Culture and Gender in Communication

632 Words3 Pages
Culture and gender differences can play a big role in communication. These two components can lead to misunderstandings in the interpretation of both verbal and nonverbal communications due to different cultural beliefs and styles of communication between genders. There are strategies that can be used to minimize the misunderstandings in communication that arise from culture and gender differences and to also be sensitive to individual differences. I have found two articles that explain some of the above mentioned things in detail. The first article I read, “Working on Common Cross-cultural Communication Challenge” by Marcelle E. DuPraw and Marya Axner explains how cross-culture can affect communication styles, attitudes towards conflict, and decision making. Communication styles obviously differ from culture to culture which means some words and phrases that mean one thing to one culture may mean something else in another. The article gives the example of the word “yes” when used in other English speaking cultures can mean anything from “definitely so” to “maybe I’ll consider it”. A strategy that was given in the article to overcome cultural differences in communication style was to not always assume that your communication style is the right way to communicate, be open and nonjudgmental of others’ styles. Attitudes toward conflict also differ in other cultures. The article explains that in the U.S. most people try to avoid conflict. If a conflict does arise it is encouraged that the conflict be talked about and dealt with face-to-face. In dissimilarity to the U.S., eastern countries consider open conflict to be embarrassing and demeaning and encourage the resolution to be taken care of quietly, sometimes even in writing is the best way. A strategy to avoid a conflict when cross-cultural communication must occur is to not pass judgment and look at the
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