Dr Deborah Swallow - Global Cultural Diversity » cross-cultural communication

5 Important Steps To Understanding Cultural Differences

Deborah Swallow — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 00:47:48 +0000

When working internationally, there are certain principles
that are good to remember:

Acknowledge differences exist
Understand and analyse why those differences exist
Appreciate the unique values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours of different cultures
Adapt your behaviour — including your cross-cultural communication style — to meet the needs of others.
Be sensitive to feedback and adapt accordingly.

When things just don’t seem to be going right… Remember:

Don’t take things personally!

This comes from personal experience. When you don’t understand why people are behaving the way they are or people aren’t doing things the way you thought they would, don’t jump to the conclusion that they are doing it to annoy/upset you.

The first lesson of intercultural communication is to STOP BEING SELF-CENTRED. You’ve probably stumbled across a cultural difference which has prompted a form of Culture Shock.

My other articles related to culture shock can be found here:

What Is Culture Shock?

The Stages of Adjusting To A New Culture

10 Culture Shock Principles For Working Internationally

Before You Go: What To Do Before You Leave

Overcoming Culture Shock

The Classic 5-Stage Culture Shock Model

Rhinesmith’s 10 Stages of Culture Shock

Collective Culture Shock

Advice For Expats Moving to the Arab World

Why is Cultural Perception Never Pure?

Deborah Swallow — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 18:29:02 +0000

We will never fully transcend our cultural influences to have
an objective view. Everybody is trapped by their history, community, education, language, family upbringing and body. Our five (or 8 senses) take in everything around us. If this information were to be made readily available to us, we would be paralysed and blinded; swamped by data overload…

Instead, we filter and look for patterns and repetitions that allow shortcuts, shorthand and second-guessing. This is why optical illusions are so strong – we have been trained to bring the assumptions from our past learning to the present situation. The effect is shocking. Just how much of our experience of the world is a guess based on learnt patterns and particularly past pain.

We are brainwashed by early rules – Can you remember what your Mother told you never to do? We are heavily influenced by the kindness and charm of those with influence and proximity – What was your favourite subject at school? Now answer this. Does this correspond to your favourite subject? For many the answer will be YES. Something to think about.

Our peers have influenced us to an extraordinary extend using social approval – What we like, don’t like, our political views and even our life choices. Many of you will, in effect ending up marrying your “BLIND” date, i.e. it will have been programmed or arranged for you, by your buddies!

Society only functions because rules exist and they are subtly policed by…the members of that society. The chant of “the greater good” in the film Hot Fuzz is pretty near the mark.

Our language is a shorthand and its structures and forms also limit our permitted experience of the world – German speakers listen because they have to. The operator verb occurs on at the end of a long sentence. Some Asian scripts have pictorial characters making the readers into super-efficient visual clue spotters.

The result is that our cultural truths are held in the words and noises we use, the pictures we see and create and the way we move and hold our bodies (Non Verbal Communication.)

The (pre-programmed) pessimist will see this as a tragic joke of pretend freedoms and false individualism.

The (pre – programmed) optimist will see this as a liberating lesson in the meaninglessness of everything, that enables the possibility of infinite creation.

Something to think about (within the limits of your culture, of course.)

Matthew Hill

Leadership Trainer and Executive Coach

matthew.hill@hillnetworks.com

07813 760 711

Posted via email from The World At Work

Do You Really Understand? Communicating Across Cultures

Deborah Swallow — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 11:42:39 +0000

Imagine a situation. You have just received a memo from your
CEO (you work for a huge global organisation). In the memo, the newly appointed CEO states his vision for the company, and the core values he will be implementing as part of his new strategy. The core values are: Freedom, Respect, Integrity. Very simple values and easily understandable. In fact there is little doubt what he is looking for……or is there?

Are you really sure that you have the same definition of respect, freedom and integrity as your CEO?

Some examples might help, one I have lifted shamelessly from Mijnd Huijser (Author of “The Cultural Advantage”). An American newspaper published an article denouncing the levels of freedom and democracy in Singapore. It cited laws banning smoking in public places, consumption of chewing gum, the seemingly hereditary post of Prime Minister, the authoritarian manner of policing, and dictatorial government style. The conclusion of the article was that Singapore was not a free country, and the US government should be pressurising Singapore towards democratic reform. This article prompted (unsurprisingly) a large response from Singaporeans – one in particular was highlighted by Mijnd Huijser, which pointed out that if you were to walk two blocks from the Post building after dark you had a very high chance of mugging. Americans may well have the freedom to smoke and chew gum in public, but Singaporeans had the freedom from the fear of mugging (Singapore has one of the lowest crime rates in the world) and a very stable government that is able to present a consistent style.

For the American “freedom” is “freedom to….” – to the Singaporean, “freedom” means “freedom from….” Which interpretation is correct?

