Cross Cultural Communication

• Introduction
• Culture is a way of thinking and living whereby one picks up a set of
attitudes, values, norms and beliefs that are taught and reinforced
by other members in the group. This set of basic assumptions and
solutions to the problems of the world is a shared system that is
passed on from generation to generation to ensure survival. A
culture consists of unwritten and written principles and laws that
guide how an individual interacts with the outside world. Members of
a culture can be identified by the fact that they share some
similarity. They may be united by religion, by geography, by race or
ethnicity.
• Our cultural understanding of the world and everything in it
ultimately affects our style of communication as we start picking up
ways of one’s culture at around the same time we start learning to
communicate.  Culture influences the words we speak and our
behavior.
• Cross Cultural Communication
• Cross cultural communication thus refers to the communication
between people who have differences in any one of the following:
styles of working, age, nationality, ethnicity, race, gender, sexual
orientation, etc. Cross cultural communication can also refer to the
attempts that are made to exchange, negotiate and mediate cultural
differences by means of language, gestures and body language. It
is how people belonging to different cultures communicate with each
other.
• Each individual can practice culture at varying levels. There is the
culture of the community he grows up in, there is work culture at his
work place and other cultures to which one becomes an active
participant or slowly withdraws from.  An individual is constantly
confronted with the clash between his original culture and the
majority culture that he is exposed to daily. Cultural clashes occur
as a result of individuals believing their culture is better than others.
• Cross cultural communication has been influenced by a variety of
academic disciplines. It is necessary in order to avoid
misunderstandings that can lead to conflicts between individuals or
groups. Cross cultural communication creates a feeling of trust and
enables cooperation.The focus is on providing the right response
rather than providing the right message.
• When two people of different cultures encounter each other, they
not only have different cultural backgrounds but their systems of
turn – talking are also different. Cross cultural communication will be
more effective and easier if both the speakers have knowledge of
the turn taking system being used in the conversation (For example:
One person should not monopolize the conversation or only one
person should talk at a time).
• 1) Assumption of similarities : This refers to our tendency to think how we behave
and act is the universally accepted rule of behavior. When someone differs, we have
a negative view of them
• 2) Language Differences :  Problems occur when there is an inability to understand
what the other is saying because different languages are being spoken.  Talking the
same language itself can sometimes lead to discrepancies as some words have
different meanings in various contexts, countries or cultures
• 3) Nonverbal Misinterpretation : The way we dress, the way we express ourselves
through our body language, eye contact and gestures also communicates something.
A simple gesture like nodding the head is considered to be YES in certain cultures
and NO in others
• 4) Preconceptions and Stereotypes : Stereotypes involves putting people into pre-
defined slots based on our image of how we think they are or should be. It may
consist of a set of characteristics that we assume that all members of a group share.
This may be true or may be false. But stereotypes may lead to wrongful expectations
and notions. A preconceived opinion of another can lead to bias and discrimination
• 5) Tendency to evaluate : Humans tend to make sense of the behavior and
communication of others by analyzing them from one’s own cultural point of view
without taking into consideration why the other person is behaving or communicating
a certain way
• High anxiety : Sometimes being confronted with a different cultural
perspective will create an anxious state in an individual who does not know
how to act or behave and what is considered to be appropriate (For
example: A Japanese man and an American having a business meeting
where both are unsure of the other’s cultural norms)
• To reduce the above barriers to cross cultural communication, one can take
the effort to develop one’s listening skills. This will ensure that we start
hearing the real meaning of what is being said instead of understanding at
face value. Becoming aware of our perceptions towards others will ensure
that we take steps to not prejudge a person or stereotype them. By
accepting people and their differences and acknowledging that we don’t
know everything will make us open up to people and their differences
resulting in us using contextual information for better understanding.
Seeking feedback and taking risks to open up channels of communication
and being responsible for our feelings and actions will go a long way in
ensuring that miscommunication is mitigated.
 The five fundamentals of effective cross-cultural
communication
• Air France was founded in 1933 and merged with its Dutch counterpart in
2004. Thirteen years later, this high-flying marriage is facing serious cross-
winds. And yet, it looked like a match made in heaven…
• Up until now, fingers were pointed at the deregulation of Europe’s skies, and
increased competition from Gulf carriers. However, a recently leaked
internal company report shows that the evil is to be found within. The clash
of national cultures and an inability to understand each other’s languages
has proven to be nothing less than toxic.
