Communicating with people from other cultures can be challenging. At
the same time, your ability to foster successful communication between
people of differing cultures will bolster your success in business and
career. To overcome cultural barriers to effective communication, you
must first learn what culture actually means. Culture is a shared system
of symbols, beliefs, attitudes, values, expectations, and norms for behavior.
Subcultures, in turn, are distinct groups that exist within a major culture.
Cultures differ in several ways that affect communication:
• Stability: conditions in the culture may be stable or may be
changing either slowly or rapidly;
• Complexity: cultures vary in the accessibility of information.
• Composition: some cultures are made up of many diverse subcultures
and generally, the fewer the subcultures in a person’s background,
the easier it is to communicate, because you have fewer potential differences
to consider;
• Acceptance: cultures carry in their attitudes toward outsiders,
some are openly hostile, some maintain a detached aloofness, and others
are friendly, and cooperative toward strangers.
By bridging these differences, you can successfully achieve intercultural
communication. However, the four elements of culture are very general
in nature. They don’t say much about how to communicate with persons
from other cultures. Here are the so called ten commandments of intercultural
communication.
I. Be aware of differing social values;
II. Be aware of differing status symbols and how to demonstrate them;
III. Be aware of decision making customs: not all people like to make
decisions quickly and efficiently;
IV. Be aware of concepts of time: not all people like to see time as
money;
V. Be aware of personal space: people from different cultures have
different ‘comfort zones’;
VI. Be aware of cultural context: people from certain cultures (called ‘high-context
cultures) rely less on verbal communication and more on the context of
nonverbal actions and environmental settings to convey meaning. People
from low-context cultures like the USA rely more on verbal communication
and less on circumstances and implied meaning to convey meaning;
VII. Be aware of body language: learn the basic differences in the
way people supplement their words with body movement;
VIII. Be aware of different etiquette rules or manners: what is polite
in one culture may be considered rude in another;
IX. Be aware of legal and ethical behavior;
X. Be aware of language barriers: English is the most prevalent language
in international business, but it’s a mistake to assume that everyone
understands it.
Learning as much as possible about another culture will enhance your
ability to communicate with its members. Read books and articles about
the culture and talk to people who have done business with that culture’s
members. Concentrate on learning something about the culture’s
history, religion, politics, values, and customs. Find out about a country’s
subcultures, especially its business subculture, and any special rules
of protocol.
Here are some tips when communication interculturally
• Take responsibility for communication
• Withhold judgments
• Show respect
• Empathize
• Tolerate ambiguity
• Look beyond the superficial
• Be patient and persistent
• Recognize your own cultural biases
• Be flexible
• Emphasize common ground
• Send clear messages
• Increase your cultural sensitivity
• Deal with the individual
• Learn when to be direct
About the Author
Martin Hahn Ph.D. is an industrial sociologist with more than 20 years
experience in teaching, management consulting, and corporate training.
If you would like to get custom-made advice about your communication problems,
please feel free to send your email to martinmim21@hotmail.com.
All requests will be handled professionally and your communication problem
will be handled in strict confidence. |