This is the last tip in this series to get extreme with clarity in cross-cultural communication. And we end with a basic best practice and yet it is the hardest. Like most of the other cross-cultural communication tips to succeed in today’s tip it takes personal effort and practice.

Clarity In Cross-Cultural Communication Tip 30

Here is today’s tip:

Try to see your communication from the other person’s viewpoint

Of course, if when we are able to see things from the other person’s viewpoint, it is easy to communicate clearly. We understand what needs to be explained and how to approach the communication. We know how to make the connection for an effective conversation. Clarity of communication become obvious.

But it is not easy to see your communication from the other person’s viewpoint.

Beginner’s Over Confidence

It often seems to me that we are more confident in our understanding of the other person’s viewpoint when we are novice in cross-cultural communication. It is often only with experience that we realize just how far we are from being able to put ourselves in the other person’s shoes and seeing things as he sees them.

Personal Limitations

In practice, after spending years working with specific cultures I can look back and see my own limitations. Of course, compared to others I have a very intimate understanding some cultures. For example my understanding of the French, Malay, British and Canadian cultures as a “foreigner” goes very deep. But I have encountered barriers within myself that stop me from becoming “native”.

Of course, I usually have an excellent understanding of the viewpoints of the people from these cultures. I can anticipate reactions and adapt my communication to improve clarity for the other person. But I will always communicate with these cultures from my own personal cultural standpoint.

In international business, this level of cultural understanding is usually more than enough. As I mentioned earlier, with experience you realize the distance that separates you from other cultures. This is because you become aware of your own limitations.

What’s Next

Leave a comment below and tell me how happy or frustrated you are with your understanding of different cultural viewpoints and how this effects your international business.

Cross-Cultural Communication Calendar

Look out for the calendar for 30 days to get extreme with clarity, published later this week and free to download.

International Sales Best Practices

Just like with the last Cross-Cultural Communication Challenge, we will review each of these tips to see how they fit into international sales best practices.

Build Trust

Our next Cross-cultural Communication Challenge will be on trust and it will be in September.

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

• Cultural Perception Of The Use Of Information
• International Perceptions Of Obama’s Inauguration News Coverage
• Customizing Content For Your Clients

Post from: Cindy King

Clarity In Cross-Cultural Communication – Tip 30

It is not always easy to get a global vision of your cross-cultural communication. Sometimes it takes a little digging to understand the real conversation. This global vision can often show you where you need to get extreme clarity in your communication.

Clarity In Cross-Cultural Communication Tip 29

Today’s tip reminds us not to get complacent and to continually look for ways to improve our communication:

Look for reasons behind for questions especially if they are recurring questions

When a question surprises you or appears out of context, this should raise your attention. And if the similar questions pop up more than once, there is usually a need for more clarity in your communication.

It is easy to excuse these little signals as part of the cultural differences of the other person. But the cause is not always found on the other side. Remember to question your own communication. The more you become aware of your contribution to the cross-cultural conversation and how this is received, the better you will become at adapting your communication for a better understanding.

Now, this might seem very basic. And it is. The truth is that many things take place during some cross-cultural encounters and it is easy to forget some basic communication best practices. International professionals develop strong mental multi-tasking skills to monitor the cross-cultural communication as a whole. This is how you can usually pick up signals for the need for more clarity in the communication.

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

• International Customer Experience
• Cultural Differences In Testimonials
• Who Should You Get To Write Your Foreign Language Web Content

Post from: Cindy King

Clarity In Cross-Cultural Communication – Tip 29

Notice the changes in how the links are presented below? They are now listed by the Useful Resource Page. The most useful links are added onto these pages every week. What else is new this week?

International Social Media Marketing

Twitter plays a big role in my international social media marketing. But it is only one part. During the last month, I took the time to revise my social media marketing strategy as a whole. Here are the big changes:

• Facebook Fan Pages for CindyKing.biz and for Get International Clients
• More social bookmarking activity for a wider  presence on StumbleUpon, Delicious, Mixx, Reddit and BizSugar
• A new Posterous profile
• Improved strategic social bookmarking with an action plan adapted to my business

The good news is that this brings extra visibility to every link I tweet about.  So…

Please remember to DM me @CindyKing if you have anything of interest on cross-cultural competence and international business… not only will you get a tweet, but you will probably also get some extra social bookmarking.

