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
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Where To Get Your CCCC Tips Every Day In June:
- Cross-Cultural Communication Challenge 2 – Get Extreme With Clarity
- By following me on Twitter @CindyKing
- By using the Twitter hashtag #cccctips
Get All CCCC Tips:
First Month: Short tips to think about
There are 4 Cross-Cultural Communication Challenges in 2009. Cross-cultural communication can be overwhelming. International business professionals are often too busy to take the time to improve their cross-cultural communication skills. This is why this challenge is divided into 4 specific areas of improvement and why the tips are very short.
| Challenge | Why | When |
| Mindset | It all starts here | March 2009 |
| Clarity | Your first priority | June 2009 |
| Trust | To bring in sales | September 2009 |
| Personal Development | For strong cultural skills | December 2009 |
These 4 different aspects of cross-cultural communication are what I found to be the most important to me throughout my 25 years of international sales and marketing. You can read more about the other monthly challenges here:
- 2009 Cross-Cultural Communication Challenges
- Cross-Cultural Communication Challenge 1 – Expand Your Mindset
Don’t forget to download the Free Mini-Poster from the first monthly challenge to Expand Your Mindset
Use Your Cultural Skills to Get More International Sales
Second Month: Short review on how to use the cultural tips to get more international sales
Are you an international business professional? Then don’t stop at this month’s challenge. After each monthly Cross-Cultural Communication Challenge, the following month reviews each one of these tips once again, this time together the corresponding International Sales Best Practices.
This is where things get fun. You will see where to put your cultural skills into practice to get more international sales. Turbo charge your learning by going through the cross-cultural communication tips once again, this time looking at them from a sales angle and through the eyes of an international sales professional.
 | Want to learn how to avoid cultural blunders? Subscribe to this blog feed. Need to turbo charge your cultural skills? Get my short cross-cultural communication tips. Ready for serious international marketing? Skype me or email me & let's grow your business. |
