Challenges to Cross-Cultural Communication, Essay Example

For effect effective cross-cultural communication to prevail, knowledge is basic. It is beneficial that people know the potential problems of communication, and put some effort to overcome them. The most significant thing is not the effort put in place, but change of one’s behavior. People need to understand that cultural differences are the main reason for communication problems. Rather than people being aggressive and hostile, they should be forgiving and patient in the event communication problems occur. In his essay, “Intercultural Communication Stumbling Blocks” LaRay Barna explores the common problems to intercultural communication. Barna attributes these problems to a number of factors like language, stereotypes, perceptions, anxiety and non-verbal signs. In this same article, he shows the need for people to embrace intellectual diversity so as to arrest the challenges of intercultural communication.

For diversity to prevail, barriers to intercultural communication should be eradicated. In the world, communication is a tremendously crucial thing. When the intercultural barriers come in, cultural diversity is hindered. High anxiety is a significant stumbling block to intercultural communication as individuals will tend to fear interacting with others. This will bur learning of various languages. In this article, Barna shows ways through which people can overcome intercultural communication problems. They include learning other people’s literature, art, language, and customs.

In their essay, “Working on common cross-cultural challenges”, Marcelle and Marya argues that human beings get in touch with each other all the time either at the workplace or  home. They have shown that communication is crucial in groups and societies where humans belong. However, to them communication is hard especially when people involved come from different cultures. They argue that culture is the main cause of communication barriers. It is the culture that influence the way humans interact in communities and groups. Culture is seen as a highly complex concept that shapes people and communities in various parts of the world. Culture can be in terms of race, gender, or place of origin. It is clear from their article that histories of people shape who they are. Through experiences gained, people are able to understand themselves and others. For good cross-cultural communication channels to prevail, knowing ways in which different groups in the community interact with each other is vital.

In his article, Barna has explored the intercultural communication problem that affects many races in the society. He shows how this problem is wide spread in different states of America. This author has explored how students from different ethnic groups perceive each other. From his argument, it clear that each ethnic group has a reservation of how the other communicate. He shows that Americans smile all the time as a way of making new friends. Some people see this as hypocritical. This is a clear show that stumbling blocks to intercultural communication can see misunderstanding other people’s culture. This is something I tend to agree. Barriers to intercultural communication are the main source of misunderstanding between people. This can lead to hatred or fear because there is lack of communication. It is through communication that people get to understand each other. If it is not efficient, problems will arise. There are situations in life when one fails to understand what other individuals are communicating to them. This is especially in the use of non-verbal signs.

Marcelle and Marya argue that people from different cultural groups find it hard to work together. This is because their cultural values and language conflict at times. In such a situation, it is possible to have a misunderstanding that can ruin the relationship they have. This can be avoided if people can recognize and appreciate the cultural values of each other. As people get into multicultural dialogue at their workplace, they need to have generalized difference in their mind.

Barna, Marcelle and Marya argue that, language is the main barrier to intercultural communication. It is not possible for people to communicate if they do not understand the language used by others. This is something I fully agree with these researchers. Symbols and non verbal signs are other barriers that will prevent effective intercultural communication. This is because different cultural groups have varying interpretation of certain signs. This contradicts Darwin’s theory that asserts facial expressions to be universal. Personally I tend to agree that stereotypes and perceptions are also barriers to effective communication. This is owed to the fact that they can lead to misunderstanding. In the modern world, there are situations where a person will tend to avoid communicating with a person from another race due to stereotyping. It is beneficial that people allow time to listen to what others say before they avoid them.

In their writings, Barna, Marcelle and Maryahave shown that gathering information regarding customs of other people and mastering their language is the best method of dealing with barriers to intercultural communication. People need to uphold their attitudes towards others and have a friendly relationship. Getting involved in activities others do, being wise, and breaking stereotypes are ways through which people can overcome cultural barriers to communication.

Work cited

Barna, LaRay. “Intercultural communication stumbling blocks.” Free Articles Directory Submit Articles – ArticlesBase.com. N.p., 26 June 2011. Web. 14 Mar. 2013. http://www.articlesbase.com/college-and-university-articles/intercultural-communication-stumbling-blocks-4867580.html

DuPraw, Marcelle E., and Marya Axner. “AMPU Guide: Working on Common Cross-cultural Communication Challenges.” PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. N.P., 4 May 2010. Web. 14 Mar. 2013. http://www.pbs.org/ampu/crosscult.html