The terms high and low context cultures, according to an article from Communicaid, refer to how people communicate in different cultures. A high-context culture (such as cultures in Africa, the Middle-East, China, and India) relies more on long-term relationships, cultural associations, and mutual experiences. In a high-context culture, being part of a family or tribe can communicate a lot more than just words can. Word choice is more important in high-context cultures, since a few words can have a deeper cultural and historical meaning. Meanwhile, low-context cultures the verbalization of ideas is much more important.
When interacting with people from other cultures, it is very important to know whether they come from high- or low-context cultures, because you will be able to adapt your communication style and make better friendships. While there are entire books and studies dedicated to this subject, a brief introduction can be beneficial!
Here is a list comparing and contrasting the differences between the two:
|High Context||Low Context|
|Indirect and implicit messages||Direct, simple and clear messages|
|High use of non-verbal communication||Low use of non-verbal communication|
|Low reliance on written communication||High reliance on written communication|
|Use intuition and feelings to make decisions||Rely on facts and evidence for decisions|
|Long-term relationships||Short-term relationships|
|Relationships are more important than schedules||Schedules are more important than relationships|
|Strong distinction between in-group and out-group||Flexible and open|
This information will only become more important as we seek to understand people from all different kinds of cultures. Here in the United States, we are considered a low-context culture. However, many of the cultures found in Cache Valley (Filipino, Indian, Mexican, Japanese) are high-context, so it is important to understand their style of communication.
At first it may seem very difficult to try and develop relationships with people from high-context cultures, since they are a little cliquish, but after time, experience, and a little know-how, it becomes very possible! What are some of your experiences with people from high-context cultures?