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Gospel Communication Project: Elements of Culture
Lindsay Hayes
School of Behavioral Science, Liberty University
GLST 220-B16
Professor Mark Harris
September 13 , 2021
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Gospel Communication Project: Elements of Culture
I have decided on telling you about a very important person in my life, who
happens to come from totally different culture than my own. He is of an Asian descent, from the
country of Laos. He comes from a family of refugee immigrants, who came to the United States
in seek of a safe haven and a way out of the ways of their communist home country. He was only
four years old when they made their way across the Pacific, so for the past 43 years of his life he
has been living life as an immigrant American. He made the decision to convert over to
Christianity from Buddhism at the age of 13, while still living at home with his mother and
father. Learning to speak English from the other kids his age in California, his mother was
disappointed at the fact that he was loosing sight of his Laotian roots. He eventually moved to
the state of Arkansas while he was still in his teens to live with is older sister, where he
eventually became a cook at the family restaurant Fried Rice.
In 2010, we met for the first time through my mother. They were co-workers at
the time. Eventually, we ended up loosing contact, but found ourselves crossing paths once again
in 2019. We ended up falling in love and are now planning on getting married sometime in the
near future. We decided to move in together not too long after we made things official, giving me
a whole new perspective of his Asian culture. Even though he no longer practices Buddhism,
there are times I still recognize some of the traditional practices of those like his mother still
lives her life by. He has taught me a few key elements of what his culture considers
respectful/disrespectful. One thing has stuck with me, and that is never let yourself be seated in a
higher seat or position than the elder in the room. He is a converted Christian, who firmly
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believes in our good Lord and our savior Jesus Christ, and is always open to learn anything new
about the story of the Good News.
Cultural Systems
Out of the six cultural systems found within CQ, the three that I found that closely
related to my Laos friend were the Marriage and Family, Religion, and Artistic systems
(Livermore, 2015). Since he has been living life as an American, for the biggest majority of his
life, very few characteristics of his cultural background are openly present, making it difficult at
moments to say the least, while researching for this assignment.
Marriage and Family
Nearly everyone in my life that I have ever came across in life has came fro the
same kind of family system that me and you come from, and my friend is no different. The
family system of question is the nuclear family system. He grew up as the youngest of seven
sisters, one brother, and both parents. His mother and father decided to move to the United States
in hopes of obtaining the unspeakable freedom and to give him and his siblings the opportunity
of living the American Dream. In a nuclear family, there is an unspeakable closeness, a bond,
between each person of the immediate family (Livermore, 2015).
Educational Systems
Education is a big deal in a person’s life, especially if they want to make
something of their selves one day. In his culture, a big portion of their educational training relies
on informal teachings. There is a lot to learn about topics like heritage, ancestral roots, and most
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importantly moral ethics; all things that is not typically taught in school. It’s the older, adult
members in the family that set the bar for the rest of the family for the younger, less experienced
members to learn from and follow (Livermore, 2015).
Artistic Systems
We all love a clean and organized home, right? Well, that is definite yes for the
culture my special friend is from. He is most definitely more on the solid side of the artistic
scale. He loves for the each and everything to be put up in their own individual spots. His family,
those whom I have gotten the pleasure of meeting, are all the same way. A clean home is a happy
home, and in the Laos culture, that is very true. As a matter of fact, in the Laos culture, it is seen
as respect for one to remove their shoes before entering the home of friends or loved ones (Tours
in Laos, 2021).
Cultural Value Orientations
Out of the ten cultural value orientations, the five I chose to discuss today about
my Laotian friend, Collectivism, Cooperation, Neutral, High and Low Power Distance, and High
Uncertainty Avoidance. Within the Laos Culture, value is a thing they hold near and dear to their
hearts. They all strive for freedom with responsibility, harmony, collectivism, tolerance for
others, and respect for order and authority (Xiaoge, 1998).
Collectivism
In over most of the continent of Asia, collectivism is widely practiced as one of
the cultural values (Livermore, 2015). The members of a collectivism culture, are taught early on
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in life to blend with the crowds of the world around them and to never do anything to cause
shame onto the family (Livermore, 2015). They want their surrounds and everyone around them
to be in perfect harmony placing it as a one of the priorities tops on the list (Laos Belief and
Value, 2021). I see this in tremendous amounts in my friend’s family. If one family members
makes the tiniest mistake, they are shunned, so to speak.
