Culture is the way people live and how they interact. Almost every community in the world has its own culture. Culture is what differentiates them and makes them who they are. Culture makes societies unique. Cultures may be different but some traits of the culture may be the same. When one goes to a society that is different, they may experience what is known as culture shock.
This is when a person sees that things are done differently from what his society does. For example in some African communities, they practice wife inheritance after the husband of a brother or relative has passed on. For a person who is not used to such things they may really scare him. Going into a community and assuming that what they do is similar to what your society does can be a great hindrance to intercultural communication.
Therefore intercultural communication problems caused by assuming similarities instead of difference may occur. Communication is a part of life. Therefore, good communication should be emphasized between people. This is when a person talks and others listen and understand what he is saying. Prejudice is also another cause of breakdown of communication.
Also believing that one’s culture is more superior to the others can also be the cause of communication problems. One should always an approach a new culture eager to learn and respect it. Understanding some customs will enable one to live well among the people for example in western nations eye contact is important when talking to people because it shows one is listening but in the Asian countries a bowed head is a sign that the person has respect for the other person. To be able to differentiate between these similarities one can rely on samples written by the writing companies.