• Culture is deeply engrained in the fabric of society. From the way we drink
our coffee, to the way we do business, culture creates the sense of security
and belonging that we need to truly connect with each other. It is needless
to say that when you operate across cultures, there are a couple of extra
hurdles to deal with before you can truly connect. So before you jump into
that conversation with your colleague from abroad, stop to consider the
following points. They will help you on your way to jump the cultural hurdles
without falling flat on your face.
 
• 1. Awareness
• It all starts with this: being aware that different countries have different ways and times of doing things. Your way
is not THE way (and neither is theirs). As in marriage, a common culture is to be developed over the years. And
yes, this takes time, patience but mostly the will to truly understand what drives the person or the organisation
you are dealing with.
 
• 2. Preparation
• Before you meet your foreign colleague, take the time to do read up on their country’s rituals and etiquette.
Should you address your colleague by their first name or not? Something simple like how to greet them is
probably culturally determined. In some countries a hug, a tap on the shoulder or a kiss are quite normal,
whereas in others these come close to harassment. You should not aim for a perfect mastery of their etiquette,
though. The fact that you’ve taken the trouble to do some research and that you try to do things right, is often
enough to show people that you care.
 
• 3. Language
• One of culture’s main expressions is language. As soon as people open their mouths to speak, you can more or
less place them in a geographical region and a social/cultural subgroup. When you and your counterpart speak
different languages, work with an interpreter to avoid misunderstandings. An added bonus is that the interpreter
does not only know both languages, but also the underlying cultures. Interpreters will hence translate both the
words and the cultural context.
• If you speak the same language as your counterpart, but come from different countries, you are not out of the
woods yet. Case in point are the differences between Dutch and Flemish (Belgian Dutch). One and the same
word may mean something totally different. Even when you speak the same language, your should try to avoid
slang and ask for clarification when something that was said does not make sense. You may have false friends
interfering with the conversation.
• 4. Humour
• Be extremely careful with humour. It is often said that jokes don’t translate and that is because
well, they don’t. Moreover, in many cultures it is not acceptable to crack jokes in a business
context. Sarcasm, the basic ingredient of British humour, can be immensely funny if you are used
to it. If you’re not, it can come across as an insult, or worse still, an attack. Most of all: avoid
telling jokes about your colleague’s country, it is a slippery slope that will leave you crippled nine
times out of ten.
 
• 5. Openness
• The person opposite you may be just as nervous about wading in the murky cross-cultural waters
as you are. There is no weakness in admitting that you are nervous because you do not want to
mess up. Ask for feedback. This will give your counterpart the opportunity to help you along the
way, and most of all, to connect with you. Vulnerability is, after all, human and something that
everyone can relate to, wherever they come from.
• Many a book has been written about effective cross-cultural communication, and all these
insights are very helpful. They should definitely be considered as parts of the puzzle, but not as
absolute truths. Think of it: you may be French, and have the same cultural references as your
fellow Frenchmen, but feel more comfortable with the English way of doing business. In cross-
cultural communication, and indeed in communication as such, connecting is the objective.
Language, both verbal and non-verbal, is the key. If you put the tools and partners in place to
connect across cultures, you will start seeing hurdles as welcome challenges that help you
reinforce the message you want to share.
• Six key barriers for cross-cultural communications
• 1- Ethnocentrism
• We all have a natural tendency to look at other cultures through our own lenses.
Ethnocentrism happens when we implicitly believe our way of doing things and
seeing things is the right and only way. As a result, we negatively judge behaviours
that don’t conform to our world vision. We perceive other’s behaviours as odd and
improper. Ethnocentrism also creates an “us versus them” mentality that can be
detrimental. In a previous company I worked for, countless times I’ve heard the
French complain about the Americans in an ethnocentric way and vice-versa.
• 2- Stereotyping
• It’s also common to rely on oversimplified clichés about people from different cultures.
