Communicating Across Cultures

These discussion guides are designed to help groups or individuals to host conversations about Communicating Across Cultures. A culture encompasses social expectations related to our experiences as humans within communities and broader societies. Cross-cultural communication can span generations, faiths, nations, and languages, encompassing race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, economic status, political affiliations, and more. Each type of cross-cultural communication presents valuable rewards and significant challenges. Local organizations, schools, faith groups, and other civic organizations are encouraged to use these guides to build community, practice empathy, and foster cross-cultural dialogue. These guides aim to help facilitators highlight the benefits of cross-cultural communication and help participants to enhance their cultural competence in their communities.

These discussion guides are the result of a yearlong project led by Howard University’s Department of Communication, Culture and Media Studies and conducted in collaboration with and sponsorship by the Interactivity Foundation, Humanities D.C., Brink Media, Nextdoor, Don’t Mute DC, Google, and the D.C. Mayor’s office of African American Affairs. Check out Communicating Across Cultures for more information.