Intercultural competence is the ability for successful communication with people of other cultures. This ability can be existing already at a young age, or be developed and improved thanks to willpower and competence. The bases for a successful intercultural communication are emotional competence, together with intercultural sensitivity.

Cultures can be different not only between continents or nations, but also within the same company or even family: every human being has his own history, his own life and therefore also (in a certain extent) his own culture (geographical, ethnical, moral, ethical, religious, political, historical) resp. cultural affiliation or cultural identity.

Basic needs are sensitivity and self-consciousness: the understanding of other behaviors and ways of thinking as well as the ability to express one’s own point of view in a transparent way with the aim to be understood and respected by staying flexible where this is possible, and being clear where this is necessary.

It is a balance, situatively adapted, between three parts:

• 1) knowledge (about other cultures, people, nations, behaviors…),
• 2) empathy (understanding feelings and needs of other people), and
• 3) self-confidence (knowing what I want, my strengths and weaknesses, emotional stability).

For assessment of intercultural competence as an existing ability and / or the potential to develop it (with conditions and timeframe), the following characteristics are tested and observed: ambiguity tolerance, openness to contacts, flexibility in behavior, emotional stability, motivation to perform, empathy, metacommunicative competence, polycentrism.

See also

• Conflict Style Inventory
• Cross-cultural communication
• Cultural competence
• Intercultural communication principles
• Intercultural relations

Organizations:

• CICB Center of Intercultural Competence, http://www.cicb.net
• Intercultural Communication Institute, http://www.intercultural.org
• Centre for Intercultural Training and Research, http://www.intercultural.org.uk
• Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research, http://www.sietar.org
• Organization for Intercultural Training, http://www.tmcorp.com

Cultural anthropology | Cultural studies | Human communication | Social sciences | Sociology

Interkulturelle Kompetenz | Compétence interculturelle