Cross cultural understanding: a handbook to understand others’ cultures

CHAPTER IV 
INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION 
 
Communication has always been an important need of all 
societies. Since the time of our cave-dweller ancestors, people 
have been communicating in different ways. Neanderthals drew 
pictures on cave walls, American Indians communicated using 
drumbeat and smoke. In wars, soldiers used doves to 
communicate top secrets. Letters and the telephone were the next 
step in communication. Finally, in the present century most of 
communication process is done through the Internet. 
Communication can be defined as the exchange of 
meaning. This involves the sending and receiving of information 
between a sender and a receiver. This happens not only through 
the use of words, but also through non verbal factors, such as 
gestures and facial expression. The message received can be very 
different from the message was sent. The common model for 
communication is shown in figure below : 
 
Figure 4. 1: Communication model