culture

Examples of culture in the following topics:

• Context of Culture and Gender

  • Understanding the cultural and gender context of your speech is vital to making a connection with your audience.
  • The same applies to both race and culture, respectively.
  • Culture refers to the customs, habits, and value systems of groups of people.
  • People of the same race may not share the same culture; similarly, a culture isn't necessarily comprised of people of the same race.
  • Pay attention to the unique dynamic and interplay of your gender and cultural identity in relation to the cultural and gender identities of your audience members, as they invariably influence one another.

• Culture Bias

  • We all carry cultural biases, intentional or otherwise; try to find and address cultural bias within your speech.
  • Cultural bias exists when you try to navigate the experiences of others through the framework of your personal compass of cultural experience.
  • Your cultural experience inherently makes you biased against disimilar cultural experiences to your own.
  • This cultural bias may exist in the form of affinity towards one culture or cultural experience over another or complete detachment from one cultural experience over another.
  • There's the cultural bias you bring to the podium.

• Culture, Ethnicity, and Race

  • Culture is the non-biological or social aspects of human life ; basically anything that is learned by humans is part of culture.
  • This second avatar is reflective of a particular culture.
  • Culture is more than the object or behavior.
  • Culture also includes, norms, values, beliefs, or expressive symbols.
  • When you judge another culture solely by the values and standards of your own culture you miss significant aspects of the other culture of the members of your audience.

• Culture

  • Cultural differences between listeners and speakers can create barriers to effective communication.
  • When listening to a speaker who comes from a different cultural background, work to set aside any preexisting ideas about that culture and focus on best understanding the speaker's specific message.
  • What defines culture?
  • Culture certainly includes race, nationality, and ethnicity, but it goes beyond those identity markers as well.
  • Culture guides language use, appropriate forms of dress, and views of the world.

• Cultural Differences in Approaching Criticism

  • A culture is a system of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that form distinctive ways of life.
  • Different cultural groups have different ways of communicating both verbally and non-verbally.
  • Chinese, Japanese, and many Native American cultures are affective cultures, whereas the American culture is more instrumental.
  • Are the speaker and listeners from collectivist or individualistic cultures?
  • Rules about maintaining eye contact vary from culture to culture and influence how we approach feedback, questioning, and criticism.

• Gender

  • All of us can and do speak the language of multiple gender cultures, and we can use this knowledge to communicate effectively.
  • The other pair, men and women, refers to what are now generally regarded as socially constructed concepts that convey the contextually fluid cultural ideals or values of masculinity and femininity.
  • Starting in childhood, girls and boys are generally socialized to belong to distinct cultures and thus, speak in ways particular to their own gender's rules and norms (Johnson, 2000; Tannen 1986, 1990, 1995).
  • As we've previously discussed, culturally diverse ways of speaking can cause miscommunication between members of each culture or speech community.
  • All of us are capable of speaking, and do speak, the language of multiple gender cultures.

• Gender Bias

  • Gendered communication is often culturally constructed as well, meaning that what is considered masculine or feminine in one culture may not hold true in another.
  • How people express their gender often relies on the cultural constructs of the society in which they live or identify.
  • In certain cultural contexts, men may be dismissive of a female speaker.
  • Women may be at ease with a female speaker, but they may also be more attentive to a male speaker, given that many cultures teach women to be attentive (subservient in the extreme) to men.
  • The late Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister of Pakistan, faced both gender and cultural bias in her two brief terms as a world leader.

• The Importance of Stories

  • Stories or narratives have been shared in every culture as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation and instilling moral values.
  • Stories are universal in that they can bridge cultural, linguistic and age-related divides.

• Eye Contact and Facial Expression

  • Unless looking at others is a cultural no-no, lookers gain more credibility than non-lookers.
  • Lack of eye contact is usually perceived to be rude or inattentive in Western cultures.
  • But different cultures have different rules for eye contact.
  • However, in Western cultures, lowered eyes and avoiding eye contact could be misinterpreted as lacking self-confidence.
  • Regardless of culture, these expressions are the same.

• Analyzing the Who, Why, and Where

  • Think about all the possible demographics of your audience, from gender and age to ethnicity, culture, and occupation.
  • You should especially be aware of your unique world-view and biases in your speech because they may negatively impact people of different cultures, ages, genders, etc.
  • Some everyday gestures may actually be offensive to other cultures.
  • Pointing a single finger in some cultures is considered extremely rude.
  • Some idioms and expressions that may seem natural and make sense to you may actually be quite confusing to people of different cultures or languages.