What is cross cultural communication?

Cross-cultural communication is the field of study where "cultural anthropology" and "communication theory" intersect.

Cultural anthropology recognizes that a people group may share a common worldview. They then would also share common beliefs/values, institutions, and overt behaviors and artifacts. However, linked with this is a common way of thinking and communicating.

Communication theory recognizes that effective communication occurs when the sender (speaker or communicator) encodes a message in such a way that the respondent (listener or receiver) is able to decode it so that the message does not get distorted.

When two people are from different cultures, there is a strong likelihood of distortion of the message since the encoding of one and the decoding of the other are likely to be different.

The tendency toward distortion due to culture is sometimes called "cultural gap". There are a number of factors that affect cultural gap in communication.

These include (taken from David Hesslegrave):

1. Worldview How we perceive the world
2. Cognitive Processes How we think
3. Linguistic Forms How we express ideas
4. Behavioral Forms How we act
5. Social Structures How we interact
6. Media Influence How we channel messages
7. Motivational Resources How we make decisions

The greater the difference between the sender and the receiver in these areas, the greater the cultural gap... and thus the greater the tendency toward miscommunication.