In fact, there are quite a few cross-cultural trainings in the market that are focused on
memorizing cultural differences and can reinforce stereotyping. Learning about
differences can be useful as a starting point. But individuals are unique; you can
never predict a person’s behaviour based on his or her nationality. When we were
moving to the UK, French friends told us, The British never invite you for dinner,
which is a common social activity in France. We happen to have the loveliest British
neighbours who invite us for dinner often.
• 3- Psychological barriers
• To manage cross-cultural teams successfully, you need to flex your own
style. It’s not easy to go against your natural preferences. People can feel
unauthentic and incompetent. I know the case of a French manager who
went to the United States. He found out that his typical French style of
giving feedback, focused on what was “wrong” rather than on what was
working well, was undermining his team’s confidence. He realised what the
problem was, but he felt artificial acting the “American” way. He went back
to France as soon as he could.
• 4- Language barriers
• All teams have a common language, but when some people are more fluent
than others, it creates social distance between members. In global teams,
people who are less fluent in English tend to withdraw from communication,
which means the team may not get all the input it needs. Understanding
what’s said can be challenging if people speak too fast or use too much
slang. This also might have an influence on how people’s competence and
performance are perceived. I worked for an organisation where non-English
native speakers felt that their career progression opportunities were not the
same as for English native speakers.
• 5- Geographical distance
• In global virtual teams, people don’t get the chance to interact and build relationships
with each other as in a traditional office environment. And the less you know about
people, the less you share information with them. Collaboration within virtual teams
is, therefore, more challenging. Groups outside of the head office can also feel
excluded. On the other hand, head office group members might think that other
colleagues are not contributing. Differences in time zones also can be challenging.
Often if you’re not in the headquarters, you are expected to cope with meeting timings
that are less convenient. I know of a highly talented woman who left a global senior
leadership role because she got tired of having frequent meetings in the night.
• 6- Conflicting values
• Culture is like an iceberg: what you see are the behaviours, and those are influenced
by the invisible values under the water line.  Cultural clashes happen when other
people’s behaviour compromises our own values. Often, when you don’t understand
or don’t agree with a behaviour, it means that there are conflicting values under the
water line. There is no right or wrong way of doing things; it’s just a matter of cultural
norms. Below, you’ll see a (non-exhaustive) list of common conflicting cultural values:
• task oriented vs. relationship oriented
• In some countries like the US, people view conversations as an
opportunity to exchange information. People get down to business
quickly. In Latin American countries, for instance, conversations are
primarily an opportunity to enhance the relationship. I once worked
for an American company where, in meetings, participants barely
introduced each other; we got down to work immediately. Being a
Latin American, it took me a while to get used to it.
• Direct vs. indirect communication
• In countries like Germany, it is a sign of professionalism to speak
clearly and leave no room for misinterpretation. In countries like
Korea, people prefer to communicate indirectly. People approach
problems through vague references. The danger here is that a
person from a direct culture may come across as insensitive, while
the person from the indirect culture may appear imprecise.
• Open subtle disagreement
• Cultures that place a high value on “face” and group harmony may
be averse to confrontation, like in China. In other cultures, having a
“good fight” is a sign of trust, like in the Netherlands. People from
different parts of the world also vary in the amount of emotion they
show during professional conversations. For example, Italians raise
their voices, while the British are more composed.
• Informality vs. formality
• In some countries, such as Australia, people are generally casual; in
others, like Japan, people tend to be more formal. To informal
people, formality might be interpreted as the sign of stiffness, while
informality to formal people might be perceived as a lack of
professionalism.
• Structured vs. flexible scheduling
• All businesses follow timetables, but in some cultures, people strictly
adhere to the schedule, whereas in others, they treat it as a
suggestion. For some, “five minutes” could mean half an hour, and
“tomorrow” could mean the next few days. In Brazil, I wouldn’t start
a meeting exactly on time. It feels disrespectful not to wait a bit for
the late comers. In the UK, not starting the meeting on time might be
considered disrespectful towards those who made it to the meeting
on time.
• Egalitarian vs. hierarchical
• Team members from more egalitarian countries, such as Sweden,
may be accustomed to voicing their unfiltered opinions and ideas,
while those from more hierarchical cultures tend to speak up only
after more senior colleagues have expressed their views. I ran quite
a few audits in Morocco, and people’s behaviours were totally
different, depending on whether their bosses were in the same room
or not.
