Looking Out/Looking In chapters 5 and 6

Chapter 5

Chapter 5 of this book deals with language and its meanings. Language is symbolic sounds that represent an idea, not a literal expression for the most part. This symbolism allows communication about things that are not present or concrete.

The abstraction of language raises some problems. Because of this, communicating with other people can create misunderstandings. By understanding someone else's cultural differences, communication can be more effective.
This is important in today's world of multiculturalism. People have more contact with other cultures, and must learn to communicate with them in order to accomplish goals.
The chapter also discusses responsibility language, such as "It" statements, "But" statements, and "I and You" statements. An "It" statement puts the responsibility of the message indirectly at someone else. "But" statements are used to separate positive and negative parts of the message. "I" statements are used to accept responsibility of the message. "You" statements expresses a judgement of the other person.
"I" statements are usually the best way to communicate a message.
I sometimes do not make "I" statements when I should. If I wanted to communicate more effectively without overly damaging someone else, I would be better off using "I" statements. "We" statements are another way of accomplishing this, but I personally don't like using "we" statements.
Communication can be different among the sexes. Men talk more about things like sports, music, and business; women talk more about relationships, personal stuff, and related items. For the most part my talk fits the stereotype.
Different cultures have different contexts. American and European culture is more low context, with straightforward talk. Asian and Middle Eastern culture is more high context, with one less likely to get a straight answer to a question. Neither is better or worse. Low context culture is used to express ideas as directly as possible. High context culture is used to maintain social harmony.

Chapter 6


Chapter 6 deals with nonverbal and related communication styles. Nonverbal communication skills are necessary for dealing with other people. They serve several important functions in communication, such as repetition, complementing, substitution, accenting, regulation, and contradiction.

Nonverbal communication can be used to communicate entirely on its own, but the most efficient usage of it is to complement verbal communication. Nonverbal communication on its own can be ambiguous and interpreted in many different ways. Verbal communication makes it clearer.

Nonverbal messages are different in different cultures. What may be an acceptable gesture in one culture is an insult in another culture.

As a result, nonverbal communication should be used, in my opinion, as sparingly as possible. If one wants to communicate something, it should be directly with words.