Last Week’s Tweet Strategy

This last week personal priorities kept me from implementing the new and improved scheduled Tweet Plan. But it is coming soon. I promise.

In the meantime I continued with what I refer to as “CNN broadcasting”. This is where I simply tweet or retweet any useful information found during routine monitoring of key topics of interest to my business.

This means that I now have sufficient data to compare the results from my first Scheduled Tweet Plan to this “CNN broadcasting”. And the results are obvious. My first Scheduled Tweet Plan won hands down in bringing me the contacts I want to make on Twitter. So, I am anxious to get the new and improved Scheduled Tweet Plan into TweetLater as soon as I can.

Cross-Cultural Communication Challenge to Get Extreme With Clarity

We are on the home stretch for the Cross-Cultural Communication Challenge to Get Extreme With Clarity. The second mini-poster calender with all 30 tips to Get Extreme With Clarity from this Cross-Cultural Communication Challenge will soon be available, so remember to check back soon.

Do you have an interesting or useful link on international business, or of cultural interest? Tweet me a link.

International Market Research Rolodex

1. BrazilTradeNet - the trade promotion portal of Brazil’s Ministry of External Relations
2. iCityData.com for US client research – you can also compare data
3. Top 55 Reference Websites

Marketer’s Rolodex

4. Free International Marketing Lessons from the Marketing Teacher’s Lesson Store

International Business Tools

Jobs

1. Recruiting Across Cultures: How to ensure effective Cross-Cultural Communication By Moni Lai Storz
2. International Job Opportunities: The Riley Guide – Resources Covering Multiple Countries and/or Regions
3. Looking for a way to finance your an international travels? Teach Abroad: International Teaching Positions
4. Do you teach English as a Second Langauge? TESall.com – 4000+ ESL jobs
5. Are you an engineer looking for a international work? Expat Engineering Jobs
6. Do you work in the oil industry and want an international job? OIL CAREER Employment Resource Center
7. Do you work in the agriculture, food and biotechnology industries and want international work? AgCareers.com
8. Here is a large collection of mainly US Marketing Jobs – Marketing Hire.com

International Marketing Links

9. How To Write a White Paper to Attract Clients - Dumb Little Man
10. Commodities: If Iran Blows, Watch Oil – International Business Times – via @lean6s
11. South Korea Moving Gingerly Toward Being a Multicultural Society – via @HubWNNews
12. @pascalrodmacq – thank you for the tweet on Business Networking on #ecademy
13. It’s Inti Raymi – the Festival of the Sun in Peru
14. Quotations from Women about Women - Some Pretty Funny Stuff
15. Cross-Cultural Communication: Individualism vs Collectivism - @Bears4Life
16. Cross-Cultural Schoolbus Comparison: Japan & Pakistan – via @washingtonBNN
17. Huge opportunity for Multicultural Marketers: Hispanic population boom fuels rising US diversity #cnn RT @richardslerma
18. There Are No Shortcuts -To reach multicultural consumers, take the time to get it right
19. What happens when east meets west? Simple diagrams to explain cultural differences – interesting approach
20. US-France intercultural tricks: learn to know your “over-the-Atlantic” neighbour – via @euractiv
21. RT @diffblog – Cross-cultural support for gender stereotype threat - food for thought
22. Sophistimunity – a blog in English & Chinese on cross-cultural & international topics – via @sophistimunity
23. Intercultural marriages are more difficult – via @Brasilmagic
24. Australia is multicultural AND racist, says study – via @DynamicExport
25. Is multicultural marketing the answer for an adverse market? “take advantage of Puerto Rico” – DMNews
26. Cultural differences in shopping: USA versus Germany
27. Metric versus Imperial – How to thoroughly confuse Germans: Take away the metric system
28. “You do not do cross-cultural communication by doing away with your culture” – Stephen Mansfield – via @JeffPelletier
29. Multicultural festivals across England - via @GuardianTravel Do multicultural festivals increase awareness?
30. European Journal of Cross-Cultural Competence & Management <1st Issue> (Limited Time – access to PDFs) – RT @WestPeter
31. There Are No Shortcuts – an article for anyone in multicultural marketing RT @HipCricketHR @TeleNoticias_ @Ojibray
32. For Multicultural Marketers – 10 things you should know about U.S. Hispanics – via @Creative_Gal
33. Should it be a handshake, kiss or salam? In multicultural Malaysia, it’s hard to say – via @allmalaysia
34. To Reach Multicultural Youth, Go Mobile - via @realtimenoel
35. Why is International Internet Marketing so Important?

