Intercultural Communication Competence Assignment

This assignment delves into the multifaceted concept of intercultural communication competence. It examines the various dimensions that contribute to effective intercultural communication, such as cognitive, affective, and behavioral aspects. The essay highlights the importance of intercultural competence in fostering understanding, resolving conflicts, and navigating diverse cultural contexts in an increasingly interconnected world.

EFFECTIVE BUISNESS COMMUNICATION

Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................1
Diagnosis and reflection:.............................................................................................................................1
Literature review:........................................................................................................................................4
Action plan:.................................................................................................................................................8
Gantt chart:...............................................................................................................................................10
Conclusion:................................................................................................................................................11
References:................................................................................................................................................11
Appendix:..................................................................................................................................................14
Introduction:

Communication is the very important part of the lives of the people. This is because humans are
social animals and they have to interact with each other in order to live in the society. Some have
better communication skills while other may lack in the same. In order to make improvement in
these communication skills, it is required to diagnose the same. There are various diagnostic
tools that can be used to analyse the communication skills. Some of the diagnostic tools that are
used in this report are self-perceived communication competence also known as SPCC, personal
report of intercultural communication apprehension that is PRICA, non-verbal immediacy scale
self-report (NISS), personal report of public speaking anxiety and talkoholic scale. This report
also argues about some of the theoretical concepts reacted to the communication skills and their
diagnostic tool along with the action plan that describes the activities that should be undertaken
in order to improve the communication skills.
Diagnosis and reflection:
There are various tools that have been used for analysing my communication skills. The first tool
that has been used is Self-perceived communication competence scale. This is the tool that helps
in analysing the information about the competence of the individuals and this feeling at the time
of various communication contexts (Bahadori & Hashemizadeh, 2018). The name suggests that it
is not the measure of the actual competence but it is the measure for the perceived competence of
the person. It may be possible that both are same but there may be differences. This tool is used
so that I can analyse myself and my perception about my communication skills. As far as my
score re considered, it has been analysed that I have scored the total of 72.91. As per the scoring
scale, if the individual score more than 87 the he would be very competent while lower than 59 is
perceived to have low competency of communication. As per my score, it can be identified that I
fall under the mid value of the scoring. This suggests that I am competent but still have some
scope of improvement.
The next tool that has been used is Personal report of intercultural communication apprehension.
It has been analysed that this tool helps in analysing the anxiety and the fear that one can possess
during the communication that involves the people with different cultural or ethnic group
(Villarreal, 2017). This considers the aspect of intercultural communication which is very
important to be analysed. I have used this tool so that I can judge my skills to communicate and
interact with the people who belong to different culture. As far as my scoring is considered, it

has been analysed that I have scored 49 in the test. This score means I am at the moderate level
of communication apprehension in the case of making intercultural communication. It has been
analysed that I am the one who feel uncomfortable with initiating conversation with the people
from different cultural but try to look clam in front of them.
After using the above two tools, now the requirement is to test my nonverbal communication
skills. It is the tool that results in providing the scores that leads to the degree of positivity that I
show towards other people. Communication is not only verbal but also involves nonverbal
gestures. These gestures also play a very important role in making effective communication. This
tool uses 5 point scale to answer some of the questions that helps in analysing the type of nature
and the gestures of the individuals. As far as the scoring of my test is considered, it has been
analysed that I have scored 102. This is the score that again proves that I am the mediocre in this
section. The scoring of different questions suggests that I use my gestures when I talk to people
but it is not necessary in every situation. If the people are very close to me, the only I show all
my gestures otherwise I talk to them without much closeness. Gestures are of different kinds and
I usually show formal gestures with the stranger while show close and very frequent gestures in
front of may close friends and family.
The next tool is personal report of public speaking anxiety. As the name suggests, it is the very
effective tool in analysing the anxiety level of the individual for public speaking (Shahbaz, Khan,
Khan & Mustafa, 2016). It has been analysed that it is the tool that I have used to identify my
skills that allow me or that restrict me to speak in public. As far as the scores are considered, it
has been analysed that I have scored 121 in this test. This suggests that I am at the moderate
stage. I have realised after this test that I am the one who feels nervous when I have to speak in
public but I also know how to control my emotions and nervousness on the stage. It has been
analysed that I need to develop my confidence to speak in front of the stranger and other people
because this is the most important part of communication. In later, I have to face many occasion
where I have to speak in public and thus it is required to develop that confidence and remove that
fear of public speaking.

