2.6 Cultural Understanding
As technical writers we often conduct a piece of communication for a given reader or specific audience, but how often do you think about the primary reader’s culture? Would you change the communication if your audience has a different cultural threshold?
Challenges to Effective Communication
The main barrier in verbal communication is the language, so it’s important, as with all technical writing, to be clear and concise and avoid idioms that could cause misinterpretation of the message or even be offensive to another person.
These misconceptions or offenses usually occur in nonverbal communication because even though there are emblematic gestures (gesture of peace, thumb up, etc.) these can mean different things in different cultures and we don’t inherently know the connotation. Another important issue is personal space. In Latin American it is common for conversation to happen with a fairly short distance between people, unlike North American culture, where personal space is of greater importance. A good way to politely establish a comfortable space is with a handshake.
Another important factor to consider when implementing effective communication within the organization (internal communication) is that employees must have a clear vision/respect for the way the organization works, a clear description of each job position and what is expected of each employee. To accomplish this, the most important thing is to first ensure that senior managers adequately understand the project goals and expectations. This creates unity and consistency among team members. Similarly it is crucial to 1) train all employees consistently regardless of rank or hierarchical level, 2) encourage teamwork and pride in the outcome of a project, and 3) organize regular staff meetings to enhance communication.
Recognizing Generalizations
Unfortunately, many people live in the misconception that they are empathetic with other cultures when the reality is very different. To better understand our own personal outlook, we must ask ourselves if we’ve used any of these phrases lately or (ever):
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- “People from ____________ country are…”
- “It has nothing to do with a cultural issue.”
- “It’s really hard to work with _____________ people because….”
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By engaging in or stating our own generalizations of people from a country, race or religion, we actively perpetuate or create stereotypes. These are generally extremely negative, and restrict our ability to relate to any individuals outside our own culture.
Technical writers must be mindful that being ignorant of others’ customs, values, and habits leads to poor communication and a lack of sensitivity. This causes negative reactions, and even worse, negative consequences. One way to begin understanding our own cultural profile, take Harvard Business Review’s questionnaire “What’s Your Cultural Profile?“
Understanding Culture
Remember these five important things about culture:
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- It is learned. Geert Hofs