Topic > Interpersonal communication: Italians vs. Americans

Italian interpersonal communicationItaly is a very high context culture; they learn more from nonverbal and environmental cues than from spoken words. They have a very relaxed concept of time, use a lot of hand gestures and tactile aspects, live by Bella Figura and share a similar listening style to that of the United States. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The chronology of Italian culture is very relaxed and relaxed. It is known as a polychronic culture, which considers quality relationships and interaction more important than a rigid schedule. In other words, there is no set time, rather things get done when you have time to do them. Many things are done spontaneously, which means that multitasking is also an important part of Italian culture. Italians take great pride in social interactions and can dedicate an entire day to conversations with friends. Many tasks continue until they are completed and may not end at a consistent time. It is acceptable to arrive fifteen minutes late for a scheduled event; The time of the meeting is not important, it is more important that the meeting is pleasant for everyone involved. In addition to having a relaxed sense of time, Italians differ from Americans in greetings and tactile sensation. Italians rely heavily on tactile sensation when communicating; in fact, they are able to communicate without using words at all. For example, the word "thing" has an equivalent hand gesture that involves connecting all the fingers of one hand to form a beak shape and then moving the hand back and forth. Furthermore, the hand gesture to represent closeness between two friends is to hold both hands together in a grip between the fingers with one hand facing up and the other hand facing down. Italian culture is known for its greetings. Hugging an acquaintance and kissing them on the cheek or with a handshake and a light grip on the arm is the usual way of greeting. On the streets, it is not uncommon for people to push through crowds or see men and men or women and women arm in arm as they walk together. Although many components of interpersonal communication in Italy differ from those in America, Italians and Americans share similar ideas in self-presentation. Presentation and first impressions are very important for Italians. This complex is known as Bella Figura, or beautiful presentation or figure. It refers to the well-dressed and fashion conscientiousness of Italians; in fact, simple and elegant clothes are normal attire in Italy. It is not uncommon for Italians to judge and be judged by their clothes, shoes and accessories. They maintain very high standards for clothing and believe that swimsuits, skimpy tops and flip flops should strictly be worn on the beach and pool. If worn elsewhere you are considered shameless and lacking self-respect. Bella Figura doesn't just apply to appearance, it also applies to the way you behave; it is somewhat similar to the concept of face in this regard. One way to show confidence in Italian and American culture is to maintain eye contact. Eye contact is used to describe how honest someone is and can be intense at times, but it is considered rude and can suggest that the listener is not interested in what the speaker has to say if eye contact is broken. Besides eye contact, Italians and Americans share similar listening styles. The ways people show interest is by maintaining contact..