Intercultural Communication Is the Process of Sending and Receiving Messages Between People

COMUNICATING INTERCULTURALLY

Understanding the opportunities and challenges of intercultural communication

Intercultural communication is the process of sending and receiving messages between people whose cultural background could lead them to interpret verbal and nonverbal signs differently.Only two of the top ten markets for US products speak English as their official language (Canada and Great Britain).

Diverse workforce bring broader range of viewpoints and ideas, help companies understand and identify with diverse markets and enable companies to tap into the broadest possible pool of talent.

Enhancing your intercultural sensitivity

Understanding the concept of culture

Culture can be defined as a shared system of symbols, beliefs, attitudes, values, expectations and norms for behavior. People learn about culture directly or indirectly form members of their group, culture tend to be coherent and complete, because it gives you common sense and gives you many answers to life’s big questions based on your cultural background.

Overcoming ethnocentrism and stereotyping

Ethnocentrism is the tendency to judge all other groups according to your own group’s standards, behaviors, and customs.Xenophobia, a fear of strangers and foreigners.

Stereotyping, assigning a wide range of generalized attributes to an individual on the basis of membership in a particular group, stereotyping is more a matter of oversimplifying and of failing to acknowledge people.

Cultural pluralism is the practice of accepting multiple cultures on their own terms. There three recommendations to overcome ethnocentrism and stereotyping: avoid assumptions, avoid judgments and acknowledge distinctions.

Recognizing cultural variations

You can begin to learn how people on other cultures want to be treated by recognizing and accommodating six main types of cultural differences:

Contextual differences: High contextual cultures such Korea or Taiwan, people rely less on verbal communication and more on the context of nonverbal actions and environmental setting convey meaning.

Low context culture such USA and Germany, people rely more on verbal communication and less on circumstances and cues to convey meaning. Main differences could be seen in situations like: decision making practices, problem-solving techniques and negotiating styles.

Legal and ethical: Cultural context also influences legal and ethical behavior. Low context cultures put less emphasis on the written word, they consider written agreements binding. But high context cultures put less emphasis on written and consider personal pledges more important than contracts.

There are four basic principles to keep your messages ethical in a cross cultural communication:

Actively seek mutual ground
Send and receive messages without judgment
Send messages that are honest
Show respect for cultural differences
Social: In the social differences field we could see that formal rules of etiquette are explicit and well defined, but informal rules are learned trough observation and imitation. Social differences are commonly seen in: attitudes toward work and success (Japan much more than France), roles and status (Mr, Mrs, Dr, President), use of manners, concepts of time.
Nonverbal:Nonverbal differences are expressed in: greetings, personal space, touching, facial expressions, eye contact, posture, formality.
Age: Many differences between high and low context cultures about youth managerial positions, seniority and longevity. In Japan only the oldest employees hold the most impressive tittles and positions.
Gender: Even in U.S.A. is not common to see many women in managerial positions like CEO of the fortune 500’s companies, only 5% of that ones. But it’s important to have in mind that communication styles of men and women differ on several points: workplace hierarchy influences communication, decision making styles, and problem-solving styles.

Improving intercultural communications

Studying other cultures

Just a little research can help you grasp the basics of other cultures. Mistakes will happen in a intercultural relation, and when they do, apologize, ask about the accepted way, and move on.

Studying other languages

It’s a mistake to assume that everyone understands English, if you have a long-term business relationship with people of another culture, it is helpful to learn their language. Even if the same language is spoken in another country, don’t assume that is spoken in the same way.

Respecting preferences for communicating styles

Communication styles vary from culture to culture. A wider range of differences could appear in written communication, international correspondence is often more formal than what US businesspeople are used to.

Writing clearly

Use simple and clear language, be brief, use transitional elements to follow train of thought (Ex: first, second, in addition), address international correspondence properly (salutations, tittles), cite numbers and dates carefully (12/05/06 means different in US than Latin America), avoid slang and business jargons, avoid humor and other references to popular culture.

Speaking clearly

To speak more clearly in intercultural conversations, follow six guidelines: speak slowly and clear, don’t rephrase until it’s necessary, look for and ask for feedback, don’t talk down to the other person, learn foreign phrases, and clarify what will happen next.

Listen carefully

To listen more effectively in intercultural situations, accept what you hear without judgment and let people finish what they have to say.

Using interpreters,translators an translation software

Certain documents and situations require the use of interpreter, translator or translation software like: advertising, warranties, repair and maintenances manual, product labels. Don’t rely on machine translation for important messages.

Back-translations having a second translator to the origin language could be need in a technical seminar or conference.

Helping other to adapt to your culture

It could be easier for people from other cultures to establish written communications than oral, because you have the opportunity to reread and rewrite.