The Main Challenge of Intercultural Relations Essay

The Main Challenge of Intercultural Relations - Essay Example Every person belongs to a certain culture and, therefore, the qualities or characteristics in a given culture depend on the general characteristics of the people. This implies that the average strength and weakness of people in a given culture might be considered as the weakness or strength within the culture. Identifying personal weakness and strength is an important aspect of effective communication. Tolerance is the ability to give other people a chance to express themselves and their ideas. This course has enabled me to acknowledge tolerance as an important element in culture. I also realized that I am a very analytical person. In addition, I realized that I have good listening skills and this is my basic strength in intercultural interactions. Good listening skills enable to give people from different cultural backgrounds the chance to express their views and ideas (Lustig & Koester, 2010). Using this skill, I am able to learn other people and this contributes to effective inter cultural relation. Our culture promotes good listening and analytical skills. However, the culture has some few weaknesses that act as a barrier to effective communication. The course has enabled me to realize that members of our culture are very judgmental. I have also learnt this is the basis of having a negative attitude towards people from different cultures. If people from our culture improve in this area, I believe that we can become more competent in our intercultural interaction and communication.