Michelle, Olu & Alex

India is comprised of several different languages, which is a result of the invasion of the British, the existence of a variety of dialects and a vast blend of cultures that exists in the country. The Indian constitution recognizes 23 official languages with Hindi being the most prominent official language. English is listed as a secondary official language but is regarded primarily for business use. There are also 1,652 different dialects. When considering the way in which India communicates internally and externally one must understand that, it is a direct influence of the many cultures by ways of verbal and non-verbal methods of conversing. In reference to Hall’s categorization of India being represented as a high-context society, communication is described as being comprised of highly coded and inherent messages. This classification consists of indirect, succinct, contextual, and affective verbal styles. The high-context style is associated with collective and high-power distance cultures that are demonstrated in the Indian culture.
Foreign trade and foreign direct investment are a significant source of economic growth for India, thus cross-cultural communication is pertinent for India to maintain connection with the global business economic infrastructure. The culture values and social conduct of India allow for a coalition government where each state has its own political party. This form of government creates anxiety in foreign investors from Western, European and other cultures as their ideas of appropriate governance differ. Also, downward communication is more popular in the Western society so when American businessmen manage an Indian company being run with information being transferred from subordinate to manager (upward communication) they may feel insulted. In cross-cultural communication, interpretations of meaning are often misconstrued due to cultural barriers, perceptual barriers, and language barriers. Ideally, improving feedback systems, obtaining language and cultural training can avoid theses barriers.
In my experience with natives of India, I have recognized their ability to argue their point of view successfully, which I would attribute to their use of the succinct and affective verbal styles whereas they tend to allow understatements, pauses, silence to convey meaning and conduct careful observation of how the sender is conveying the message. These methods give them the advantage of effective listening, leading to a greater understanding of the issue being discussed thus allowing them effectual communication. Indians also speak effectively nonverbally with body language and use of physical space. They may use various hand gestures, direct eye contact and stand within close proximity to the person with whom they are communicating.
In a western culture where Americans are extremely sensitive about and value personal space, most of them may perceive Asian’s need for closeness as intrusive. With my being raised in a Native American home where closeness and affection during communication was common, I was not offended when encountering this behavior. I have noticed that natives of India also stand with good posture and tend to raise their voice levels when excited or feel knowledgeable about a particular issue/debate. I understand their verbal and nonverbal communication to be intrinsic to their expression of reverence for their remarkable culture. During their struggle for independence from the rule of the British crown, the tactics of protesting with a commitment to ahimsa "non-violence" led by Mahatma Gandhi was an example of their ability to use their cultural beliefs and communication styles to present their viewpoints and negotiate effectively verbally and non-verbally cross-culturally.