Cooperative
Laotians are some of the most cooperative groups of folks you could ever meet. In
their culture, you will see that they firmly believe in putting others first (Asian Communication
Modes.). Cooperation seems to flow in their blood, that is to a certain extent though. They will
give the shirt off their back to someone in need, but do not ever ask them for money. Another
thing is they think intimacy, competition, and personal credit as conflicting priorities (Livermore,
2015). They definitely are not fans of P.D.A. (public display of attention), they get extremely
embarrassed, and what seems to me like a sense of shame that comes over them.
Neutral
In the Laos culture, face value is of the utmost importance. They feel that it is
important to do all the can, in efforts of building and maintain “face” in order to shape a
powerful and influential image (Laos Beliefs and Value, 2021). They are often viewed as being
cold or even rude, as they tend to conceal their feelings (Livermore, 2015). Don’t get offended if
your encounters with those from the Laotian culture are quite with little small talk, that is
because in they’re culture silence is more than welcomed (Livermore, 2015).
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Power Distance
Laotians are known more for being from a high power-distance cultural
background. They are very submissive to authority figures, usually the most respective team
members in the office (Livermore, 2015). Don’t expect them to make any major decisions either,
because they firmly stand in their beliefs of letting their superior be the decision maker in all
situations (Laos Beliefs and Value, 2021).
Uncertainty Avoidance
The Laotian culture are very keen to structure and punctuality in their lives
(Livermore, 2015). The are so weary of the unknown, that it takes them an extremely long
amounts of time to make up their minds about anything. They carefully calculate every
possibility to every possible solution. So, when relying on them to make any type of decisions be
ready for the wait. Also, if you happen to be close to anyone in the culture, and they are
positively sure they can put trust into your thought process, be ready to be one of their
consultants in helping them make up their minds (Tours in Laos, 2021).
Elements of Communication
Communication is an important aspect in all of our lives, both in the formal and non-
formal settings, as well as in the verbal and non-verbal forms. You can learn a lot about anything
if you are willing to listen and communicate with one another. There are certain behaviors one
should be aware of in communication, they all affect the way we use and interpret our words
(Livermore, 2015). Those behaviors you should beware of are; topics, request, apologies, and
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completes. As with everything else concerning CQ, being aware of these behaviors are crucial in
being successful in cross-cultural communication.
Verbal
Laos individuals are at times viewed as being rude and judgmental, all due to the fact
they more vocal in comfortable in familiar settings, around folks they trust (Tours in Laos, 2021).
Indirect
In most Asian cultures, there is a lot of in-direct communication that goes on within
everyday, normal interactions (Livermore, 2015). As a matter of fact, in-direct verbal
communication makes up for about 33% of the communication within the culture (Xiaoge,
1998).
Non-Verbal
Non-verbal communication is used more than most would like to think. In fact, its how
most of our communication actually occurs (Livermore, 2015). As with the other topics we have
discussed, culture also has it’s way of affecting our non-verbal words. Those would be by
behavior, distance, touching, body position, gestures, facial expressions, and eye contact. If slow
down and really just pay attention, you will learn so much about the people around you.
Distance
Culture plays a huge role in how we view the way we perceive appropriate in the terms of
distance (Livermore, 2015). In the Laos culture, the acceptable amount of distance is normally
just an arm’s length away from one another (Tours in Laos, 2021). I can confirm, for a fact, that
Laotians are for sure up-close-and-personal type of people.
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Touching
Just like here at home in the States, Asia is also on the list of the countries’ with
the lowest amount of touching within communication, other than the widely accepted handshake
(Livermore, 2015). My Laos friend has filled me in with a few pointers when it comes down to
communication and touching within his culture. During any conversation with any Laos
individual, you should always limit all urges to use touch as communicating. It’s offensive to
some. One major thing he taught me, concerning the elderly community and especially the
Buddha, is to NEVER and I repeat NEVER touch their heads! It is not only offensive, but a form
of disrespect as well.
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References
Asian Communication Modes. communication.iresearchnet.com/intercultural-and-
intergroup-communication-modes/
Laos Belief and Value. (2021). https://www.toursinlaws.com/travel-guide/laos-belief-and-
value.httml.
Livermore, D. A. (2015). (Second edition ed.). Leading with cultural intelligence
American Management Association.
Mosely, A. (2009). Improving Cross-Cultural Communication Skills: Ask-Seek-
Knock. (XVII) Leadership Advance Online,
Xiaoge, X. (1998). Asian Values
Revised.https://doi.org/10.1080/01296612.1998.1176548
