Culture Miscommunication... What is it? How can we learn from it??

Culture Miscommunication...

Miscommunication is a funny thing. It can happen anywhere, anytime. We have miscommunication with our spouses, siblings, parents, friends, neighbors, etc... Why? Because we are different, think differently, and feel differently. Even siblings brought up in the same household can feel differently about things and not understand each other. 

There are many times in our lives when we have to sit back and try to understand someone else. Marriage is a huge example of this. Two people get married and move in together. They have been raised in different environments by different people, with different priorities. 

It can be hard to blend these family cultures together to make a new one for the new family. I remember when my husband and I were married there were a few things that we each did that were strange. My husband likes to do things correctly...that's how he was taught. Now I'm not saying that I don't do things correctly but I approach things differently. In my home, some things were just done...When I hung clothes on the line to dry, I just hung them. I didn't really worry about doing it a right or wrong way. I guess growing up my parents were just happy I had helped. Now, this is an example of two different cultures. We blended and molded and now thirty years later we do things 'our' way. This will happen again when our children marry and a new family culture is formed.

Cultural Miscommunication can cause huge problems and misconceptions. When I immigrated from the United Kingdom to the United States many years ago I didn't realize that it would be so difficult. Even though both countries speak English culturally there are differences that took time to get used to.

No matter where we go there are people with different cultures that are different than ours. It's important to remember these in the business world and when teaching. It's such a big deal that a worldwide bank turned the topic into an ad campaign. HSBC bank turned some cultural differences into advertising and some of the situations are pretty funny.

So how do we overcome miscommunication? KNOWLEDGE getting to know people from different cultures will help us learn what is a norm for that culture. When we know people we are less likely to take offense by something they do or don't do. 

In an educational setting, we need to learn about our students, their culture, and their beliefs so that we can make sure we don't do anything to offend them. We can also help teach them differences so they don't inadvertently offend others. 

I found a video from Julien S. Bourrelle called a Learn a new culture! It is full of great reasons to learn about new cultures.

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