Cross-Cultural Communication 30-Day Challenge – Get Extreme With Clarity
Good cross-cultural communication skills require a deep understanding of oneself. Most people rush to learn more about the other culture and do not realize that they also need to develop their own knowledge about themselves before communicating successfully with other cultures.
Clarity In Cross-Cultural Communication Tip 9
We have mentioned “assumptions” in specific circumstances already. Today’s tip gets us to dig further into our own assumptions.
Be aware of any assumptions you make and be sure to confirm these during your conversation.
This is a big one. If you do not have much experience with cross-cultural communication, it might be difficult to understand. And you might brush this tip off too lightly. Don’t worry, if you do work in an international environment, this is something that will come back and bite you. You will not be able to ignore how your own assumptions effect your cross-cultural communication.
You see, we all have them. Our assumptions take root in our cultural background. They can be such an integral part of our being that it can be hard to recognize them as assumptions. The more experience we have at identifying our own assumptions, the easier it is to recognize them.
In my experience, some of the most embarrassing culture blunders happen because assumptions were made, and not confirmed with the other party before an action was taken. If this happens to you, remember to look at:
- The assumptions you made that caused the blunder
- Whether the other person also made assumptions that you could have clarified.
Use this tip as a starting point. Think about what this means to you. Not sure what you think about this? There are a few links below for suggested reading to get you started. Follow each of these tips this month to improve your cultural skills.
Further Suggested Reading & Viewing
- Sophisticated Marketing Methods And International Sales
- The Limits Of Cultural Generalizations
- Customizing Content For Your Clients
Get All Cross-Cultural Communication Tips:
- Read more about all of the 2009 Cross-Cultural Communication Challenges
- Cross Cultural Communication Challenge 1 – Expand Your Mindset
- Cross Cultural Communication Challenge 2 – Get Extreme With Clarity
- Cross Cultural Communication Challenge 3 – Build Trust
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She is who I turn to when I have questions and you should too"
-- Chris Garrett, co-author of the "Problogger" book
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