Intercultural Communication in the Workplace paper Essay

Intercultural Communication in the Workplace paper - Essay Example This is what good actors do and there is a difference between a ‘wooden actor’ and ‘expressive actor’ who conveys whole reams of feelings with expressions, dialogues and inflexion of speech. It is not just enough to be good looking or to have a good voice and while these help to enhance the impact, a poor speaker cannot rely on only these physical traits. â€Å"Language is our principal means of communicating, but it isn’t the only one we use. We communicate whenever we transmit information about ourselves to others and receive such information from them. Our facial expressions, bodily stances, gestures, and movements, even if unconscious, convey information and are part of our communication styles" (Chapter 15, p. 256). In organizations, particularly during team meetings or convocations, an effective speaker manages to get over physical barriers such as plan looks, thick accents and other barriers but still manage to keep people interested, by gaugi ng their mood and changing tonal inflexions. This is a very important issue in intercultural communication, to keep the audience interested and at the same time get your message through. By culture, we mean the accepted norms of social behavior and acceptance of what is right and what is wrong and what is ethical. To give an example, a woman smoking in US or Europe would not be noticed but a similar action in Arab countries would raise a lot of attention. Organizations such as Microsoft, Ford, GM, Toyota, British Petroleum and many others that operate globally need to adapt to various cultures and understand these norms yet remain committed to their core values. This is an area that is best handled by effective intercultural communication and the skill is in using an inclusive method where the message blends across cultures and brings a sense of uniformity. This requires skill and experience and simple language, checked for