High and Low Context Culture
Difference:
|HIGH CONTEXT CULTURE |
|LOW CONTEXT CULTURE |
In a high context culture, many things are left unsaid, letting the culture explain. Words and word choice become very important in higher context communication, since a few words can communicate a complex message very effectively to an in-group (but less effectively outside that group), while in a lower context culture, the communicator needs to be much more explicit and the value of a single word is less important.
Association • Relationships depend on trust, build up slowly, are stable. One distinguishes between people inside and people outside one's circle. • How things get done depends on relationships with people and attention to group process. • One's identity is rooted in groups (family, culture, work). • Social structure and authority are centralized; responsibility is at the top. Person at top works for the good of the group.
Association
• Relationships begin and end quickly. Many people can be inside one's circle; circle's boundary is not clear. • Things get done by following procedures and paying attention to the goal. • One's identity is rooted in oneself and one's accomplishments. • Social structure is decentralized; responsibility goes further down (is not concentrated at the top).
Interaction
• High use of nonverbal elements; voice tone, facial expression, gestures, and eye movement carry significant parts of conversation. • Verbal message is implicit; context (situation, people, nonverbal elements) is more important than words. • Verbal message is indirect; one talks around the point and embellishes it. • Communication is seen as an art form—a way of engaging someone. • Disagreement is personalized. One is sensitive to conflict expressed in another's nonverbal
|HIGH CONTEXT CULTURE |
|LOW CONTEXT CULTURE |
In a high context culture, many things are left unsaid, letting the culture explain. Words and word choice become very important in higher context communication, since a few words can communicate a complex message very effectively to an in-group (but less effectively outside that group), while in a lower context culture, the communicator needs to be much more explicit and the value of a single word is less important.
Association • Relationships depend on trust, build up slowly, are stable. One distinguishes between people inside and people outside one's circle. • How things get done depends on relationships with people and attention to group process. • One's identity is rooted in groups (family, culture, work). • Social structure and authority are centralized; responsibility is at the top. Person at top works for the good of the group.
Association
• Relationships begin and end quickly. Many people can be inside one's circle; circle's boundary is not clear. • Things get done by following procedures and paying attention to the goal. • One's identity is rooted in oneself and one's accomplishments. • Social structure is decentralized; responsibility goes further down (is not concentrated at the top).
Interaction
• High use of nonverbal elements; voice tone, facial expression, gestures, and eye movement carry significant parts of conversation. • Verbal message is implicit; context (situation, people, nonverbal elements) is more important than words. • Verbal message is indirect; one talks around the point and embellishes it. • Communication is seen as an art form—a way of engaging someone. • Disagreement is personalized. One is sensitive to conflict expressed in another's nonverbal