Cross Cultural Communication - More Than "Speaking the Language"

Cross cultural communication, or intercultural communication, is increasingly seen not as a "nice to have" capability but rather a required skill for success.  This is particularly true in the technical and professional fields where an idea may start in the United States, be translated through a European company/culture, only to be implemented in an African or Latin geography.

Have you ever tried to explain a complex, technical problem and solution to non-technical individuals whether they have political, regulatory, or financial influence on your proposal/solution?  If so, then you know the frustration of dealing with "cross cultural" communication challenges already; you've experienced the difficulty of communicating across different work cultures.

With this as a backdrop, you can understand why cross cultural communication is so vital to your career and personal success; you can take the concepts learned here and apply them beyond the strict intercultural communication environment.

How can you ensure success in an intercultural environment, whether due to geographically- based cultural differences or professional cultural differences?  The solution is a three step process:

1. Recognizing the cultural communication differences;
2. Understanding how those differences influence that individual's reception of your message;
3. And learning how to conveying your message in a "culturally coherent" way leads to success.

So, whether you deal in a "multicultural" environment or your goal is to improve your ability to communicate across different "professional cultures," the tips and techniques we provide throughout our cross cultural communication, communication challenges, and communication solutions pages will help successfully communicate your winning idea.

It's important to remember that once you have this foundational understanding of intercultural communication skills, you'll be prepared to apply them to any situation including your technical presentation delivery.  And ultimately, that means you'll succeed more often in selling your idea, solution, or action plan.

If you feel you'd benefit from more in-depth cross cultural communicaiton training, whether related to techniques or a specific culture, you can contact us here about our one-on-one cross cultural communication coaching or one of our regularly-scheduled small group sessions.

Otherwise, please help yourself of the following information.  We only ask one small favor from you; please contact us to let us know whether or not the information helped you, and if it was helpful, how it helped you.

Cultural Communication Differences
Cultural communication differences exist whether it's related to different countries, different religious values, different experiences, or different vocations.

Cultural Effects on Non-Verbal Communication
According to a UCLA study, up to 93% of communication effectiveness is determined by nonverbal cues. Therefore, understanding cultural differences related to nonverbal communication can mean the difference between success and failure.

Nonverbal Communication Examples
With an understanding of the importance of nonverbal communication, let us show you some examples you'll likely experience and how to ensure your nonverbal communication supports your message and contributes to your success.

Overcoming Communication Barriers
Cultural differences, whether related to geography, experiences, or vocation, can create barriers to communicating your idea or message. Let us show you some tips and techniques that will allow you to effortlessly overcome these barriers.

Cultural Communication in the Workplace
Effective workplace communication does not only determine your career success, study after study has shown the quality of your workplace communication directly correlates to your job satisfaction.

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What is culture?

"Culture is a framework in which we communicate."

  – Stephen Roberts