across three social contexts common to intercultural communication—the business,
education, and healthcare settings.Assumptions Grounding Communication Contexts
Before beginning our examination of context influence and in order to further
emphasize just how important the social context is in any intercultural communica-
tion contact, we will examine three basic assumptions about human communication
that are directly applicable to any discussion of context: (1) communication is rule
governed, (2) context prescribes the appropriate communication rules, and (3) com-
munication rules vary across cultures.Communication Is Rule Governed
Both consciously and unconsciously, people expect that their interactions will follow
appropriate and culturally determined rules—rules that inform both parties about the
proper communicative behavior for specific circumstances. Communication rules act
as guidelines for both one’s own actions and others’actions. As Wood points out,
these rules“are shared understandings of what communication means and what
kinds of communication are appropriate in particular situations.”^1
Communication rules govern both verbal and nonverbal behaviors and specify not
onlywhatshould be said but alsohowit should be said. Nonverbal rules, as we saw in
Chapter 9, apply to paralanguage, touch, facial expressions, eye contact, and other
nonverbal behaviors. Verbal rules govern such things as topic selection, turn taking,Human interaction
does not occur in a
void. To some degree
the social and physical
setting, commonly
referred to as the
communication
context, can influence
everything, including
seating arrangement,
topic selection, attire,
posture, and eye
contact.
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