The last tool that has been used was talkaholic scale. This is the scale that determines that how
much an individual talk. An individual is observed to be talkative when he talks too much and
the other person does not reply with equal intensity. It is a usual approach that if the person is
talking more, he would be perceived very positive in nature. It is a qualitative study in which the
way a person is talking and what the person is talking is very important. As far as my scoring is
considered, it has been analysed that I have scored 22 which is very less. I am not that much
talkative in nature. This makes it very difficult for me to convey my things to others. I am not an
initiator and thus I wait for the other person to initiate the conversation. This may sometimes left
me alone because I do not talk to people and does not make efforts in making relationships. I
used to talk only when they initiate the conversation.
As far as all the tests and my scoring is considered, it has been analysed that I am lacking two of
the main areas of communication that is confidence to speak in front of stranger and making
intercultural communication. Both of these skills are very much required in order to have good
communication and effective interaction with the people. Communication skills of the person
can only be developed if he has the self-awareness of his weaknesses and I have gained the
knowledge of my weaknesses.
Literature review:
Communication is the very important and the vital part of the daily routine. Every time, we have
to interact and communicate with the other person. Communication does not involve speaking
but it also involves a return from the other party whether in the form of active listening or in
answering back (Baraldi, 2017). As communication is the part of daily routine thus it is required
to have the effective communication skills so that the communication or the interaction could not
leads to misunderstanding. Communication is not only required to be effective in daily life but at
the professional level also, it is one of the best and the most important skill. As per the above
analysing, the tow skills that I have to develop in order to brush up my communication are
intercultural communication skills and confidence while speaking. Development of confidence
helps in making conversations with the strangers as well as in public.

Confidence is one of the most important elements that fuel the effective communication. It has
been analysed that if the person lacks the confidence, then he would not be able to communicate
properly with the other person. Confidence is not the sill that can be learnt but it needs to be
developed with practice, training and knowledge (Chaloupka-Risser & Füssl, 2017). When the
person knows everything about the subject, he feels confident enough to talk about the same thus
the first thing that needs to be considered for developing the confidence in communication is
enhancing the knowledge part (Niles, Craske, Lieberman & Hur, 2015). As far as the
communication is concerned, it is required by the individual to gain knowledge of the basics and
common subjects that are being discussed in the social gatherings. This provides them a
confidence to talk with others as they have the best knowledge of the topic (Choren, 2015). Other
than knowledge, practice is also one of the most important strategies that help in developing
confidence at the tie of communication. When any of the people speaks in with the
acquaintances, they speak without any fear. This fear can be of getting insulted or getting judged,
this is because when an individual speaks anything in front of anyone, the other person judge that
individual. This judgement develops fear in the minds of the people and this reduces their
confidence to speak (Dolan, R. (2016). Here, practice can help the individual to develop
confidence.it is required to practice as when a person does anything on frequent basis then it
becomes the habit and the fear disappears. This technique can be used by the individuals who
have lack of confidence in communicating with each other. Practicing in front of public and try
to surround with social gatherings helps the person to open up himself and get used to of
communicating with the people. The last technique that can used to build confidence is trainings
(Arnold & Boggs, 2015). There are many training courses of personality development available
that can help in building confidence. These courses help the person to have better
communication skills and turned them into a different personality that fuels their communication
effectiveness. Building confidence and having effective communication does not mean that the
person has to speak but listening is also one of the most important parts of communication
(Kurtz, Draper & Silverman, 2017). Thus, the person should develop the confidence to listen
carefully and efficiently to make the communication effective.
Another important aspect of communication is intercultural communication. Intercultural
communication is making interactions across the culture and languages (Gould & Carson, 2008).
When intercultural communication is considered, it does not mean that it’s about the person who

