Improving intercultural communication competence: Fostering bodymindful cage painting

Abstract

The interconnectedness of the world because of the Internet and the interdependence due to trade liberalization have given rise to the need for future graduates to be more interculturally and globally competent communicators. Such competence can be improved through a process of Cage Painting, in which participants learn more about the effects of back-ground, experience, and context on their perspectives. The effects of somatic-emotional states of the interactants on Cage Painting are considered for the first time in this paper. This emerged from Mindful Inquiry into Cage Painting simulation workshops over a 4-year period. This paper describes how Mindful Inquiry informed the integration of bodymindfulness into Cage Painting. Although significant additional efforts will be needed to refine and apply this integration into Cage Painting, we expect our work to promote transformative learning by emphasizing both the rational and extrarational aspects of developing intercultural communication competence. We also hope that this collaborative work will in-spire others to elaborate, extend, evaluate, and even transform certain aspects of Body-mindful Cage Painting so that we all and those that learn with us can work toward broader understandings and coexistence in today's challenging world.