COMMUNICATING WITH STRANGERS

 “AN APPROACH TO INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION” 

A Book Review

According to people opinion cultural changes take towards the communication way. So as we all know that cultural communication having a variety so it influences every type of people towards getting the unique cultural communication or knowledge.

INTERCULTURAL Communication is the same. When we discuss or communicate with the other cultures so we try to manage our self according to their way but we not manage our self like easily as we think. So as we face other cultures people so we look around about different negative scenario like ethnic ,class difference, religion difference …….. .

The stranger has limited knowledge of his new environment about norms and values. Local people on the other hand having little knowledge about the stranger and relate to her views interests and habits.

Generally communication with another involves anticipating their response. When communicating with someone we know usually relies on our expectations and may have no idea that we are making such predictions. In contrast when communicate with strangers we become more aware of the possible reactions and the uncertainty of our predictions.

 

Communicative forecasts are based on three levels of data

The first is the cultural level.

This level includes information about the other's culture their dominant values ​​and norms. This is often the only level of information available when communicating with a stranger. However a better understanding of a stranger's culture gives better predictions.

The second level of information is socio-cultural.

This includes details of the other or group of members they want to belongs too. This type of information is the predominant information used in intercultural communication. Finally there is psycho cultural data. It is information about an individual's characteristics and is the most appropriate form of data for communicating with friends.

 

Basically we understand these data by the process of social cognition.

Social cognition is a dialectical process that involves both grouping individuals into categories based on their similarity .Such stereotypes may be inaccurate or not relevant to the current person.

To improve communication with strangers we need to pay attention to their unique and individual characteristics. The authors argue that effective communication with strangers requires a greater understanding of our communication behavior. First we tend to categorize things automatically so we are less aware of doing so

Second, much of our daily communication follows familiar scenarios so we are unaware of this communication behavior. We cannot rely on such familiar scenarios and rules when communicating with a stranger.

Usually in communication we try to reduce uncertainty. Communication with strangers is associated with a relatively higher degree of uncertainty as it is difficult to predict the stranger's answers.

 We experience uncertainty about a stranger's

·       Attitudes

·       Feelings

·       Beliefs

We also do not know how to explain a stranger's behavior. The motivation to reduce this uncertainty is sharper if we expect further interaction with a stranger or when they are a potential source of benefit.

 

We can reduce uncertainty and increase the accuracy of our predictions by obtaining more information about the stranger.

Finally, information can be sought directly from a stranger by interacting with him and asking questions. In addition when offering information about yourself it is often offered to reciprocally offer information from another.

So this is a generally understanding review of this book.