Cross-cultural communication
Have you ever visited another country and been misunderstood or misunderstood someone?
- What happened?
- Why do you think the misunderstanding happened?
The advantages and potential challenges of cross-cultural collaboration
The advantages of working with other cultures…
- More different viewpoints
- Greater range of ideas
- Gain understanding of diverse markets
- Broader talent pool
- Broadens your experience
- Makes you a more valuable job candidate
Some of the challenges could be…
- Connecting with each other
- Understanding each other
- Language
- Working in teams
- Different expectations
- Sending and receiving messages
When working in groups with members from a variety of different cultures being aware of where problems might occur will help you overcome them.
Some students…
May not seem to speak as much.
- This doesn’t mean that they don’t want to contribute. They may need more time to process the information.
- Find out what the issue is, reassure them that their contribution is valuable, give time and space to ensure they are heard.
May do their work in a different way/at a different timescale.
- Develop some rules – make sure all understand group norms.
May not want to socialise.
- Values/religion may be different. Make sure social events are accessible to all.
How can we improve communication with people from other cultures?
- Be aware of your own cultural biases
- Find out about a country’s culture before communicating
- Be flexible
- Apologise if you make a mistake
- Use interpreters/translators or software
- Speak and write clearly
- Check understanding
Remember
It’s important to be sensitive to others and realise that they might have a different understanding or perspective.
Check that you understand correctly, but also be aware that too much checking could cause offence.
Remember that no one is perfect, and if you make a mistake, be prepared to apologise.