"The imparting or exchange of information or news."
"Means of sending or receiving information, such as telephone lines or computers."
-Oxford
"A process by wich information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs or behavior.
Also: exchange of information."
-Merriam-Webster
Communication is important in the corporate environment, as represented in the above sentences, its part of human action. However, even if communication is part of human nature, using the right form is still a challenge for organizations. Thus, we come to the concept of interpersonal communication, which is an exchange of information between two or more individuals. That is, it is an ability to transmit, receive and interpret verbal or nonverbal messages clearly, within organizational context mainly.
A survey by Albert Mehrabian, University of California - UCLA professor emeritus, found that non-verbal forms of communication, such as gestures, body posture, and eye contact, are 55% more impactful than other forms. Communication, is an universal form of relationship between people.
According to Mehrabian - 38% of the impact of communication resides on our tone of voice and only 7% on the keywords themselves. Developing nonverbal and verbal communication skills, therefore, is essential for enhancing outcomes and creating harmony in interpersonal relationships. By analyzing this data, we can see that it is not possible to communicate not only what we speak, but also a way to bring this information to others.
In addition to impacting individuals, interpersonal communication can also affect many areas of the business. The first area that can trigger it is executive management, where it is essential that managers have the ability to communicate with a team so that there is confidence and cooperation in the local work. There is no longer marketing, which is a strategic area, communication is a bridge between a supplier company and customers. In Human Resources, interpersonal communication can help reduce conflicts between professionals, promoting a well-being and collaborative relationship in the workplace.
The growth of international economic relationship between countries, organizations and people, leads to increased awareness of the influence of national cultural aspects in the process of communication.
“The nail that sticks out shall be hammered down” is a japanese saying that reflects a cultural orientation, also present in other eastern cultures due to the teachings of chinese philosopher Confucio.
Research shows that western and eastern cultures differ in the ways they transfer information due to differences in the use of contextual information as a frame to the messages.
North-American anthropologist Edward T. Hall, in his 1976 book "Beyond Culture", classified cultures as low-context ones, in which a maximum of background and information must be exchanged to convey a message and high-context cultures, where there is already enough shared knowledge to minimize the needed information to successfully communicate.
High-context cultures use indirect, implicit and abstract messages because most of the information is in the context whereas in low-context cultures, messages must be detailed to transmit the relevant background and details.
Eastern cultures are considered low-context cultures, as the individuals have a broad network of family, friends and organizational contacts. Western cultures, such as United States and northern European cultures, with higher individualism, are high-context ones.
References:
21 Japanese Proverbs Teaching Us Valuable Life Lessons! https://onedio.co/content/21-japanese-proverbs-teaching-us-valuable-life-lessons-11289. Accessed november 27, 2019.
MERKIN, R. Cross-cultural communication patterns: Korean and American communication practices. Journal of Intercultural Communication, 20, 1-11. 2009.
Merriam-Webster online dictionary: https://www.merriam-webster.com/. Accessed november 27, 2019.
Oxford Learner's Dictionaries: https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/. Accessed november 27, 2019.
PEASE, Allan & Barbara. Desvendando os Segredos da Linguagem Corporal. 7. ed. Rio de Janeiro: Sextante, 2005. 271p.
#Arthur Mesquita Camargo