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Beebe/Beebe/Ivy Communication: Principles for a Lifetime 6e
Instructor’s Manual
66
CHAPTER 6:
Adapting to Others: Diversity and Communication
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter, students will be able to:
1. Describe how differences of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and age
influence communication.
2. Define culture, and compare and contrast cultural contexts and cultural
values.
3. Illustrate four barriers that inhibit communication between individuals.
4. Describe six strategies that will help bridge differences between people and
help them adapt to differences.
TEACHING OUTLINE
I. Understanding Diversity
A. Sex and Gender
B. Sexual Orientation
II. Culture and Communication
A. Defining Culture
B. Cultural Contexts
1. High-Context Cultures
2. Low-Context Cultures
C. Cultural Values
1. Individualistic and Collectivistic Cultural Values
2. Decentralized and Centralized Approaches to Power and Cultural
Values
3. Uncertainty and Certainty and Cultural Values
4. Masculine and Feminine Cultural Values
5. Long-Term and Short-Term Time Orientation and Cultural Values
III. Barriers to Bridging Differences and Adapting to Others
A. Assuming Superiority
B. Assuming Similarity
C. Assuming Differences
D. Stereotyping and Prejudice
IV. Adapting to Others Who Are Different from You
A. Aim for Intercultural Communication Competence
1. Stage One: Denial
2. Stage Two: Defense
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3. Stage Three: Minimization
4. Stage Four: Acceptance
5. Stage Five: Adaptation
6. Stage Six: Integration
B. Seek Information
1. Social Decentering
2. Developing Empathy
G. Ethically Adapt to Others
1. Be aware of your communication with yourself and others
2. Effectively use and interpret verbal messages
3. Effectively use and interpret nonverbal messages
4. Listen and respond to others thoughtfully
CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTION SETS
What does it mean if a nation has a feminine communication style?
• How would you feel if you lived in that kind of culture?
• What assumptions might you make about right and wrong behavior?
Is certainty good or bad?
• The text says the United States scored low on this scale. Do you agree?
• Have you ever gone to a formal dinner that had as many as five forks?
How did it make you feel?
What is the difference between centralized and decentralized power?
• Just because a country embraces democracy, does that mean it is
decentralized?
• Can you give an example?
• What corporations can you think of that have centralized, rather than
decentralized, hierarchies? Which do you prefer?
• How does a situation influence the kind of power distribution? Crisis vs.
problem, solving vs. social.
Are Americans too competitive?
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• What are the benefits of competition?
• What are the detriments?
• Can we work for the common good while still having winners and losers?
In the next two sections, some of the questions are worded in such a way as to
cause a reaction from students. Therefore, individual instructors may wish to
soften some of the statements depending on their individual lecture style.
Why are we getting so hung up on gender communication?
• So are the differences really between the genders?
• Isn’t that a stereotype?
• Isn’t that what we’re doing when we say men are from Mars and women
are from Venus?
• If nations can have masculine and feminine styles, does that mean that
people can have masculine and feminine styles, regardless of their
biological gender?
• What does it mean to have a masculine communication style?
• What does it mean to have a feminine communication style?
• When a little girl has a personal achievement, is it acceptable for her to
react flamboyantly?
• So how does this early socialization later affect communication styles?
What is Ethnocentrism?
• Is ethnocentrism always bad?
• How can assuming someone is similar to you be bad?
• What’s the difference between stereotyping and prejudice?
• Does your ability to use a particular verbal or nonverbal code identify you
with a particular culture?
Is the United States a tossed salad or a melting pot?
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• The notion of tossed salad argues that culture, like a salad, is composed
of various ingredients that retain their own individual characteristics, but
add to the overall flavor of the course.
• Is this a good thing? Or should we expect others’ cultures to blend more
with the dominant American culture?
• What is the dominant American culture?
• Do we really have a dominant culture?
How so?
• Where do we draw the ethical line?
• Extrapolating outwards, as a nation, can we go too far?
• Socially, it is important to bring together as many people from as many
backgrounds as possible, but does this run a risk of losing national
identity?
• Ok, for those of you who said “yes,” again, what is our national identity?
What are you fighting for?
Now, let’s get some definitions out of the way. What is culture?
• What is co-culture? Examples?
• What is cross-cultural? Examples?
• Is culture primarily created by physiology (gender, race, age), or are we
talking about something in addition to these? Or something else?
• Your text defines culture as a learned system of knowledge, behavior,
attitudes, beliefs, values, and norms shared by a group of people. So,
• Is this class like any other you are taking at (name of the college or
university)?
What’s the difference between high-context and low-context cultures?
• How do you feel about high-context cultures? As an example, Middle
Eastern and many Asian cultures feel that saying “no” is an out and out
insult. Is this a good way to conduct business? For those of you who said
“no,” what perspective are you using?
• Use the contract activity to help illustrate the issues.
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What is culture shock?
