Culture and Public Speaking

CULTURE AND PUBLIC SPEAKING Walk through any large city, many small towns, and just about any college campus, and you will see that the United States is largely a collection of many different cultures. They may co-exist somewhat separately, but they also influence each other. We need to see public speaking within this cultural context. As demonstrated throughout this text. Cultural differences span the entire public speaking spectrum, from theway you use eye contact to the way you develop an argument or present criticism (Chang and Holt 1996). Race, Nationality, Gender, and Culture Culture is the collection of beliefs, attitudes, values, and ways of behaving shared by a group of people and passed down from one generation to the next through communicalion rather than through genes. Thus. Culture does not refer to genetic : traits such as color of skin or shape of eyes ; culture does refer to beliefs in a supreme being. to attitudes toward family, and to the values placed on friendship or money. Culture is not synonymous with raee or nationality, although members of a particular race are often enculturaied into a similar set of beliefs, attitudes, and values. Similarly, members living in the same country are often taught similar beliefs, attitudes, and values. And this similarity makes it possible for us to speak of a "Hispanic culture" or an "African American culture." Lest we be guilty of stereotyping, though, we need to recognize that within any large culture-especially a culture based on race or nationality—there will be enormous differences. The : Kansas farmer may in some ways be closer to the Chinese farmer than to the Wall Street executive. Further, as an individual born into a particular race and nationality, you Don’t necessarily have to adopt the attitudes. Beliefs, and valires that may be dominant among the people of that race and nationality. In a similar way, gender can be considered a cultural variable largely because cultures teach boys and girls different attitudes, beliefs, values, and ways of communicating and relating to one another. So, you act like a man or a woman in part because of what your culture has taught you about how men and women should act. This does not, of course, deny that biological differences also play a role in the differences between male and female behavior. In fact, recent research continues to uncover biological roots of behavior once thought entirely learned, such as happiness and shyness (McCroskey 1997, reprinted in the Appendix. In addition, we're living in a time of great gender changes. Many men, for example, are doing a great deal more in caring for their children and the concept, if not the term, "house husband" is becoming increasingly common and perhaps a little less negative. More obvious perhaps 18 thatmany women are becoming fluuch more visible in fields once occupied exclusively by men-polititIs, law enforcement, the military, and the clergy are just some examples. And, of course, women are increasingly entering corporate executiveiranks ; the glass ceiling may not have disap' peared, but it is cracked. The Relevance of Culture There are many reasons for the cultural emphasis you'll find in this hook, and probably in, all your textbooks. Most obviously, perhaps. are the vast demOgraphic changes taking place throughout the United States. Whereas at one time the United States was largely a country populated by Europeans. It is now a country greatly influenced by the enormous number of new citizens from Soutthmerica, Atiica, and Asia. The same is true on college and university campuses throughout the United States. Here are a few random facts to further support the importance of culture generally and of intercultural communication in particular. *Over 30 million people in the United States speak languages other than English in their homes. . *In the school systems of cities such as New York ; Fairfax County, Virginia ; Chicago ; and Los Angeles over 100 languages are spoken. *Over 50 percent of the residents of such cities as Miami and Hialeah in Florida, Union City in New Jersey, and Huntington Park and Monterey Park in California are foreign born. *The foreign born population of the United States in 1990 totaled almost 20 million,: approxirnately 8 percent of the total US. population; a 1997 update reports it as 25.8 million or 9.7 percent of the population (Schmidley and Alvarado 1997]. *Thirty percent 0170.8. Nobel prizewinners [since 1901) were foreign born. With these changes come different communication customs and the need to understand and adapt to these new ways of looking at communication generally and public speaking specifically. We're also living in a time when people have become increasingly sensitive to the importance of cultural differences. From an originally assimilationist perspective (people should leave their native culture behind and adapt to their new culture), we've moved to one that values cultural diversity (people should retain their native cultural ways). And, with some notable exceptions hate speech, racism, sexism, classism, and home phobia come quickly to mind-we seem to be more concerned with saying the right thing ahd with ultimately developing a society where all cultures can coexist anl enrich each other. At the same lime. The ability to interact effectively in public speaking situations (as wall as interpersonally and in small groups) with members of other cultures translates into financial gain. The increased economic interdependence of the United States and widely differing cultures makes it essential to gain the needed intercultural communication understanding and skills. The Aim of a Cultural Perspective The principles for communicating information and for persuasion differ from one culture to another. if you're to understand public Speaking. Then you need to know how its principles vary on the basis of culture. Success in public speaking as on your job and in your social life Will depend in great part on your understanding of and your ability to communicate effectivelv with persons who may have differing cultural perspectives. Still another aim is to show that the principles of public speaking are Specific to a given culture. What proves effective in one culture may prove ineffective in another: what is considered ethical in one culture may be considered unethical in another. For example. in some Asian cultures, it's important to avoid criticizing or embarrassing the speaker by. Say, asking a question that he or she might not be able to answer. In the United States, especially in some competitive corporate and political settings. Listeners may actively look for things that might be viewed negatively and might try to use this to embarrass the speaker. This emphasis on culture does not imply that you should accept all cultural practices or that all cultural practices have to be viewed as equal. For example, cock fighting. Fox hunting. And bull fighting are parts of the culture of some Latin American countries, England. And Spain, respectively. but you need not find these activities acceptable or equal to cultural practices in which animals are treated kindly. Further. a cultural emphasis does not imply that you have to accept or follow even the practices of your own culture. For example, even if the majority in your culture find cock fighting acceptable, you need not agree with or support the practice. Similarly. You can reject your culture‘s religious or political beliefs or its attitudes toward the homeless, the handicapped, or the culturally different. Of course. Going against your culture's beliefs and values is often very difficult. But. It‘s important to realize that culture influences ; it does not determine your values or behavior. Often. for example. personality factors (your degree of assertiveness, independence. or optimism, for example) will prove more influential than culture (Hatfield and Rapson 1996). The cultural differences discussed throughout this text shouldn't blind you to the great number of similarities existing among even the most widely separated cultures. Further. when reading about these differences, remember that these are usually matters of degree. Thus, for example. Most cultures value honesty but not all value it to the same degree. Advances in media and technology and the widespread use of the Internet are influencing cultures and cultural change and are perhaps homogenizing the different cultures. Lessening the differences and increasing the similarities. They're also Americanizing the world's cultures because the dominant values and customs evidenced in the media and on the Internet are in large part funerican, a product of the current U.S. dominance in both media and technology.