Are you are a manager or leader of an intercultural team? Or do you work within an intercultural company? If so, are you experiencing intercultural communication problems? If so, it might be time to focus on mastering the human communication dance. Accustomed as we are, in the West at least, to cause and effect thinking, we are convinced that surely…read more →
When one of my clients was invited to a conference in Kyoto, Japan, to give a presentation on her recently-published article in an international engineering journal, I decided to help her prepare by employing my CLEAR method. When we first met to discuss the project, Florence explained how the conference was going to be set up. The official language of…read more →
When clients first meet with me to improve their ability to communicate with colleagues and clients from other cultures, clarity is not usually at the top of their wish list. Why? Because it’s rarely at the top of anyone’s list, even those communicating within their own culture. You find that hard to believe? Well, when was the last time you…read more →
Without really thinking about it, most of us behave as if whatever we say or write in a business communication is received exactly as we intended it by the listener. The illustration at right indicates the usual way that listening is thought of. It is as if we imagine that somehow words magically float from our vocal chords (transmitters) into…read more →
Are you having trouble improving how you communicate with colleagues from other cultures? If that is the case, this should not come as a surprise, since most of us have not learned how to communicate interculturally. We have never been shown how to adapt our speaking, writing and listening to an intercultural context. So, you are not alone if you…read more →
Adapting how you communicate across cultures is an essential skill. And you no longer have to work abroad to face intercultural communication challenges. Many of my clients work in the high-tech hub of Sophia Antipolis, in southern France. They exchange daily emails, or have conferences via phone or video, with counterparts all over the world. As employees of international companies,…read more →
The first time I meet with new clients, or a group of seminar participants, who use English as a second language within an intercultural business context, I ask many questions that no one has ever asked them before. The first one I usually begin with is, “What is your unique communication style?” While most people cannot immediately answer that question,…read more →
When I first begin helping my clients adapt how they communicate within an intercultural business context, whether for a report or a presentation, the first concern they often express is that they do not have enough to say. In my experience, that is hardly ever the problem. In fact, the most fundamental problem we all face when we communicate interculturally…read more →
If you listen closely, there is a unique cry for help that can be heard within intercultural businesses everywhere. Those who work within such contexts, and who use English as a second language, are confronted with predictable challenges that they must face alone. For example, soon after I met Thierry, a manager in a large international engineering firm, he shared…read more →
What I often witness during meetings and presentations is that regardless of their cultural or professional background, or even language skills, presenters typically read aloud large numbers of facts related to their area of expertise from slides or notes. It is not reading word for word that I object to; rather, I object to these speakers not expressing any personal…read more →
This is the year you have decided to become a more effective intercultural communicator? Bravo! You can purchase and download my eBook, along with an 80-page workbook. Not sure? Read a free extract. Questions? Just ask.