• How many of you have experienced some degree of culture shock?
When confronting a new culture or individuals from another culture, what
communication strategies should we use?
• What’s the difference between adapting to others and going with the flow?
• How do we maintain personal integrity when confronted with customs or
behaviors that run counter to our ethical principles?
• This is related to the case studies presented in the activities section.
JOURNAL QUESTIONS
1. Why do you communicate? In communicating with others, do you feel that
content is more important than relationship or vice versa? How do you feel
about the use of emotion in communication? Are you comfortable in using it
or do you feel it should generally be avoided? How might your views
influence future relationships?
2. Although our culture is generally a low-context culture where verbal
communication outweighs nonverbal communication, there are some
activities in which we rely much more on nonverbal communication and high-
3. Why as individual nations adopt cultural values, individual people do as well.
Evaluate yourself on the four dimensions presented by your authors. Do you
4. Think of a situation where you felt as though the people you were speaking
with were different from you. What cultural barriers intervened? How did
feelings of ethnocentrism, assumed similarity, stereotype and prejudice,
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and/or differing communication codes influence the encounter? What would
you have done differently if you had the chance?
5. Go to an environment that forces you to observe another culture. Examples
might include a student organization meeting, a drug or alcohol meeting, a
rave, church/synagogue/mosque, pool hall, or some other environment to
6. Describe a time when you encountered a serious misunderstanding while
communicating with someone from a different culture. What was the
outcome? What cultural dynamics do you think played a part in this
misunderstanding? Try to analyze the situation from both points of view—
yours and the other person’s. In retrospect, how could you have dealt with
this situation differently? What could you have done to produce a positive
outcome from this intercultural interaction for both you and the other person?
What did you learn from this situation? How can you apply what you learned
from this situation to enhance your future intercultural interactions?
ACTIVITIES
Activity 6.1: Quotable Quotes
The activity will take between 10 and 20 minutes.
Quotations and commonplaces often reinforce cultural values. Locate famous
quotations by notable American speakers, authors, or other notable individuals
(Ralph Waldo Emerson, Theodore Roosevelt, Benjamin Franklin, Helen Keller,
Oprah Winfrey, Steve Jobs, to name a few) on success (they are readily
available on various websites) and ask students whether they agree with the
Activity 6.2: How to Say No
The activity will take 10 to 15 minutes to complete.
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Americans typically prefer a direct style of communication where verbal
communication is emphasized over nonverbal communication. As the text points
out, this is not true in all cultures. Imagine for a moment that you are negotiating
a contract in the Middle East. Conditions have changed and your company will
go with a proposal offered in a Latin American country instead. How will you tell
your hosts the bad news?
Perhaps one of the most indirect, yet socially appealing solutions to the problem
would be to invite the company’s representatives to an elaborate dinner with
Eastern-only entertainment. Throughout the dinner thanks is given for their
hospitality and you express how much you will miss them. At the end as
Activity 6.3: What’s the Point?
The activity will take between 10 to 20 minutes including the follow-up
discussion.
You will need to have three relatively outgoing volunteers. The script is offered
only as a template and the actual performance should be improvisational with the
script serving only as a guide for the action. Tell the students that the goal is
being believable and not being word-perfect on the script.
Setting: The male is sitting at a desk and reading an article as the two females
converse. He is obviously bothered by the interruption, but tolerates it to the
point that he can no longer stand it.
Female 1: (Smiling) Hi (Fill in name). I haven’t seen you in a while.
Female 2: (Somewhat tired) Yeah I know, I’m swamped.
Female 1: I know. It’s that time of the semester. Do you think you’ll be able to
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Female 2: Oh that’s right. I’d forgotten all about that. I’m so excited for her.
Female 1: So am I. But it’s a lot of work. I never realized . . . the invitations,
decorations …
Female 2: Well you know, after tomorrow I could help …
Male: Oh good heavens, if the two of you would stop jabbering for a minute and
just get to work, you’d be done.
Females 1 & 2: Excuse me … What?
Male: I’m sorry to butt in, but look. You have articles to read, right? You could
have read ¼ of one in the time you’ve been here. I know 'cause I’m trying to do
them right now. And you could have already addressed three letters; or get the
others’ e-mail address and do a group mailing and you’ll be done in ten minutes.
Female 1: (Fill in the male’s name), I’m sorry, we didn’t mean to bother you.
Male: (Taken aback) You weren’t bothering me. It’s just I’m trying to get this
done, ok?
Lead a discussion on the why vs. the how.
Activity 6.4: We’re Better Than You Are
The activity will take 10 to 15 minutes including the discussion.
Identify three of the most outgoing students in class and call them outside. Once
outside, tell them they are to be team captains and that they will divide the class
into groups. Whenever their group wins, they should celebrate the win in some
way. If the other groups wish, they may denigrate the wins of the other groups
with raspberries, boos, hisses, etc. The point is to make the groups as excited
as possible. Tell the leaders that before the game gets started that they may
motivate their groups with any pep talk they would like. You might suggest
“We’re number one,” or “We’re better than you are,” but tell them to do something
to inspire competition.
