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Lecture 7
High- and Low-context
Communication Styles
COM 340
Overview
The “context“ is the information that
surrounds an event and is strongly
connected with the event.
 The elements that combine together to give
meaning to an event are different depending
on the culture.
 It is possible to order the cultures of the
world on a scale from low to high context.
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High-context Communication
In high-context cultures the members’
messages are implicit.
 The bulk of the message resides either in
the physical context or is internalized in the
communicators.
 The message is one in which most of the
information is already “in the person.”
 Relatively speaking, very little information is
transmitted “in the message.”
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High-context Communication
(con’t)
Any words used depend on the setting, past
experiences with each other, age, gender,
etc.
 Members read nonverbal cues skillfully and
are capable of understanding facial and
bodily movements, subtle gestures, and
environmental signs.
 Example: Two twins who have grown up
together can and do communicate very
economically. There is a high amount of
context which they share and which need
not be explicitly stated.
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Low-context Communication
In low-context cultures the member’
messages are explicit.
 The bulk of the information is “in the
message” rather than “in the person” and
usually comes in elaborate detail, clearly
communicated.
 The burden of communicating lies in the
use of words and phrases.
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Low-context Communication
(con’t)
Members are not as skilled in
comprehending nonverbal cues.
 Consequently, people are talkative and
often redundant.
 Example: Two lawyers communicating
during a trial have very “low” amount of
context which they share. All information
and communication must be explicitly stated.
All the information is in the message.
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Context Scale

High-context
Asian
 Arab
 Southern European
 African
 South American
 Northern European
 Australian
 North American
 Scandinavian
 German
 Swiss
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Low-context
COM 340
High-context Cultures
Nonverbal communication important
 Information flows freely
 Rely on physical context for information
 Environment, situation, guides, gestures,
mood, cues, hints are all taken into account
 Maintain extensive information network
 Accustomed to interruptions
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Low-context Cultures
Less aware of nonverbal cues, environment,
and situation
 Lack well-developed networks
 Need detailed background information
 Tend to segment and compartmentalize
information
 Control information on a “need-to-know”
basis
 Prefer explicit and careful directions from
someone who “knows”
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Low-context Languages
If what one has to say is complex, then one
needs a complex language and grammar to
express it.
 Relatively speaking, these languages are
complex and have a large number of words:

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German
Russian & Slavic
Scandinavian languages
English
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High-context Languages
With high-context language, the grammar
can be very simple and efficient.
 The information exchanged is not in the
words, but rather in the context and in the
shared meaning and experiences.
 Examples:
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Air traffic controller language
Football team language
Policeman language
Prisoner language
Military language
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Meeting of High and High
At times it is very difficult to go from one
high-context culture to another high-context
culture.
 Even though they are both “high”, the
context is different.
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Meeting of High and Low
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When “high” meets “low”, you can’t meet in
the middle.

Rather you must go lower than the low.

Everything must be spelled out verbally

Once a certain amount of shared
experiences are had, then the context level
can be raised.
COM 340