Page 11 - 6688

11
knowledge, and values, we have intercultural communications" (Samovar and Porter, 1972,
p.1).
High-tech communication technologies have unquestionably a profound and
permanent impact on human communication: they make human communication at once
more possible and effective and perhaps less human.

Physical context
Communication takes place in some setting or physical context which can influence
the content and quality of interaction. The setting can be as follows: your classroom, over
lunch at a local restaurant, at a party, in a courtroom.

Chronological context
The chronological context refers to the ways time influences interaction. Time-related
considerations are important in adapting to the chronological context. The question ‘Is this
a good time?’ has several subquestions:
- What are communicator’s personal preferences for time?
- Is this a busy time (holiday season, tax time, hiring compaign)?
- Is this a suitable time (a profit loss, a major success, a stressfull meeting)?

Social context
The social context refers to the nature of the relationship between the
communicators, as well as who is present. The following example clearly shows the
difference in asking for a raise under a variety of different social contexts:
1. and the manager have been friends for 5 years;
2. and the manager have no personal relationship;
You 3. and the manager have had an ongoing personality conflict
4. and the manager are alone;
5. have a chance to ask for raise thanks to other employees.

Cultural context
The cultural context includes the age, organizational, and ethnic and/or national
backgrounds for the persons communicating. You can get an understanding of the
importance of culture by imagining how differences in backgrounds might influence
communication betwen the following communicators:
Americans and Russians
Ukrainians and Ukrainian Americans
Kyivites and villagers
Parents and children
Men and women

COMMUNICATION PRINCIPLES
1. Communication is unavoidable. A fundamental axiom of communication is “One
cannot not communicate”. We send a rich stream of nonverbal messages even when
we are silent. Because communication is unavoidable, it is essential to consider the
unintentional messages we send.
2. Communication operates at two levels. When people communicate, they exchange
two kinds of messages: content messages and relational messages. Content messages