What is the difference between High & Low Context Cultures?
高语低语境文化有什么区别？
American’s and Chinese communication styles are often times very different. American’s often use low context communication styles and the Chinese use a more high context. This Friday we will learn and discuss the differences between the two communication styles. 美国人和中国人的沟通方式有很大的不同。美国人常使用低语境的沟通方式，而中国人常使用高语境的沟通方式。美国人经常使用低语境交际方式和中国人经常使用更高语境国通方式。本周五我们将学习和讨论两种沟通方式之间的差异。
Preview Video About High & Low Context Culture
Watch a short 4.5-minute video of Erin Meyer, author of the great book The Culture Map, explaining high and low context culture. We will base our Friday small group discussions on this topic.
We will offer our Weekly Culture Corner for Free until July 31st
Friday 6:45 AM Pacific Time (9:45 PM China Time)
Review Last Weeks Culture Corner Content:
Culture Intelligence (CQ) Knowledge
Understanding similarities and differences can help us be more effective in communicating and working with people of different cultures. The first cultural difference we discussed was differing comfort levels with silence.
We watched a video where the author of The Culture Map Erin Meyer (link) gave examples of how people USA tend to get uncomfortable with silence in conversations at about 2.5 seconds. In comparison, the Chinese would be comfortable for about 7-8 seconds. Understanding this dynamic in a multicultural team would help you adjust your meetings to make sure you give everyone a chance to talk and share their ideas
* Image from Video on the Global Leadership Forum Site here
The above diagram from Hofstede Insights illustrates two cultural values that demonstrate significant differences between the USA & China, Power Distance, and Individualism.
China tends to have a higher power distance between leaders and followers in comparison to the USA where leaders often have to relate to employees and followers as equals.
The USA culture tends to be very individualistic compared to the extreme collectivism that is normal in China. After introducing the topic we divided into small groups and discussed the following questions related to the topics.
Join Us in our Culture Corner Next Week
Silk Road Start partners specifically with Xi’an Eurasia University and the Global Club to put on these culture exchange events and offer Chinese Language programs for foreign students.
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