• Sources of Cultural Barriers
• Language (Semantic): Language is considered as the most crucial barrier
in cross-cultural communication. Since verbal communication is important in
every context, the understandings of the meaning of words are also
important. The language barrier occurs not only because of differences in
language but also in the forms of a variety of dialects. The examples are of
Chinese and Russian language where different dialects are used in several
parts of the country. If one communicator is not aware of the exact meaning,
it will create misunderstanding and lead to a conflict of ideas.
• Cultural norms and values: Each culture hold its own values, meaning
and norms different from another. This difference is caused because of
truth, belief and judgment through which they acquired knowledge about
society and culture. For example, in eastern countries like India, Pakistan,
Srilanka the meaning of physical proximity is different from that in western
countries. In western culture, people share physical proximity or closeness
only with the persons whom they know. This is the reason we can find a
calm and quiet environment in public transportation in western countries. On
contradictory, we can find a huge, crowded environment in Indian suburban
and metro rail transports.
• Values and Beliefs: The differences in values and
beliefs in cultures also create a barrier in communication.
The difference in the level of acceptability in cultures is
an example. The reasons behind these are influenced by
religion, political environment or epistemology. Rokeach
in his book “The Nature of Human Values “(1979)
defines the value as ‘a type of belief that is centrally
located within one’s total belief system’. Values tell us
about people’s behaviour. Values may be explicit (stated
overtly in a value judgement) or implicitly (inferred from
nonverbal behaviour), and they may be individually held
or seen as a part of a cultural pattern or system. Every
country has numerous religions practised by its people.
so the differences in their values and beliefs are also an
example of cultural barriers.
• Body language and gestures: Body language
and gestures are another elements of the
cultural barrier. It is impossible to communicate
without body language and gestures. It provides
meaning and justification for communication. In
conservative societies like Arab and African
countries, greeting opposite gender by shaking
hands or hugging is considered as ill-manner or
even moral crime. But in the western world it is
common practice to shake hands while we meet
people.
• Overcoming Cultural Barrier
• It is important to avoid or overcome any kind of
barrier for any successful and effective
communication. Especially in context of cross-
cultural communication, it is important to avoid
all types of cultural barriers. It will create tension
between different cultural contexts. The reasons
for wars between two countries, business revelry
are may be due to cultural barriers between
communications. The following are the points
which we need to keep in mind to avoid cultural
barriers in communication:
• Avoid frame of reference
• Use mutual language and signs
•  Ask questions when in doubt
• Provide space for mutual respect
• Open to new ideas
• Accepting and adapting the different culture
• Understand the context of communication
• Avoid Stereotyped notions
• Promote positive reception of cultural divergences
• Learn about other cultures and their norms
• Cross-cultural Case Studies: The East
and West
• Businesses need to take steps to understand a culture prior to
engagement
• I’ve listened to several frustrating accounts of friends working in
China or having difficulty engaging with their Asian employees and
students. With my experience dealing with clients from China,
engineers from Germany, programmers from India, and partners
from all over the United States with diverse backgrounds, I was
inspired to launch my cross-cultural communications startup. Here
are some things I learned along the way.
• Case Study: Amanda goes to China
• Here is the story of Amanda, an entrepreneur who went to China
with a dream of expanding her business overseas. She expressed
to me how challenging and frustrating it was to get things done on
time and to get feedback from her local team. She said she would
ask her Chinese staff to do certain tasks and they would always
agree only to disappoint her by not meeting her expectations and
deadlines.
• When I asked Amanda about her interactions with staff outside of
work, she said that she refused to mix work with pleasure. She
normally grabbed lunch alone and ate it at her desk so that she
could continue working. After listening to Amanda, it was clear to me
that she had no idea how different her American cultural behaviors
were from the Chinese and how it was deterring her from launching
a successful business in China. After 18 months, Amanda called it
quits and returned to San Francisco.
