Impact of Culture on Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Communication Skills
There is a very important impact of culture in interpersonal and intrapersonal communication skills. Culture directly impacts personal thoughts, ideas, the way he/her communicates to herself/himself and their feelings and communicates with other persons in society. Interpersonal and intrapersonal communication is heavily influenced by culture, affecting personal thoughts, feelings, and interactions with others.
Interpersonal Communication
Interpersonal Communication Skills involves communication between people expressing their ideas and feelings with each other. They exchange meaningful communication with each other either face to face or through mobile phones. It includes facial expressions, body language, hearing, seeing, gestures etc. It further includes online messaging and phone calls.
Intrapersonal Communication
Intrapersonal Communication Skills involves the communication of people with themselves. The communication they have with their own selves is intrapersonal. It includes feelings, contemplating, interpreting etc. It is more commonly known as self-talk.
Impact of Culture
Culture plays a main role in our lives. It affects everything around us. Mostly people do all the things according to their culture. Likewise, communication of people also depends on their cultures. It affects their communication styles to a great extent.
Background
For instance, gestures, words, language that people use depends on their culture and background. Some cultures prefer straightforwardness and honesty, while others use indirect ways to avoid conflicts. People who are straight forward are considered rude mostly in our society; it is because they are brought up in that way that it seems normal to them and at the same time, people of different cultures may consider it rude.
Body Language
Different people of different cultures have their own body languages. They use gestures, expressions according to their own environment. People of their culture will be able to understand what they are trying to say or do, what their gestures mean but if someone else would see those gestures it may cause some serious misunderstandings between people of different backgrounds.
Conversation Respose
Space during conversations is also very important. Some people know how much physical distance should be maintained when two people are having a conversation. It is also because of cultures and upbringing, some people consider it normal and some take it as manner less thing. Some people demand active replies and responses from others while having a conversation, and some people take their time to reply. It is all because of environment and backgrounds that how people like to be communicated. Also, ways of how can fights and disagreements should be resolved depends on culture. Some people prefer to talk and finish everything while some avoid confronting to keep the peace.
Self Confidence
Culture also affects one’s communication with himself. Our image depends on our culture and then it influences our self-confidence. People with supportive background are very open about themselves. They share their emotions and opinions openly while others with conservative backgrounds like to keep everything private. It affects our thinking too that how we think about ourselves. Having a non-supportive background also leads to overthinking and mental problems.
Making Decisions
Culture can also affect one’s decision making. Some people want to take their own decisions but they couldn’t because of their cultures. People surrounding them don’t let them take their own decisions. They prioritize group discussions or consensus from elders first. But it should not be this way, if someone want to take their decisions for themselves then they should have that right and no one should come between it.
Taking Challenges
People also have their own ways of coping up with difficulties. Some try to handle all the matters independently while some prefer to seek help from others. It is all due to people depending so much on their cultures and that’s why it has a huge impact on people’s lives, which also affects their communication.
Difference betwwen collectivist culture and individualistic culture
Firstly, culture designs the intrapersonal communication, as how people talk to themselves. As people talk to themselves about their feelings, thoughts and believes. And culture plays a very important role in making the human values, thoughts and believes.
Individualistic culture
THe cultures that promotes the independece and rights of each person is known as individualistic culture. Hence the culture that gives people the right to talk freely then the people feel free in expressing their ideas and opinions. For example the individualistic culture such as United States promotes the independence and self-expression and people’s opinion and ideas are valued their and the people can express their feeling without any fear. These things made the people more confident and there is no contradiction between words and deeds
Collectivist culture
The cultures that promotes the selflessness and unity is known as collectivist culture. Hence a person who belongs to a collectivist culture focused on the importance of community instead of personal identity. The people who brought up in the collectivist culture have selflessness, they also have their own opinions, ideas and values but when they interact with people in societies they prioritized the values of community. They have to emphasize the unity. Another important thing about the collectivist cultures is that the people have use to of indirect conversation and sometimes it creates misunderstandings. Sometimes people cannot get what actually we want to say because we say it through indirect way which later may cause conflicts and distances.
Real Life Example
If we compare two individuals, Jemima Goldsmith from Landon and Imran Khan from Pakistan, who belongs to two different cultures, the style of their intrapersonal communication is totally different because both have the contrasting values and ideas.
Jemima from Landon, her values are self-expressing and she promotes the self-dependence. In her intrapersonal communication, she prioritizes her own thoughts, opinions, and ideas. Jemima has brought up in the culture which promotes the personal achievements. Therefore she may feel comfortable in expressing her needs and desires, making decisions independently, and asserting her individuality.
On the other hand, Imran Khan from Pakistan has grown up in the culture that promotes the selflessness. His intrapersonal communication is shaped according to his culture which encourages him to prioritize the needs and opinions of others over his own opinions. As a result, Imran Khan may have learned to put down his own ideas and values to maintain the social solidarity and avoid disrupting group harmony.
When both Jemima and Imran Khan interact in interpersonal communication both of them are representing their cultures and the cultures of both didn’t except them and as a result Jemima prioritizes her needs and separate from Imran Khan and Imran Khan prioritized the values of his country and he sacrifice for his values and separate from her.