speaks different languages but it’s about the people who belongs to different culture and have
different values than one another. It has been analysed that our globe is becoming united in terms
of communication and because of the technological advancement it is not difficult to interact
with the people across the cultures.
Intercultural communication is the verbal and nonverbal communication between people from
different cultural upbringings. If the term intercultural is considered, it has been analyzed that
inert means between and cultural means from a particular culture (Reilly, Bavin, Bretherton,
conway, Eadie, Cini, ... & Wake, 2009). Occasionally, this is used to describe a single person
trying to cooperate and communicate in a foreign environment but more often, it is a two-way
road, where people from both cultures are trying to improve their communication.
Now, if an individual wants to learn about intercultural communication, it's important to
understand what this is. But it's also important to understand what it isn't. Intercultural
communication is targeted at allowing for optimistic and creative interaction. It does not mean to
join a particular culture or it is not about becoming a member of another society. For making
intercultural communication the person has to deal with the other culture and need not to adapt
the same (Bambini, Washburn & Perkins,2009). Intercultural communication is also not simply
language proficiency. Yes, communication requires the ability to understand language, but just
think about how much of your communication with even your own friends is nonverbal: our
body language, our attitudes, the rituals from hand-shaking to the stink eye (Ihtiyar & Ahmad,
2015). Some researchers estimate that up to 93% of all human communication is nonverbal,
although according to recent studies, it's actually closer to 60%. Still, that means that more than
half of communication is never spoken. So, intercultural communication is going to take a lot
more than just learning a language (Louis & Zeger, 2008). Language is just a part of intercultural
communication and sometimes it is not even necessary to learn the language but it is required to
learn the gestures and the communication style.
Developing the intercultural communication is also very important in order to make the
communication effective. The MNC’s all over needs to communicate and interact with the peel
from different culture in order to conduct their businesses in the foreign country. Thus,

developing intercultural communications is very important (King & Witt, 2009). In order to
develop intercultural communication, it is very much required to know about the other culture
and the have respect for the same. If the people of different culture do not have the value and the
knowledge about each other’s culture than it they won’t be able to communicate properly with
each other (Turner, Iliffe, Downs, Wilcock, Bryans, Levin, ... & O'carroll, 2004). This is because
of the differences in their communication styles. The people with different cultural background
have different styles to communicate. Some people greet by just nodding the head while some
say hello or any other word to greet the other person. Even the similar gestures have different
meanings for different culture people.
Many authors have discussed and suggested various strategies to improve the intercultural
communication skills. Respect is one of the aspect that is every important when the intercultural
communication or the conversation takes place (Hirsh-Pasek, Adamson, Bakeman, Owen,
Golinkoff, Pace, ... & Suma, 2015). If the person does not respect the other person and his
culture then the intercultural communication cannot be made successful. It is required to
understand that with different culture comes different experiences and thus an individual needs
to realise and embrace this idea of differences in experiences and respect the knowledge of other
person. It is required to be realising that the other person is not wrong but he is just different. The
individuals should learn from the experiences of others and respect is the only key to grasp the
other culture successfully (Huang, Howie, McCarthy, Memari, Walter, Min, ... & Al Turki,
2015). This leads to the development of another requirement to make the intercultural
communication effective and that is open mindedness. Author suggests that one of the best ways
to improve the intercultural communication skills is to operate the things with open minds (Dai
& Chen, 2014). If the individual wants to communicate well with those from other cultures, he
actually has to learn about them and their differences. A sincere open mindedness results in
enhanced grasping power and this also allow the individual to respect to have space to learn the
new things (Martin, 2015).
Adaptation is argued as another strategy that can help the individuals to accept the new culture
and communicate with the other people. For understanding this strategy, it is required to
understand the concept of culture shock. What happens when a human or an individual’s resist
the changes of culture? When a person wants to a place with different culture and language, there