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Once in class, tell students you are going to have an exam review and that the
winners will each receive a candy bar. A reward may not be necessary, but
having a small stake in the outcome encourages more excitement and
involvement. A family pack of candy bars is usually enough. Have the team
captains choose their groups. Once teams are chosen, they should divide the
room so that there are clear boundaries and territories.
Begin the review.
Have a list of 10 to 20 questions. Students must raise their hand to answer. The
first student to raise his or her hand gets to respond. If they are right, give the
team a point. If wrong, subtract a point.
1. Ethnocentric behavior: Did the groups pull together and create an us vs.
them climate?
2. Assumed similarity: Why did the captains choose the team members they
did?
3. Stereotype and prejudice: If the situation had been real rather than a game,
could stereotypes or prejudice have emerged? How so?
4. Different communication codes: How did the groups congratulate each other
and inspire participation among group members? Could what started out as
simple fun become ritualized with repetition?
Activity 6.5: What to Do?
The following activity will take between 20 to 30 minutes.
Divide the class into 6 groups. Six potential case studies are included. If you add
additional studies, you may divide the class into smaller groups. Give each group
a particular case and ask them to resolve the specific problem addressed. Do
not provide guidelines as to whether ethics or outcome is more important as this
is the implied problem that they must overcome. Give the groups 10 to 12
minutes to resolve the problem. Following, get each group to present their case
and explain how they would handle the situation.
Case 1: Your team has been assigned to greet a delegation of visitors from
Japan. The particular group you will meet is very traditional in behavior. Touch
is strongly avoided and considered to be very rude. “No” is not used. Women
generally play a subservient role and avoid direct eye contact when conversing
with men. It is a high-context culture that typically attempts to avoid uncertainty.
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Your male supervisor has been delayed and will not be able to meet the group
for an hour. Pretend your group is all female.
Case 2: Your sales team has been assigned to renew a contract with an annual
vendor. The vendor has a reputation for being hell on wheels and for expecting
to be wined and dined when discussing business. This includes going to a
“gentleman’s club.” Your group is mixed-gendered and the most knowledgeable
sales person is one of the females. What do you do in this circumstance?
Case 3: You are to greet a group of Saudi Arabian investors who are interested
in investing a significant amount of money in one of your corporation’s projects.
Saudi custom is to stand face-to-face with a friend so that less than six inches of
Case 4: Your group is to visit Mexico to establish a contract. All members of
your mixed-gender team are relatively young and the people you will meet are
male and in their mid- to late forties. Mexico is a masculine culture where there
are clear definitions between sex roles. Men are generally more assertive;
“respectable” women are to be more submissive. It is a touch-expressive culture
where touch is much more acceptable than in the United States. Finally, it is a
culture that prefers high power distribution. Rather than collaborating to reach a
consensus, they prefer to speak with someone who has the power to say “yes” or
“no” decisively. How do you approach the negotiation? What will members of
your team do to impress your potential partners?
Case 5: Your computer corporation has been asked to design a multi-media
effect for a new Hollywood movie. The project would place your company in the
top 10 if it were accepted. The producer is openly gay. Although, not charted,
Case 6: Your group is to play host to a group of distinguished scholars from
Great Britain. British society generally scores high on masculinity and
individualism, while scoring lower on uncertainty avoidance and power
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Activity 6.6: My World in a Shoebox
Inform students that for the next class they are to bring a shoebox filled with 5-8
items that symbolize who they are. To add an additional element of creativity,
have students decorate the outsides of their shoeboxes, also reflecting who they
are. Avoid giving any additional instructions. Your directions should be vague and
open to interpretation. To decrease some anxiety and uncertainty among the
students, share a shoebox that you prepared beforehand, giving them some
insight into your personal world. This will serve as a nice model for students to
follow as they create their own boxes. Additionally, this will provide overt and
covert reassurance that it is okay for them to disclose who they are to others in
the classroom.
When students bring their shoeboxes to class, have them informally “present”
their box: (a) to the entire class; (b) in a small group of 4-5 students; or (c) with
only one other student. Whichever method you choose, debrief the activity by
asking the following questions:
• What was that experience like—letting others into your personal world? Going
have others share theirs with you—without physically doing this activity? What
can you say or do to know others and help them get to know you?
Activity 6.7 Self-Talk
The textbook notes that self-talk consists of messages you tell yourself to help
you manage your discomfort, emotions, or negative thoughts about situations.
Begin a conversation with a classmate or friend who is from a culture than is
yours. Try to ask questions that will require the other person to offer information
that could be strikingly different than how you might reply to the same questions
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ASSIGNMENTS
Journal writings may be expanded to full assignments.
