Cultural Communication Styles

Communication styles vary from culture to culture and of course, from individual to individual. Because we are living in the same communities, we often assume our communication styles are the same.

Circle Talk and Top Down Communication

Indigenous Communication:

Reg Crowfoot, from the University of Calgary, in his research into Indigenous communication styles, explains that Indigenous people tend to look at communication in terms of a circle. Everyone has an equal chance to speak and no one is in charge. Every person, no matter how old, or who they are, all have equal opportunity to speak. Much more time must be taken to come to a decision that is best for the whole community. Decisions are more likely to reflect the collective knowledge and no one person has the final say.

European Communication:

Europeans tend to look at communication as a top down model. Who speaks first, or who decides who speaks depends on who we see as ‘in authority’. Meetings and brainstorming tend to have agendas; we set allotted times before decisions are made, and while decisions may have input from the group at large, the final say is given to the person ‘in authority’. We look at cross talk, straying from the original discussion point as counterproductive, and in some cases, impolite. We tend to make decisions quickly because we will defer to the person in authority.

Strategies:

Some tips to handle general communication style differences we have found in our community are:

1. Direct questions can be seen as intrusive. Try drawing individuals into stories.

2. Be prepared for stories that give examples rather than direct answers.

3. We define silence differently. Europeans tend to answer more quickly to questions and don’t want silence in conversation. Indigenous people tend to consider responses thoroughly before answering. They also are more comfortable with quiet in conversation.

4. Listen more. Talk less. Input is different from answering.

5. We define personal space differently. Europeans tend to have a closer personal space.

6. Watch body language and for subtle indications of retreat and engagement.

7. Advice is often seen negatively. Many Elders avoid it, instead, choosing to give experience and wisdom in stories.

8. Be patient. Time is your friend when working with Indigenous learners.

  Reflections Worksheet: To Explore in Your Community