
♦Avoid negative labels for children,
such as “children from broken
homes.”
♦Remember families can be singleparent and diverse.
♦Use nonsexist descriptions and
images of children.

3-24


3-25

Bias
Bias Free
Free Photos
Photos and
and
Illustrations
Illustrations
♦Check visuals for
bias.
 Are the people diverse?
 Are power relationships
balanced?
 Can you create your
own visuals rather than
rely on biased clip art?