Trust is an important issue when working across cultures. Deciding whether you trust someone or not will influence how you work with that person in the present and in the future. Despite the importance of trust, we take trust for granted. What I mean by that is that we rarely examine what trust is or how trust is built, and…read more →
What do you do all the time when communicating that you may not be aware of? You interpret tone. By tone I mean the tonality and rhythm of the spoken and written word. For example, have you ever noticed yourself reacting positively to what you interpret as a friendly, relaxed tone during a phone call or in an email? On…read more →
What’s the requirement of being a good intercultural communicator? Within intercultural business contexts that is a question few people ask themselves. Most simply continue to speak, write and listen in their usual way, which they learned in their native language and culture. Even when they speak another language, typically English, they don’t consider communicating differently, although that limits their ability…read more →
In the last three articles you have been exploring how to see what to change, determine what is open to change and then choose what to change in the way you communicate across cultures. But nothing happens without a final, crucial step — practice. You have to practice so that change can happen. Why? Because change is not a destination, it…read more →
In the previous two articles I explored how to see what to change and then determine whether that is open to change or not. Why? Because you can’t change what you can’t see and you cannot change what is not open to change. In this article I will be exploring how to choose precisely what to change, because then you…read more →
In the previous article we looked at the role that how you communicate plays in adapting to your intercultural context. Once you can see what to change, you can change it, right? Actually, this depends on whether what you want to change can in fact be changed. The surest road to endless frustration is trying to change something that is…read more →
Are you having difficulties adapting across cultures when communicating? Do you conclude that it’s because you are not adaptable enough? Whenever a client says “I am not adaptable enough” I hear it as a desire to change but without any clear direction of exactly what to change. As a result, they may be blaming themselves or others may be blaming…read more →
If I told you that there was a universal language that you could use in all your spoken and written business communications with people of other cultures, would you want to learn it? Right answer! In this article I will challenge some of your assumptions about the complexity of intercultural communication and show you what you can do to master…read more →
Do you expect to feel comfortable using English as a second language when writing an email, making a phone call, expressing yourself during a meeting, writing a report, giving a presentation, and so on? Which gives you the most discomfort — writing in English or speaking in English? Are you more uncomfortable with certain individuals, in front of small groups…read more →
There is an unchallenged assumption within the current conversation about the value of new group chat tools such as Slack and HipChat, which is that people innately know how to speak, write and listen effectively. I don’t mean that as an indictment of the creators or the users of these products, they simply take communication for granted. My seminar participants…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.
