Читать книгу The Communication Playbook - Teri Kwal Gamble - Страница 93

A second way that cultures vary in communication style is in their preference for high-context or low-context communication.

Cultures with high-context communication systems are tradition bound. Their cultural traditions shape the behavior and lifestyle of group members, causing them to appear to members of low-context cultures to be overly polite and indirect in relating to others. In contrast, cultures with low-context communication systems generally encourage members to exhibit a more direct communication style

Members of low-context cultures tend to gather background information when meeting someone for the first time. Thus, they will ask people they have just met where they went to college, where they live, and who they work for. People from high-context cultures are much less likely to ask such questions up front.³⁴ In addition, people from low-context cultures are apt to feel that they have to explain everything rather than rely on nonverbal, contextual information. In contrast, people who believe that most messages can be understood without direct verbal interaction reveal their preference for high-context communication. Asian cultures typically emphasize high-context communication, whereas Western cultures typically represent low-context systems. For example, the Japanese traditionally value silence, believing that a person of few words is thoughtful, trustworthy, and respectable. Thus, the Japanese spend considerately less time talking than do people in the United States. This orientation also helps explain why the Japanese often perceive self-disclosures during interaction as socially inappropriate.