Communication is culture

Communication is the most important instrument that humans use in their process to
socialize, interact with others and can be defined as the process of sending information about
our opinions, feelings, beliefs or ideas to another person . Therefore, communication stands at
the base of human relationships.
We communicate to know each other, to find out about others emotions, to exchange
information, to convince others to understand our point of view and build relations.
Interpersonal communication is the most important form of communication and is the
most used. People cannot avoid this type of communication, and their social relations depend
on their ability to engage in a conversation with others. Our interpersonal communication
skills are learned behaviours that can be improved through knowledge, practice, feedback,
reflection and culture.
Communicating across cultures is challenging. Each culture has set rules that its
members take for granted. Few of us are aware of our own cultural biases because culture
imprints in our behaviour at a very early age. And while some of a culture's knowledge, rules,
beliefs, values, phobias, and anxieties are taught explicitly, most of the information is
absorbed subconsciously.
Intracultural miscommunication draws on the fact that all humans subconsciously
reflect their cultural backgrounds in day to day communication. Culture does not just lie in the
way one eats or dresses, but in the manner in which they present themselves as an entity to the
outside world. Language is a huge sustenance of communication, as well as a large
representation of one's cultural background. Cultural miscommunication often stems from
different and conflicting styles of speech and messages. A perfectly normal intonation pattern
for a native German speaker may seem angry and aggressive to a foreign listener.
Connotations of words, as well as meanings of slang phrases vary greatly across cultural lines,
and a lack of tolerance and understanding of this fact often results in misinterpretations.
Also non verbal communication varies across cultural lines. One must take the time to
study different cultures as to fully understand messages being transmitted. There are many
aspects of non-verbal communication, such as gesture, facial expression and space, affect the
way a message is construed. As an example , in Greenland, the Inuit people touch their noses
as a form of salute. Meanwhile in most cultures from Europe or America the common form
of salute is shaking hands or the kiss on the cheeks.
Thats why we should pay attention at every element and form of communication other
people are sending to us, in order to understand the information that we receive and of course
to improve our cultural knowledge and perception.