Communicating Across Cultures

by Stella Ting-Toomey, Tenzin Dorjee

This highly regarded text--now revised and expanded with 50% new material--helps students and professionals mindfully build their knowledge and competencies for effective intercultural communication in any setting. The authors' comprehensive, updated theoretical framework (integrative identity negotiation theory) reveals how both verbal and nonverbal communication are affected by multilayered facets of identity. Written in a candid, conversational style, the book is rich with engaging examples illustrating cultural conflicts and misunderstandings that arise in workplace, educational, interpersonal, and community contexts. Readers learn how to transform polarized conversations into successful intercultural engagements by combining culture-specific knowledge with mindful listening and communication skills.
 
New to This Edition
*Extensively revised to reflect the ongoing development of integrative identity negotiation theory, nearly 20 years of research advances, the growing diversity of the United States, and global trends.
*Chapter providing a mindfulness lens on intercultural and intergroup communication competence.
*Chapter on culture shock in sojourners (international students, global businesspeople, and others).
*Chapter on immigrants' acculturation processes.
*Lively chapter-opening case examples, including compelling personal stories from the authors and others from diverse cultures.
*End-of-chapter summaries, "Mindful Guidelines" to put into practice, and critical thinking questions.
*New and expanded discussions of hot topics: cross-cultural workplaces, community building, peacebuilding, romantic relationships, prejudice and discrimination, microaggressions, and ethical issues. 

Genres: Communication, Cultural, Nonfiction, Education

464 pages, Paperback

First published January 22, 1999

Reviews

[Jeska · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like kale salad—full of valuable nutrients, even kinda tasty at times, but really hard for me to digest.

Do I agree with the contents? Absolutely yes. Do I ever want to read it again? Sorry, but not really.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book represents a very deep look into intercultural communication in terms of content, and anyone who reads it with the goal of self-improvement will almost certainly find a lot of useful information in it. There are biases present within these pages, but then again, I brought my own biases to the experience of reading it. We're all human, right?

It's not bad for a textbook in terms of presentation. Some sections feel like endless chains of definitions. Maybe it's just me, but this made the book feel unnecessarily challenging to read (I went through a couple of highlighters and pens making annotations, and I had to take a lot of breaks); a glossary version of the book that organizes and presents the many key terms would be pretty handy.

[Colorado Buck · Rating 4 out of 5]

used for a class in intercultural communication. was technical, but still good.

[Amber Kuehler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book for an English as a Second Language class and thought it was a great book to read coupled with Multicultural Manners, which was another book we had to read. I learned a lot, but I found this particular text to be very repetitive. So many of the concepts taught could have been written in a much more concise way!

[Nenad Knezevic · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good introduction to intercultural communication.

[Novlette Gooden-Castillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very illuminating the role culture plays in communicating with people from other cultures. That culture determines how people from an early age learn about "SELF" and communicating with those outside the "family unit." Thus unless we are open to understanding another culture it becomes a barrier to effectively communicating with others. A must read.