First, thanks so much for taking the time to visit my site. If intercultural communication for those using English as a second language in a business context is a topic that’s of interest to you, you’ll find a lot of related content here. And if it seems useful to you, I invite you to follow me on Twitter, “like” me on Facebook or subscribe to receive new articles each week. And of course don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
I’ll start with the bad news: there are no intercultural communication tips. The truth is that improving intercultural communication will take work on your part over time — but then, what skill worth having doesn’t take some effort? The good news is that, despite what you may have been told, intercultural communication is fundamentally very simple. Why? Because it’s based on the same linguistic acts that all of us share. Once you can see those in action, and take the time to perfect them, you’re more than halfway home to intercultural communication competence, no matter what your situation and mastery of English.
The key word here is action, because mastery only comes through repeated practice. In the coming months I’ll be posting fifty concrete actions you can take to improve your intercultural communication, with the current ones listed below.
Accept Discomfort
If you want to do something that will make a much bigger difference than anything else, then examine your discomfort.
Ignore Tone
What do you do all the time that you may not be aware of? You interpret tone. By tone I mean the tonality and rhythm of the spoken and written word.
Ignore Body Language
While I am aware that there are many theories about how to interpret body language, experience has shown me that such theories are not reliable
Communicate Concisely
A lack of conciseness when speaking and writing not only leads to confusion for your listeners and readers, it undermines your confidence in your own English language skills.
Communicate Clearly
Contrary to popular opinion, communicating clearly in English as a second language is not about using the right word at the right time.
Avoid Disembodied Facts
Many of my clients who use English as a second language admit that they recognize themselves in what I call disembodied facts.
Cultivate Intercultural Trust
Trust is an important issue within intercultural business. Deciding whether you trust someone or not will influence how you work with that person in the present and in the future.
Evaluate Intercultural Mistrust
What do you do all the time that you may not be aware of? You interpret tone. By tone I mean the tonality and rhythm of the spoken and written word.
Inspire Intercultural Trust
We have double standards with regards to trust. We expect others to trust us automatically, even when we are not willing to trust others automatically ourselves.
Always Honor Promises
In this action I am suggesting that you keep your promises to everyone 100% of the time.
Make Clear Requests and Promises
This fifth and final action on trust is about how to ensure you are making clear requests and promises.
See What to Change
Few people consider looking at how they speak and listen. Given that speaking and listening is part of every domain, in everyone’s life, that seems to me like a huge oversight.
Know What Can Change
First, you can’t change other people. When I say that in my intercultural communication seminars, people often laugh.
Choose What to Change
For this action you will be exploring how to choose precisely what to change, because then you can focus your efforts. This is important, because two of the biggest challenges I see people facing every day within intercultural contexts is overwhelm and confusion.
Practice Changing
Accustomed as most of us are to a goal-oriented mindset in business, a common misconception is that we can set targets on communication changes and get there on deadline.
Express Opinions Clearly
Underlying everything that we do together in the course of our working day is constant agreement and disagreement, both spoken and unspoken.
Express Grounded Interpretations
When you express your opinions, they are your point of view about the topic at hand. But what is your opinion based on?
Build Your Intercultural Identity
Thanks to everything you say and do on a daily basis, your colleagues are forming opinions about who you are and what you can do professionally, regardless of their cultural background.
Be Aware of Intercultural Communication Blind Spots
What is missing for you? What can’t you see about how you speak and listen? Here you’ll find a dozen questions about blind spots that you may not know you have.
Take Insightful Action
Simply having knowledge of how other cultures are different from your own doesn’t automatically result in different action. Besides, what kind of action do you need to take?
Relieving Intercultural Tension
In business we all have a certain identity we wish to maintain and do not want others to form negative opinions about us. All these factors produce tension.
Master the Universal Language
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?
