Define culture and explain its importance in communication.

Some students think that they do not have much of a cultural background because they were not born outside of the United States or because they do not speak another language. The truth is that everyone has a culture!

Prepare Icon

Prepare: As you prepare to write your discussion for this topic, take time to do the following:

Read the writing prompt below in its entirety. Note that there are three tasks to complete:

Define culture and explain its importance in communication.

Describe your own culture.

Explain how your culture shapes how you communicate with others, including those from different cultures.

Review Chapter 3 of your text and identify at least one point about culture and communication to discuss in your post.

Develop a definition of culture and explain its importance in communication.

Review the Save icon grading rubric and note that 25% of your grade is based on your application of course material (Content/Subject Knowledge) and 25% is based on your ability to demonstrate you are thinking critically and presenting original ideas.

Reflect Icon

Reflect: Based on what you have learned in Chapter 3, think about key elements of your own culture and how it influences both the style and content of your communication. Think about how your culture shapes how you communicate with others, especially those who are from other cultures. Why is culture important in understanding effective communication? How can knowing about your own culture help you build bonds and/or bridge cultural divides?

Write Icon

Write: Based on what you have learned in class this week

Define culture and explain why it is important to understanding communication.

Explain how paying attention to culture can make you a better communicator.

Describe your own culture and share with us what makes you who you are. Your culture can be related to your race, ethnicity, gender, age, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, media preferences, hobbies, religion, etc. Try not to focus on just one of these aspects of yourself, but instead utilize as many cultural elements as possible. Think about both style (how you speak) and content (what interests you).

How does your culture affect your communication with those in your own culture and those from other cultures?

Thoroughly respond to the discussion elements by writing at least one to two sentences on your definition and then two to three sentences on each of the remaining two elements. Use the course readings, with full APA citations, at least once to help you make your points. Consider copying and pasting all three tasks into a word file and addressing each of them separately.