Critical Incidents for Intercultural Communication - NorQuest College

Facilitator and Activity GuideCultural orientations 33Orientation to self 35Orientation to power 36Orientation to time 37Direct and indirect communication 38The concept of “face” 39Non-verbal communication 40Sorting/categories 42Glossary of Terms 43Critical Incidents Reference Guide 48Critical Incident Cards 51Quote Cards 63Bibliography and Suggested Readings 70Introduction - What Are CriticalIncidents?Facilitator and Activity GuideCritical incidents are tools for increasing our awareness andunderstanding of human attitudes, expectations, behaviours,and interactions. They are intended to engage participantsat a meaningful, personal level as they examineattitudes and behaviours that might be critical to theireffectiveness in the roles they are already performing or preparingfor (in the workplace, in educational settings, andin society at large). Triandis first used critical incidents todevelop cross-cultural competence in the 1960s in his workwith cultural assimilators (see also Triandis, 1994). 1Critical incidents in intercultural communication trainingare brief descriptions of situations in which a misunderstanding,problem, or conflict arises as a result of the culturaldifferences of the interacting parties, or a problem ofcross-cultural adaptation and communication. Each incidentgives only enough information to set the stage andthen describes what happened and possibly manifests thefeelings and reactions of the people involved. It does notexplain the cultural differences that people bring to the situation;these are meant to be discovered or revealed as partof the different activities outlined in this guide.The critical incidents in this collection were gathered fromopen-ended interviews with students and instructors from1 You will find all the references cited in the bibliography section, where we have alsoprovided you with a list of suggested readings.Page 6Critical Incidents for Intercultural CommunicationCritical Incidents for Intercultural Communication Page 7