Real Communication An Introduction

Chapter 6  Listening 173

TABLE 6.3

TIPS FOR

COMMUNICATING

ACROSS CULTURES

Tactic

Recognize

cultural

differences

Clarify

behaviors as

appropriate

Adjust to

differences

Explanation

When communicating with

someone from a different cul-

ture, keep in mind that factors

such as country of origin, reli-

gion, gender, educational level,

and socioeconomic status all

play into our values and beliefs

about communication. If you

can, learn about the person’s

background, and ask questions.

Pay attention to the cultural needs

of the listener. If you find that

cultural differences are prevent-

ing good communication, tell the

speaker or be silent to observe

context and nonverbal behaviors.

Ask more questions if neces-

sary; ask the speaker to work

with you to bridge the gap

between cultural differences.

Example

If your future mother-in-law is

a devout Catholic from France

and you are a non religious

person from St. Louis, you

might want to learn more

about French culture and

Catholicism; you might ask

your fiancée questions about

how to get to know Mom.

“I don’t think I’m understand-

ing you correctly. Can you say

that in another way for me,

please?”

“I’m sure I’m not getting the

complete picture. Can you give

me an example of the problem

to help me understand it better?”

is less expressive than she would hope as she complains
about a difficult client. She needs to remember that cul-
ture—including gender—is at play in this situation.
In traveling around the globe, you will also find
that expressiveness is viewed very differently in differ-
ent cultures. Whereas many Westerners consider deep
feelings private (or to be shared only with intimate rela-
tional partners), other cultures, including Hindus in Fiji
and the Ommura in New Guinea, do not regard private
feelings as sacrosanct; they communicate a variety of
emotions to others to build shared experiences (Brenneis,
1990). Table 6.3 shows suggestions for communicating
with people of different cultures.
A discussion of culture would not be complete without thinking about how
your concepts of masculinity and femininity affect your perceptions of listening
competence (Burleson et al., 2011). For example, men in the United States are
usually discouraged from expressing intense emotions in public (Brody, 2000).
This reluctance to react emotionally to information may give the appearance
that men are not listening. Expectations about appropriate feminine behavior
encourage women to exhibit more verbal and nonverbal feedback when listen-
ing, such as nodding and smiling more, and using more encouraging filler words
(“Really?” “Oh, wow,” “Right”). Most research indicates that an individual’s
role (being a parent, for example) accounts for more listening differences than
the sex of the listener does (Duncan & Fiske, 1977; Johnston, Weaver, Watson,
& Barker, 2000). Nonetheless, listening stereotypes are still powerful and make
their way into entertainment and advertising at every level. In the episode

THE GANG from Family

Guy believes that listening—

along with the verbal and

nonverbal expressions that

accompany it—is for women

only! © 20th Century Fox Film Corp.

All rights reserved./Courtesy Everett

Collection