We will now turn our attention to the exploration of things that can create barriers for successful interactions within cultural settings different from our own. To do this, we will consider aspects of Laray M. Barna’s Six Stumbling Blocks in Intercultural Communication (1994). These barriers include stereotypes and generalizations, evaluation, assumption of similarity, language differences, and stress.

Objectives

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

  • identify statements that relate to stereotypes and generalizations.
    (6.1 – Stereotypes and Generalizations)
  • discuss why evaluations and assumptions of similarity can be barriers.
    (6.2 – Evaluations, 6.3 – Assumption of Similarity)
  • expand on issues related to language and communication (verbal and nonverbal).
    (6.4 – Language Differences & Nonverbal Misunderstandings)
  • self-reflect on how stress influences your interactions across cultures.
    (6.5 – Stress)
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