Cross-Cultural Communication Blunders
Comments on one example of cross-cultural communication hiccup three days in a row! Here is one last observation on the LeWeb incident.
You can read the first two here:
Today I want to remind you that there is no right or wrong here. This incident simply highlights our differences.
Differences In Cultural Attitudes
One of the ways a cross-cultural marketer studies these differences is through the cross-cultural behaviors defined by Geert Hulshof.
This is no exact science. It simply provides a tool for comparison.
By comparing the cultural differences using these five behavior scales, you get a better understanding.
Behavioral Scores
You can read more on behavioral scales on Get International Clients
On the Individualism versus Collectivism behavioral scale:
- Americans have the highest score for Individualism
- The French have a lower score
On the Uncertainty Avoidance behavioral scale:
- Americans have a relatively low score
- The French have a relatively high score
On the Power Distance behavioral scale:
- Americans have a relatively low score
- The French have a relatively high score
On the Masculinity versus Femininity behavioral scale, they are both towards the middle:
- Americans have a higher score
- The French have a lower score
On the High versus Low Context behavioral scale:
- Americans have a relatively low score
- The French have a relatively high score
What should you read into this? Simply…
…This is a method of measuring cultural differences.
- It is obvious there are fundamental cultural differences between the USA and France.
This means that both parties need to make an effort to meet in effective cross-cultural communication.
Balance In Communication
When you watch this video you can pick up attitudes towards different cultures.
One of the American panelists stated that it is up to the foreigners to adapt to his culture. It is obvious that he feels he does not have to make any effort to obtain effective communication with other cultures.
Now this is not possible. In order to have good cross-cultural communication you need effort on both sides.
Most of the time, the effort is not balanced. The person with the stronger cross-cultural skills will cover more distance between the two people.
Now, here is some food for thought…
If one of the two people involved does not make any effort at all, the communication is dependent on the good communication skills of the other person.
If there is any effective communication going on at all, it is thanks to the good communicator.
The good communicator has a much better understanding of the situation. He becomes a master at knowing:
- What to say
- When to say it
- How to say it
In fact, if the good communicator is the sole person working towards the communication between the two cultures, he is in control.
This does not happen often, but…
In business, do you want to hand over control to the other person?
Perception Of Communication
So what happened at LeWeb?
Well, at least one American panelist conveyed that he did not want to adapt his communication.
Yesterday I wrote about how Europeans need more time to build relationships.
Effective cross-cultural communication here was not easy.
An easy way to remedy this is to:
- Diversify the cultures on the panel. This was suggested.
- Have the same panelists return next year. You need exposure to develop good international skills. Well all started at ease just one culture.
Read more on Cross-Cultural Communication Blunders in these articles:
- The Limits Of Cultural Generalizations
- Cultural Blunders In Tele-Sales
- Should You Be Afraid Of Cultural Blunders?
- Can You Prevent All Cultural Blunders?
And read even more in the…
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
“In business, do you want to hand over control to the other person?” Now that’s a pretty good way of motivating people to be the proactive person in any relationship.
Hi Joshua,
I wondered if anyone would pick this up. I do feel this is the danger when people put their hands over their eyes and say it is up to the other person from the other culture to do all of the work in bridging the cultural gap. The person doing all the work to bridge the culture gap develops superior skills and probably has more knowledge of what is actually going on in the conversation, or business negotiation. More knowledge is more power. And such a good communicator can potentially control the conversation.
In practice, the person doing all the work can also decide not to put the effort in. Every time I feel as if I am doing 70% of the effort I evaluate my priorities. Of course, this is when I often concede that in reality I’m only doing 50% of the effort.
“Every time I feel as if I am doing 70% of the effort I evaluate my priorities. Of course, this is when I often concede that in reality I’m only doing 50% of the effort.” – Can you explain that some more? This is something I’ve struggled with and I know a lot of people have a problem with feeling they are the ones doing all the work – not just in cross culture communication, but in any relationship.
Well, after many years having to adapt my own communication to different cultures in both personal and professional environments, it is easy for me to visualize the path that separates my own natural communication with that of a person in another culture. And I actually position my communication differently when talking to people in different cultures. So I know when I am “making an effort” and then during a conversation you can usually tell whether the other person is making an effort. And I can estimate and compare “effort”.
Other thoughts… I live in France where everyone expects you to give kisses on the cheek to say hello – and you are expected to say hello to this to far too many people. After 25 years, this is still foreign, it is an “effort” for me – I’d much, much prefer a sincere look in the eyes with a smile, and this never comes with the cheek kisses. Others here do not realize this, and do not realize that this is not real communication with me. Only very close friends do. Is this an issue for me? No. If I were to insist and refuse giving cheek kisses while living here in France, it would destroy or severely delay chances of real communication with just about everyone.
So, if just about everyone I meet here in France does not realize that kisses are an “effort” to me… I probably miss the efforts other people make. And you often need to deepen the communication before you can see this. That’s why you need to be quite far along the path that separates you from the other person before you can see this or not…