High & Low Context Communication

Jade Garratt · Voice & Silence, Interpersonal Practice, Politics, Diversity & Equity

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Explores Edward Hall's framework of high and low context communication and its implications for psychological safety in teams. High context communication, where meaning is carried implicitly through shared history, tone and what is left unsaid, favours insiders and creates equity barriers for new joiners, neurodivergent people, those from different cultural backgrounds, and anyone outside the dominant professional culture. The implicit meanings and unspoken norms that mark insiders create gradients of access that track closely with who was there first. Drawing on Erin Meyer's The Culture Map and Waller and Kaplan's work on crisis-ready teams, the article argues that deliberately practising low context communication (making expectations, norms and roles explicit) both widens the circle of participation and prepares teams for high-stakes moments when clarity becomes critical. High-performing crisis teams spend significantly more time building shared mental models and pooling information before conditions deteriorate. The article also acknowledges the costs: for those accustomed to implicit styles, enforced explicitness can feel patronising, and imposing low context norms without honesty about why risks becoming a power move in its own right.

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Read the full article on psychsafety.com →