"All people have the right to be equal and the equal right to be different", said Shimon Perez. This is a fundamental statement in the idea behind any type of communication, not just intercultural. People interact with each other every day. It is essential that we learn about the proper way to communicate with one another. In deciding where to begin with communication between cultures, we have to look at the meaning of communication. "Human communication is the process through which individuals in relationships, groups, organizations, and societies respond to and create messages to adapt to the environment and one another," said Ruben and Stewart. There are five major points that make up communication. Communication is symbolic, systematic, self-reflective, and complex.
The Symbolic aspect of communication has been around the longest of all dating all the way back to the pre-historic era; where cavemen painted pictures on the wall to communicate with one another. More recent are things that are passed down throughout society and family. When you are a child you are taught certain things from family and the people around you; such as, saying thank you when someone does a favor, waving when someone waves at you, more or less you are taught manners for interacting with society by using symbols and gestures. On the other end of the realm is what society can teach someone about communicating. There are many examples of things that I myself have learned from people outside of my family. I have learned ways of interacting with people from other cultures; learned how to decipher symbols in other countries. These are a few aspects of how communication is symbolic. .
As well as being symbolic it is also systematic or that communication happens everywhere and at all times. You are continuously put into environments that cause you to communicate a certain way. For instance, you act very differently at a professional work place then you would when you are with fiends.