Introduction
Effective communication is significant when passing a message from one person to another and may be influenced by various factors. Culture plays a significant role in communication since it affects how people see things and communicate them. Consequently, people from different cultures may misinterpret each other’s communication. Perception, equality, and curiosity in communication are influenced by people’s surroundings. Consequently, some cultures integrate equality in their communication, while others do not value equality. Meanwhile, perception in communication is influenced by the choice of words and the gestures used. Different words are perceived differently across various cultures, and different gestures have different meanings in various cultures. Equality is a social value that is exhibited in communication and behaviors. While some cultures communicate and behave in a manner that illustrates equality, some cultures integrate a systemic order when doing things leading to unequal treatment. While there can be an established common language like English and French perception, equality, and curiosity influence the cross-cultural communication.
Cross-Cultural Communication
Globalization and technological advancements have led to the interaction of people of different nationalities. International interactions are influenced by business activities and global social activities like World Cup, among others. Cross-cultural communication involves people of different nationalities, races, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, among others (Shiraev & Levy, 2020). Communication is crucial when people want to express themselves. Although different countries have established official languages like English and French with global significance, culture remains influential in the communication styles (Shiraev & Levy, 2020). The varying effects of cultures have led to different perceptions and the use of gestures in communication.
Why Perception, Equality, and Curiosity in Communication
Perception, equality, and curiosity in communication are remarkable topics since they help in understanding why people may differ in cross-cultural communication. Understanding perception in communication is altogether fascinating since few people may feel offended if their messages are negatively interpreted. Equality is a social value, and few people can relate equality to communication and culture. It is interesting to note that communication significantly influences equality and behaviors. Meanwhile, curiosity is significant in communication and determines how much attention someone pays to a particular response. Surprisingly, some cultures have a poor economy of words making it difficult to pay attention to a particular word. Therefore, perception, equality, and curiosity in communication are interesting topics.
Perception In Communication
Perception is crucial in communication since it determines how people react to one’s message. Perception involves selecting, organizing, and interpreting information in a given manner (Ricarddi, 2014). In communication, perception involves how people interpret a specific piece of information according to their culture. According to Pellegrino (2014), many cultures have influenced people’s choice of what to see and here. Consequently, culture is significant in the use of accepted and familiar words. The speaker uses an example of the differences between Norwegians and Italians. In the Norwegian “taking a walk in the forest” is a common word that people raised in the Norwegian culture can resonate with (Riccardi, 2014). However, a similar term in Italian has a different meaning, and an Italian will be shocked if asked to “take a walk in the forest.”
Accent and gestures are significant in expressing one’s feelings. However, in cultures like Italian, accents bring some unseriousness and people may ignore one’s concerns (Riccardi, 2014). According to Pellegrino, complaining about flight delays in an Italian accent may not be perceived with the seriousness it deserves. Meanwhile, different cultures perceive the meaning of gestures differently leading to miscommunication across cultures (Mokhtari, 2013). For instance, the “ring gesture” that is usually depicted by connecting thumb and index fingers into a circle, and it has different meanings around the world (The World Is Our Thing, 2017). In Britain, it means “everything is okay,” in Brazil in it is considered obscene, and in other places, it means “money” (The World Is Our Thing, 2017). Moreover, different signs are used to communicate a similar message across different cultures. For instance, the sign for drinking alcohol is different among the Russians and French. In France, people grab and twist their noses while in Russia people flip their throats to mean getting drunk (The World Is Our Thing, 2017). Therefore, different words and gestures give different perceptions of communication.
Equality In Communication
Equality influences communication in various cultures and determines the accepted and familiar behaviors in such cultures. Pellegrino states that equality has affected the Norwegians’ routine behaviors in various social set-ups (Riccardi, 2014). He uses the queuing systems in UK and Norway that are different. In the UK, the queuing system seems organized, and things are done first come first served. For instance, if a new cash register is introduced in a bank where people had queued, the people will systematically be starting queuing for the new register (Riccardi, 2014). However, in Norway, things are done differently, and all people will queue for the new register. The Norwegians have integrated equality into their daily activities affecting how they speak and dress. Equality in Norway has influenced communication and behaviors among Norwegians making it difficult to distinguish social classes.
Curiosity In Communication
Curiosity influences how people communicate and determines the number of questions a person may ask. Pellegrino states the kids are the most curious persons who may ask about three-hundred and ninety questions per day. However, 82% of the questions are asked to their mothers, and not their fathers. Curiosity is important in communication but influenced across different cultures (Mokhtari, 2013). For instance, Italians can ask curious questions while eating making them seem unserious about their questions (Riccardi, 2014). However, in other cultures like Fin curious questions are asked with utter seriousness, and one would stop eating when asking a curious question. Pellegrino gives simple rules when asking curious questions: ask simple questions, listen to the answer, and follow up the picked word. However, following a particular word in cross-cultural communication may be difficult. For instance, unlike Norwegians, Italians use many words in describing one word. While listening to a particular word when asking a curious question is significant, the economy of words among different cultures may affect paying attention to the words.
Conclusion
Cross-cultural communication is significant for people to express themselves to others from diverse cultures. Although similar languages and gestures are used across multiple cultures, their meanings may be different. Therefore, different cultures perceive specific words differently leading to misunderstandings. Curiosity is significant in communication and helps one pay attention to specific words. However, the economy of words among different cultures affects the understanding of the information communicated. Meanwhile, communication can influence behavior bringing an aspect of equality. While cultures in countries like Britain value systemic order in service delivery, Norwegians believe in the first-come-first-served system regardless of social-economic status. Gestures and choice of words can be similar among various cultures, but their meaning is influenced by cultural perceptions. Common languages’ meanings may have different meanings due to perception, curiosity, and social values like equality.
References
Mokhtari, M. (2013). The puzzle of nonverbal communication: Towards a new aspect of leadership.
Riccardi, P. (2014) Cross cultural communication. In TEDx Talks.
Shiraev, E. B., & Levy, D. A. (2020). Cross-cultural psychology: Critical thinking and contemporary applications. Routledge.
The World is Our Thing (2017). Gestures Around the World. In YouTube.