Periodic Fable

As an article in the Guardian today points out, travelling among different cultures can be a minefield of misunderstandings and possibilities to cause offence

http://www.guardian.co.uk/../culturaltrips

“Flowers may seem like the perfect gift to delight your gracious hostess with, but beware, in many countries particular varieties, colours and even numbers have unlikely associations. Carnations are used for funerals in Germany, Poland and Sweden, as are chrysanthemums in Belgium, Italy, France, Spain and Turkey. In Austria and France red roses might suggest a romantic interest, while in Mexico and Chile yellow flowers signify grief or separation. A bunch of flowers should always be given unwrapped in Germany, Sweden and Poland. An odd number of blooms is unlucky in China and Indonesia; an even number in India, Turkey, Russia and Germany. ”

Online, because of the lack of visual cues, it is even more possible for an innocent misunderstanding to blow up out of all proportion.
One study at UCLA indicated that up to 93 percent of communication effectiveness is determined by nonverbal cues. Albert Mehrabian, a pioneer researcher of body language in the 1950s, found that the total impact of a message is about 7 percent verbal (words only) and 38 percent vocal (including tone of voice, inflection, and other sounds) and 55 percent nonverbal.

So how – in a medium that relies on text alone – can you compensate for the lack of visual cues, and avoid misunderstandings? E-moderators and facilitators of online communities must be aware of potential misunderstandings, be able to spot them as soon as they arise, and know how to defuse the situation. It takes expertise and skill to do this so that the community as a whole is not affected.

Years ago, when I was at the trAce Online Writing Centre we studied misunderstanding online: some of the examples can be seen at the project Xenophobia (now archived) http://tracearchive.ntu.ac.uk/

Nancy White, in that discussion, outlined some of the pitfalls:

• “One or two voices can easily dominate in an online conferencing space in a way unique to the environment. This is especially true for folks who can post often, making the space “feel” crowded by that voice, even if they are trying to do something positive.
• “Negative voices can discourage in amazing ways, even if they feel they are doing the “right” thing with their input.
• “If process is not clearly defined (and quickly without too much meta processing) right up front, you are sunk.
• “The more specific the process can be articulated, the better.
• “The clearer your purpose, the easier it is to work through misunderstandings and get to understanding.
• “Culture matters – don’t ignore it. Deciphering the difference between the words and the cultural experiences behind the words is an awesome puzzle. Ask questions – don’t assume.
• “Working through misunderstanding seems to be driven by genuine desire to continue to be together. Where that desire is missing, so many just give up.

“On the other side of this resolution is the potential for stronger, more
authentic bonds. If it is worth it to go through, the rewards can be great.”