are several phases that the individuals may face (Neuliep, 2017). At first, the individuals find it
very interesting to know about the new culture and function quite smoothly. But gradually, signs
of resistance may appear. The resistance may be from the people if they try to integrate with the
new culture thoroughly and if the individual is very much attached to his own culture and not
open at all. This integration requires the individual to modify the central behaviour and values in
such a way so that new values can be integrated with them (Koester & Lustig, 2015).
It has been analysed that most of the intercultural communication can be seen in business as well
as in social lives these days. The efforts to make the communication successful should be out in
by the parties who are communicating with each other. The eagerness to learn about the business
and about the values is very necessary in order to make the things better in intercultural
communication. In business environment, it is required to understand the importance of other
culture (Kim, 2015). When the business meetings are conducted with the international client, the
host company has to make efforts in making the meetings successful (Ruben, 2015). This
requires them to prepare as per the culture and the communication style of the client county. This
is because there can be different meanings for similar works and this may affect the meetings and
the business deals. As far as the relation between the employees and the manager is considered, it
is required by the management of the company to develop the working environment that is fair
and equal for all the employees irrespective of the differences in their culture. The companies
should celebrate all the festivals so that the employees from every culture feel the part of the
company and not feel neglected (Samovar, Porter, McDaniel & Roy, 2014).
In totality, it can be concluded that intercultural communication has been observed n day to day
lives these days and thus it is required to develop the strategies that can support this
communication to be more effective (Lieberman & Gamst, 2015). The individuals have to open
their mind and welcome the new experiences and the culture and should understand the
importance of the same. Respect is found to be the key skills because respecting other’s culture
can help in making the intercultural communication easy (Chi & Suthers, 2015). Along with
understanding the other culture, it is required to have full knowledge of the own culture. This is
because the individual can only realise the differences if they have proper knowledge of their
own culture.
Action plan:

As the weak points in the communication skills are analysed, it has been concluded that I have to
develop confidence to speak in front of strangers and public speaking and anther is manage
effective intercultural communication. The literature discuses about various aspects that can be
included in making an action plan. Following is the action plan that needs to be followed in order
to develop those weak points in communication learning so that I can improve my skills of
communication.
Action plan:
This is the plan which is prepared with a view to determine the plans and time period for
implementing the selected activities of organizations. All the details of task which are to be
implemented have been divided into the interval of the months and their specified break up
actions.
Time
description
Activities plan Details
1 week Identification of
skills required
This is the first step of the overall procedure to
develop the communication skills. It’s required to
identify the skills where I am lacking so that I can
work on the same to develop.
1st to 3rd month Undertaking short
courses
Undertaking various short courses help in getting
the professional improvement of the
communication skills. The educators in the classes
help in developing the skills in more efficient way
and this not only helps in developing that particular
skill but also helps in overall personality
development. Some of the course that are offered:
1 day professional development program will be

conducted for the personality development
1 day course work training development program
from Queensland institutional management.
3rd to 6th Months Readings Reading books is always helpful in developing and
improving any kind of knowledge. Reading
good books on frequent basis help the
individual understand the things properly
by themselves because if the individual
himself makes efforts in learning something
that learning lays remain for long time.
1st to the 6th
month
Personal journal Developing a personal journal is a type of study
that requires the individual to make his own notes
on what he is learning from different sources.
Making a personal journal is the best way to
develop the skills
1st to the 6th
month
Mentor Mentoring is also one of the best ways. Mentor
helps in analysing the weakness and develops the
communication skills as per the weakness, they
helps in filing the gap between the required skill
and the actual skills. Mentor helps in learning the
facts and the various aspects of communication
sills with frequent evaluation and monitoring. This
learning would be the most effective one.
4th to 6th Months Evaluation and
monitoring
The test should be conducted at the end so that the
level or degree of improvement can be understood.

This is the most important part of the action plan.
Gantt chart:
Actions
1
month
2
month
3
month
4
month
5
month
6
month
identification of skills
Undertaking short courses
Readings
Personal journal
Mentor
Evaluation and monitoring
Conclusion:
It has been conclude from the report that communication is the very important part of daily lives
and thus developing the various communication skills is very important. Various tools to analyse
the communication skills have been used such as self-perceived communication competence also
known as SPCC, personal report of intercultural communication apprehension that is PRICA,
non-verbal immediacy scale self-report (NISS), personal report of public speaking anxiety and
talkoholic scale. These tools are known as the diagnostic tools and provide the results that I have
to develop the skills like confidence and intercultural skills to be more effective in my
communication. Various strategies have been suggested by different authors and an action plan is
developed for developing the communication skills.

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