Interpreting
the Definition of Low-Context Communication
To start off low-context communication is defined as
a definitive style of communication in which much of the information is
conveyed in words rather than in nonverbal cues and contexts (Martin & Nakayama, 2009). This specifically means that when two
people are communicating with one another they are using a low-context type of
communication when they are talking and not using signs, signals, codes, or
implying what the other is saying. When
using this type of communication actual words between the two people are being
used to know what the other is saying or describing. This is directly the opposite of high-context
communication in the aspect that when using a high-context form it is sometimes
very difficult to understand what the other is saying. When using this form people often imply and
sometimes talk with code or signals to get across what they are trying to tell
the other person.
An example of
low-context communication can be tied to an intercultural communication
situation in the fact that when two people from the same culture are trying to
communicate with one another. It is
quite easy when two people from the same culture are talking amongst one
another and are using actual verbal words to describe what they are
saying. For example, if I wanted to
communicate with somebody from my own culture it would be easy to use actual verbal
communication instead of trying to use a high-context form of communication
that would involve signs and signals hoping to get my message across to the
other person. This is one of the major
problems involving communication between people
in our society today. People often try to talk and communicate with
a high-context form of this and sometimes people can’t get their point across
to the other person in the right manner or the way they want to. When this happens sometimes people don’t
fully understand what is being said to them by the other person in the
communication process.
After
researching this intercultural communication example I am now more aware what
exactly a low-context form of communication is and what it involves. This will definitely help in my favor in the
future because now I know what is good communication and what isnt . When communicating with somebody else I will
use actual words and display to the other person exactly what I am trying to
say and try not to ever use signals, codes, and nonverbal cues. This is the best form of communication
between two people besides when at work or a sporting event or something of
this nature.
Martin, Judith
N. & Nakayama, Thomas K. (2009). Intercultural Communication in
Contexts:
(Fifth
Edition). McGraw Hill Higher
Education.
After reading your post, I am a little confused. From what I can understand, low-context communication is when two individuals that speak the same language are communicating using the words of that language. High-context communication is more applicable to situations where two parties do not understand the language spoken by the other; a good example of this might be when the Spaniards discovered the Americas and could not communicate effectively with the locals. My confusion lies in the assumption that gestures are not considered high-context communication, is this assumption correct?
ReplyDeleteI also find your post a little confusing. It seems like what Geoff said is correct, up until the gestures statement. I believe that gestures would be considered more of a 'high-context' communication. That is partly because they need context to have meaning. In different contexts, the gestures incorporate different meanings.
ReplyDeleteRyan, I would disagree with what you said about people in the same culture using low context communications. I think that it is more likely that low context communications occur in a more multicultural setting - where misconceptions are more likely to happen. I think I agree with alot of what you said, although it was a little hard to follow.