Speech Speech summary
Chapter six examines how culture affects communication and also discusses how to identify cultural norms and values. It also gives detailed Explanations of the barriers to effective intercultural communication as well analysis of how to develop intercultural communication competence
Culture can be defined as the values, belief, orientations and underlying assumptions prevalent among people in society. When choosing a topic for a speech it is important to choose a subject that is appropriate for the cultural and ethnicity of your audience by doing this it will make your speech more interesting to listen to. Because we are so familiar with own language, gestures, facial expressions, norms etc., familiar aspects of communication are disrupted which lead to cultural shock. Cultural shock is the psychological or anxiety you may feel when you attempt to adjust to a new cultural situation. I experienced cultural shock when I use to take part in charity events and travelled to another country, I felt a sense of anxiety as they could not easily understand what I was saying.
Identifying cultural norms and values can be easy. We can identify or figure out different cultural backgrounds by the language they speak, the way they dress or artifacts such as religious gourmets or markers they wear jewelry. Geert hofstede gives a way of understanding how cultures are similar and different from one another. He identifies four major dimensions of culture that affects communication which are individualism-collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, power-distance and masculinity and femininity. Individualistic culture emphasizes personal rights and responsibilities, privacy, voicing ones opinion, freedom etc. Collectivist culture emphasize on community collaboration, shared interest, harmony, the public good and avoiding embarrassment. Uncertainty avoidance