What about “respect”? For Western cultures, respect is largely a two-way process, that allows each person to value the others, to listen carefully, be polite, but it allows a certain amount of conflict (i.e. providing I am constructive and polite, I reserve the right to criticise, disagree, and ignore). In Asian cultures “respect” is one way – from the bottom to the top. In other words, your boss gets all your respect, whether you like him or not, whether you are work or not. Fons Trompenaars (one of the founding fathers of intercultural theories) uses a dilemma – would you paint your bosses house if he asked you to? To us Westerners, once you had removed the expletives, the answer would be “no”. However studies show that, for example, in China almost 70% of the workforce would definitely paint their boss’ house!

Again, we can ask, which interpretation is correct?

Integrity is another grey area. I suspect I am not shaking any idealist too much if I claim that everyone lies to some extent in their day-to-day life. However we try to remain true to our concept of integrity – honesty in our negotiations and relationships. Trompenaars uses the dilemma of a car crash which is entirely your fault, but witnessed by your friend. How will you expect your friend to describe the event to the police? In many cultures (covering approx. 80% of the world’s population) they would expect the friend to tell a huge lie to protect your driving licence. In Britain we would probably expect our friend to avoid the truth, by saying for example, they couldn’t really judge the speed, or they hadn’t noticed me drinking etc. In Switzerland 97% of those asked said they would tell the truth (that I was over the speed limit and had been drinking) – in fact there is a joke about the Swiss: Why is the crime rate so low in Switzerland? Because breaking the law is illegal!

Is it fair for the Swiss to judge the remainder (80% of the world’s population) as dishonest liars? Is it fair for a Venezuelan (70% of whom would tell a lie to protect their friend) to judge the Swiss as traitors to their friendship? Again, who is right?

If we return to our imaginary CEO and his equally imaginary memo above, we realise that he (or she) has a huge problem. If his core message cannot be communicated clearly, he is going to have to explain to his shareholders that he has failed in setting a new strategy for the company.

Again a hypothetical situation: a company wants to tap into the success of the Coffee shop franchise and make its chain of small coffee shops more “upmarket”. The CEO sends a memo to the local franchisees around the world– bring in some class to your operations. In New York the coffee shop brings in Styrofoam cups with lids on, and speeds up the service time. In Germany, they bring in recyclable cups. In Italy, the franchisees invest in bone china, expensive furnishings and artwork. In Britain, they put the price up. Unsurprisingly the CEO is horrified out how his employees have completely missed his point!

Intercultural communications skills focus on ensuring that your meaning is the same as the meaning as perceived by those who hear your message. We have to remove our assumptions of comprehension and become more explicit. Testing and retesting comprehension (obviously in a culturally sensitive manner – no one likes being patronised!). Learning how to transfer a message across cultures is one of the most important skills an international manager can have!

(Sources: The Cultural Advantage, Mijnd Huijser; The World’s Business Cultures, Tomalin/Nicks; Riding the Waves of Culture, Fons Trompenaars)

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Intercultural Communicationon On the Top Of Everest

Deborah Swallow — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 21:13:55 +0000

Many congratulations to my Colleague from the Transcultural Business Group who has successfully accomplished climbing the seven peaks of the world. Ania Lichota, who was born in Poland, has just reached the summit of Mount Everest and sent intercultural greetings from the roof top of the world. See more spectacular photos…

In 2005, living and working in Russia, Ania decided to climb the highest peak on every continent for herself and to raise funds for UNICEF. “I do it because only through pushing my comfort zone I can develop and grow as an individual and be able to add value to the world.”

Ania has mentored and coached quite a number of people to go beyond what they thought was possible. She does public presentations and inspirational talks to raise aspirations and ability through sharing her mountaineering experiences.

To help Ania raise funds for the Sarswati Foundation please click here

See more photos here: http://www.ania-lichota.info/7summits/everest-pics.htm

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China: Top Tips On How To Do Business

Deborah Swallow — Fri, 28 May 2010 07:43:13 +0000

China is a crazy, beautiful, frustrating, enlightening, contradictory,
wonderful place. But whether you are doing business in China or entertaining visitors from that part of the world, it is important to understand Chinese business etiquette so that you can save ‘face’ and the ‘face’ of others. Watch this instructional video for a good insight into the behaviours you should be aware of…

Click Here: Chinese Business Etiquette Instructional Video

You may also find these links useful:

See my blogs:

Far East: Top Ten Tips for Doing Business in Each of Five Countries
and
The Art of Business Card Giving: An East West Perspective

From China-Business-Connect:

Expert Site on China

China: 5 Things You Should Know

Leadership and Management in China and US

Free China Business Toolkit

How To Communicate Across Cultures

Deborah Swallow — Thu, 27 May 2010 00:24:38 +0000

Communicating successfully across cultures to multicultural
audiences isn’t just about the linguistic differences , but rather about the attitudes that lie behind them, and the cultural values that give rise to those attitudes. Most importantly, it is about the true identification of how to adjust your mindset to ‘fit’ others. Here are my tips on how to do so…

Although I can give you a guide and a ‘quick fix’, transformational change in thought and action cannot be accomplished by applying a formula. Cultural understanding is cultural intelligence and it takes a deep commitment and participative approach to respect and sensitivity, to search out the world’s rich tapestry.