• I stayed in touch with Amanda and asked her if she would do
anything differently. She paused for a while. Then I proceeded to
ask her if she would dive into the ocean without learning how to
swim? She said, “Of course not. But what does swimming have to
do with my Chinese business?” I told her that it was my analogy for
why she would go to China without first understanding the Chinese
language and culture, prior to launching her business there.
• in this increasingly global economy, it is quite common to
meet and communicate with counterparts from all over
the world. It is also quite common to neither have
enough time to prepare, nor develop, a cultural
competency on how to communicate with these
counterparts before such interactions occur.
• Advertisement: Oftentimes, a cross-cultural encounter
ends with a lot of frustration and misunderstandings, like
the one Amanda experienced. This can cost a business
quite a lot of time, resources and money. If your
business relies on resources from other countries or
opportunities to expand abroad, you cannot afford to
make such mistakes.
• In fact, knowing how to gracefully navigate visits
to foreign markets and meetings with
international counterparts can make a huge
difference that will impact your long-term
relationships and business opportunities.
• Develop enough cultural competency to
foster effective communication across
cultures
• Start by keeping an open mind and being aware
of your own culture first. Here are some
questions to help you define your own cultural
parameter:
• What is typical of your own home country in terms of
family, gender, food, leadership, ethics, communication
style, etc.?
• How does a family structure or major institutions and
corporations work (status of the President or CEO or
head of the household in your country)?
• What are the attitudes and habits that influence the
origins and day-to-day inner workings of a family unit or
institution? Do kids respect and obey their parents or
elders?
• What values and beliefs are revealed through these
attitudes and habits? For example, about hierarchy or
power?
• Then compare your culture with another culture, and you will find the
differences and similarities that will help you better understand and respect
that other culture. Most cross-cultural responses are based on our own
reality and perspective. It is important to be open to other perspectives and
to try and put yourself in someone else’s shoes.
• Just the term “culture” alone is vague and hard to define. One of many
definitions for culture is the values and beliefs that guide social behaviors
and interactions. Amanda might have gone to China with her generalization
that Chinese culture is all about crowded places, chopsticks, rice, tea,
communists and fireworks. However, these generalizations and stereotypes
are dangerous mainly because a culture can have many subcultures and
many exceptions to its own rule.
• Take, for example, our own American culture – it consists of Latinos,
Europeans, Asians, Africans and others. Imagine if culture is like an onion
that has an outer layer of visible behaviors. What makes culture hard to
define is all of the layers you cannot see inside the core of the onion – the
unspoken attitudes and norms hidden deep inside.
• When Amanda first arrived in China, she failed to see past the
behaviors of local Chinese staff and colleagues. Her team invited
her to have lunch with them, but she refused, opting to eat on her
own. Coming from an individual culture like the U.S., Amanda had
no idea that she offended her Chinese team who made several
attempts to welcome her into the group culture but also respect her
as their leader.
• A lot of the relationship building and business negotiations are
conducted outside the office during lunches or banquets in China.
Furthermore, Amanda was so focused on tasks that she forgot how
important relationships meant to the Chinese, especially between a
manager and her staff. She never put in the time to get to know her
Chinese team and to understand why they keep saying yes to her
when tasks could not be done. She kept her own cultural
preferences without attempting to embrace the culture she threw
herself into.
• Unlike Amanda, Naomi wanted to prepare for her trip to China. She
had hosted a Chinese delegation in the U.S. but realized that there
was a level of awkwardness during this first encounter. When the
delegates invited her to China, I helped Naomi define the
dimensions of the American culture and compared them with
China’s. She quickly realized the vast differences between these
two cultures. We also went over etiquette (especially introductions
and business cards) and some of the unspoken attitudes and rules
like “face.”
• Naomi returned from her trip and told me how she gracefully glided
through the meetings without stumbling because she knew what to
expect. In fact, because she took the time to know and respect her
hosts’ culture, she was able to establish a level of comfort and trust.
Her hosts, in return, introduced her to even more business partners
and opportunities.
• bottom Line: Learn about cross-cultural
communication before you engage in global
business
• If you want to stay competitive in the global
marketplace, don’t end up like Amanda. Do
consider looking into cross-cultural
communication so that you can build a more
meaningful connection and develop
relationships and a business that will last for the
long haul.