Communication Between Cultures

Even the words we exchange are contextual. The simple phrase“How are you?”shifts

meaning as you move from place to place and person to person. To a friend, it can be

a straightforward expression used as a greeting. Yet during a doctor’s appointment, the

same three words (“How are you?”) uttered by the physician call for a detailed

response regarding your physical condition.

In most instances, the context involves four aspects: (1) the number of people who

are interacting, (2) the environmental context, (3) the occasion, and (4) the time.

Number of Participants

The number of people involved in the communication exchange affects the flow of

interaction in a variety of ways. You feel and act differently if you are talking to one per-

son, giving a speech, part of a group discussion, or speaking before a large audience. As

you can imagine, new technologies have greatly altered the entire notion involving the

number of participants who are taking part in any communication event. Instant messag-

ing, email, text messaging, chat rooms, and online social networks such as Facebook

have redefined the entire ambiance associated with face-to-face interpersonal communi-

cation. From not being able to touch your communication partner to not even knowing

who that partner might be, technology has changed how people communicate.

Environmental Context

When we write about the environmental context, we are talking about the“where”of

the communication event. Some introspection should tell you that your behavior is

not the same in every environment. Whether it is an auditorium, an employment

interview, an upscale restaurant, a group meeting, or an office, the location of your

interaction provides guidelines for your behavior. Factors such as the noise level,

room temperature, or even the way the furniture is arranged influence how people

Communication is a
dynamic process that
involves a host of
variables (seeing,
listening, talking,
smiling, touching)
that are all in
operation at once.

Courtesy of Carolyn Roy

32 CHAPTER 2•Communication and Culture: The Voice and the Echo

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