Sunday Scribblings: Instructions

Instructions on Communication:

These past few weeks, I was in Nepal teaching some physio (physical therapy) classes, and a class on cross-cultural communication. Part of the time I used English, and part of the time I used Nepali. As it has been many years since I lived there, my Nepali language isn’t quite what it used to be, so I often opted for a translator. So much goes into communication, even within our own culture, I just wanted to make sure I was understood. And there are even more issues when crossing cultures and language barriers.

During the class on inter-cultural communication, we identified many cultural cues that would help us to understand a different culture, not only for adjustment, but also to try to understand and appreciate a culture different from our own, and to be able to communicate effectively. Only through trying to understand and appreciate the differences of a new culture, do we move past the tendency to interpret and evaluate the culture only in comparison to our own. For example, when I first started teaching physiotherapy in Nepal, we discussed the idea of appointment times for the outpatient clinic. My work partner and I decided that this was not culturally appropriate in Nepal, as at that time, most people didn’t have watches. If they showed up on the right day, we thought that was a good thing. The importance of ‘time’ and ‘time management’ tends to be a very western concept, and the lack thereof shouldn’t be judged according to western values. In Nepal, and in other parts of Asia, they are more “event oriented”, as compared to “time oriented”, and things happen when they are supposed to happen, not before and not after. And, things last as long as they are supposed to. That’s the way it is in Asia. This isn’t “wrong” – it’s just different. And, to tell the truth, I kind of like this, in some circumstances. When meeting with someone for the evening, that is it for the evening. No grabbing a quick bite to eat and then running to a movie. It is just the evening together. Lots of talking, and no running off to something else after the meal is over. And the entire family gets involved. One night I had dinner with one of my former students, Krishna. Many years ago, it was dinner at his parents’ house. Then, several years ago, his mother came into town to have dinner with Krishna, his wife and me. And now, the evening was with Krishna, his wife, their children and me. It was a very ‘family oriented-event oriented’ delightful evening.

So how do we identify different cultural cues? Dr. Donald Smith, in his book, “Creating Understanding”, says, “Most human communication happens through the 12 different systems of signals. Each system is virtually a language in itself, with its own vocabulary and grammar. The systems normally reinforce one another, but they can also be contradictory. When this happens, not only is it difficult to understand the message, but the messenger also seems insincere. The 12 signal systems are: verbal, written, numeric, pictorial, audio, artifactual, kinesthetic, optical, tactile, spatial, temporal, and olfactory. The specific signals used, and the meaning assigned to signals, vary from culture to culture. Participating in another culture requires learning more than the verbal language. Other systems may be learned sooner, making interpretation of the verbal a simpler task – and communication in the new setting more effective”. In the class, we talked about some specifics in these twelve signal systems. By paying particular attention to notice these things, it would be easier to begin the process of trying to understand a culture, communicate more effectively, and not make so many cultural mistakes. The students really got involved in this exercise and had a lot of experiences to share. One thing that came up was the use of color. In the west, white is a color worn in weddings, and black is worn at funerals. In Nepal, however, red is worn in weddings, and white is worn at funerals. Just by noticing what colors a person is wearing communicates a lot. Another important cultural cue is the giving and receiving of gifts, business cards, etc. In the west, either hand is used. In China, both hands are used together. But in Nepal, the right hand is used to give and receive, and by adding the left hand under the right forearm, this shows great respect. I think that we all learned a lot that day.

One of the basic tenets in communication is that, “communication is what is heard, not necessarily what is said”. This means that a lot of information has to go back and forth, often many times, for communication to have occurred. Just saying something once, does not mean that it has been understood. My favorite example of this is a classic Gary Larson Far Side cartoon about the difference between what we say to dogs and what they hear. In the cartoon, the dog (named Ginger) appears to be listening intently as her owner gives her a serious talking-to about staying out of the garbage. But from the dog’s point of view, all he’s saying is “blah blah GINGER blah blah blah blah GINGER blah blah blah.” Having lived in several different cultures, I often feel this same way!

Another example of this is that during the autumn, I teach crochet to 10-12 year old girls in my city. In the past, it has always been with native English speakers. So on five Saturday mornings, the girls learn to crochet. The end product is a snowflake finished by Christmas (and I get the rewards of ‘borrowed daughters’ for a short time). These girls all get the same instructions and help for the exact same crocheted snowflake. And, the end result is that the snowflakes all turn out different! As each snowflake is different and unique, each girl is also created as a different and unique individual. This also reminds me that it is what is heard, not what is said, where true communication takes place.

There are many more instructions that can be given on communication. These were only a few examples. While the differences between the east and the west are often quite easily seen, we need to remember that ALL communication is cross-cultural, it takes time, and it takes involvement. And only by continuing to work on communication will it ever be achieved.

Comments

[tinker]

What an excellent, thought-provoking post!

I'm not very time-oriented myself, so I rather like the idea of an event-oriented culture.

I especially loved the anecdote about the girls' crocheting the snowflakes - and (though the causation may be different) just as with real snowflakes, no two are alike. Somehow that seems just as it should be. Maybe each real snowflake interprets its instructions in its own individual way!

[Belle]

very informative, thanks for a great read.

[Kamsin]

There are times when I wonder how communication ever takes place at all, there are really so many things which can be misunderstood between two people! I can really identify with the FarSide cartoon right now! I always wonder why even when it's clear I don't understand people will still talk on and on in their own language!

[deirdre]

It's so easy to forget how much goes into communication. This is a good reminder that it's not just what's said, but so much more as well.

[Jennie Adalberth]

Hello,
My namne is Jennie Adalberth and I'm a physio therapy student from Sweden.
Next spring (2007) me and my class-mate Evelina will write an essay and the term after that (autumn 2007) we will do the study.
As soon as Evelina and I started to discuss what we wanted to write about we noticed that we had something close to heart. We would really like compaire the treatment of a certain disease in Nepal with the one in Sweden. This to help us understand and expand our knowledge of different treatments over the boarders.
We don't really know how to get onwards with this idea though which we really want to come true.
Is there any possibility for you to help us get in contact with a Nepalese hostpital, a Nepalese physio therapist or likewise?
Evelina and I would be very thankful if you would like to contact us and help us in this matter and/or guide us further.
Regards,
Jennie Adalberth
University of Uppsala
Sweden