It requires us to reflect on our encounters and gut-feel responses:

Why did that seem strange?
What was I expecting?
What actually happened?
Why?
So, what does this mean?
What can I do differently next time?

This leads to further questions:

What assumptions are being made or were made?
What questions are being asked?
What does that communication really (actually) mean?

But first, we need to examine the culturally-driven mind barriers we have created for our own self-entrapment that diminish our abilities to understand others.

The Importance of Greetings in Botswana

Deborah Swallow — Tue, 25 May 2010 16:07:44 +0000

Beauty Bogwasi

Dumelang, bagaetsho ( Hello all) These little words can save your life in Botswana. Greetings are key and pivotal in Botswana culture. Oh, sorry you are probably wondering where in the world is that! Botswana is the land of diamonds and game. It was first spoken in Botswana!

Madume (greetings) play a pivotal role and are a critically important part of Setswana culture. Batswana are a highly interactive society. The first step to any form of interaction, however, is through greeting people, you convey a message very packed. The message is:

I value and respect myself as a person.
I recognise you and your personhood.
You are welcome.

Greetings are perceived to serve certain specific purposes in human interactions such as paving conflict resolution and creating an atmosphere of ease among people and creating a conducive climate of communication to flow.
The level of self respect and that of others is usually judged by whether or not a person greets others.

Greetings determine how one is perceived by society. Whatever you do, always remember to greet people before you ask them questions or for assistance or start a conversation. If you do not greet you are likely to be misunderstood and perceive as rude, proud or snobbish.

So watch it when you are in Botswana. Be sure to greet people!
The lack of greetings in one’s interactions with people can adversely affect their business.

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A Visual Approach to Globish English Differences

Deborah Swallow — Tue, 25 May 2010 08:09:51 +0000

A picture speaks a thousand words! What a wonderful cartoon depicting the differences between Globish and the English language. We’d better practice for better cross-cultural communication.

Cartoon found at Minitrue

Future of Intercultural Training

Deborah Swallow — Mon, 24 May 2010 09:16:42 +0000

By Matthew MacLachlan

There has been a fantastic discussion happening at LinkedIn
http://bit.ly/dbfE86 about where the future of intercultural training lies. I would like to briefly summarise here. There is a growing realisation that the models on which trainers have relied for so long (such as Hall, Hofstede, Trompenaars et al) are not sufficient to describe the reality of our own experiences…

The more liberal approach is that these models are a good starting point that can lay a foundation for a discussion; the more radical would argue that these models are so flawed as to be dangerous. I think it is nevertheless true to say that all those who are seriously engaged in intercultural training have some reservations.

This presents a dilemma: the greatest advantage of those models is that they are easy to explain, easy to present and easy to pass on, and, to trainers, most importantly, easy to sell. In a client meeting it is very easy to talk about the dimensions and how difficulties arise because person A is at the opposite end of the scale to person B. The post-modernist or constructionist position is much harder to sell – if rules governing an interaction are co-negotiated in the realms of that interaction, and have little relevance beyond the framework of that interaction….well you see my point, I hope.

There is an important point here. Academic discussions and “practicioner” discussions have continued in isolation from each other, despite the attempts of organisations like SIETAR to bring the two together. But if the academic models upon which we have founded our industry are flawed, we need to return to academia to discuss the next step. And if academia is providing answers that are not practically relevant, academics need to turn to practitioners (i.e trainers) to look at real answers.

This fundamental cultural clash at the heart of the Intercultural training field is being resolved as we speak: dialogues are starting, and answers will be coming soon, and discussions, like the ones at LinkedIn are increasingly an important tool in resolving our differences, with a view to creating a product that is not only desperately needed, but also has the authority of quality research supporting it.

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Globish: The Art of Cross-Cultural Communication

Deborah Swallow — Mon, 24 May 2010 07:58:04 +0000

English has become the World’s language – the means to communicate
across cultures. But, why and how has English made it’s way around the world? The main reason is that it has developed into “Globish” which is an overwhelmingly economic phenomenon. In a fascinating new book “Globish: How the English Language Became the World’s Language“, Robert McCrum offers a journalistic account which is both provocative and compelling of the rise of English and it’s impact on the world of economics, politics and culture.

Is this revolution a creature of globalization,” Robert McCrum asks, “or does global capitalism owe some of its energy and resilience to global English in all its manifestations, cultural as well as linguistic?

If you’d like to find out more about the history of the English language, and especially the story of English in India read this article which is a synopsis of Robert McCrum’s book “Globish For Beginners”. Read The Washington Post’s book review here.