Language Skills

36. Living Abroad: How to Choose the Country Best for You
37. Learn a Foreign Language for Free – 10 Great Starting Points for Language Education
38. My Happy Planet - Learn & Practice English, French, Spanish and More with Partners Around the World
39. Canadianisms and Their Translations! – via @michelfortin
40. Top 100 Language Blogs 2008 – Nominate your top language blogs for the 2009 list here
41. World Languages Map – some of the many languages of the world, where they are spoken & how many people speak them
42. Top Study Abroad Programs – sorted by language – Lexiophiles
43. 50 Multicultural Books Every Child Should Read - via @littlebrownjen @humanspectrum @TheJuiceBoxx
44. Multicultural Children’s Literature – via @MarisaCamarillo

Social Media

45. RT @paul_mccord – Your company needs a social media strategy. Cindy King discusses how to set one
46. #followfriday recommendations for great tweets & info @mintblogger @Wchingya @rjleaman @eeUS @johnhaydon @jmoonah @PetLvr – RT @Rebecca_M
47. Got Green? - stands for something meaningful, not a mad Hulk
48. Live Blogging June 26-27 on Cross Cultural Management, you can read about it here – via @asiadigitalau @wickedboy
49. Useful Social Media Marketing Strategies – via @ploked
50. Forrester on the practicalities of European Social Media Marketing: It is early days - via @itsopen
51. 300 Case Studies Of Social Media Marketing #socialmedia – via @marioOlckers
52. Interesting round table video IN FRENCH – POUR LES FRANCOPHONES – Community manager, un poste à responsabilité
53. Which social media application to use for my business? – A few short questions and Hunch will give you the answer
54. @fredbascunana – @Akostic took the words out of my mouth: Très bonne vidéo sur le community management - Great round table
55. RT @sbaudart – @sophiemaheo BRAVO! Vidéo – Community manager, un poste à responsabilité – French social media insights
56. The 6 Spheres of Social Media Marketing – Print the useful diagram – RT @russrave @netSpray @Webtweet
57. The Top 20 Business Reasons To Use Social Media Marketing – Examiner.com – via @bestonline
58. Facebook movie coming soon, Zuckerberg not pleased – International Business Times
    
59. Blogs Aren’t Dead, They’re Just Fragmenting - via @michelfortin
    
60. Social Media – Why Sometimes It IS About You – and why you have to be someone your customers are happy to be with
61. Facebook to Emulate Twitter’s Follower Model With Profile Fans
62. 100 Creative Twitter Backgrounds Featuring Illustration
63. 10 incredibly cool WordPress shortcodes – found a couple that I want to try

Trivia

64. Game to match ethnic photos with regions of the world – Questions of Race and Racism – from University of Auckland
65. Layers of Life – Educational journey to the island of Sumatra to explore life in the rain forest
66. Interesting “Wordle” 4 US Presidents speeches on Islam – WSJ
67. 10 Breathtaking Viewing Platforms around the World
68. MIT Visualizing Cultures – reconstructing the past as people of the time visualized the world
69. Save Our Sounds Audio Map of the World - BBC
70. 100+ Portraits of Iconic People of All Time
71. The World’s 10 Most Unique Islands
72. 12 Of The Most Iconic Photographs Ever Taken
73. 12 Greatest Low-Tech Inventions
74. 10 Fascinating Frozen Wonders of Nature
75. Top 10 Protest Symbols – a Photo Essay from TIME

Videos

76. List of the 100 Most Iconic Internet Videos that made the Internet such a wonderful place
77. Parody of “Tweet It” sang to “Beat It” – RT @leonotgay @atizine @ripmJ4eva
    
78. Do You Speak English? - A good example of British comedy – BBC
79. Short YouTube video with some of the standard stereotypes about French people
80. YouTube Video with insights into the Turkish way of life – I enjoyed watching this one
81. YouTube video AUF DEUTSCH – Sorry you need to speak German to get this one
82. Short YouTube video illustrating cultural differences in how people count their cash
83. “Good Will Hunting Harvard” Bar Scene – a clear example of how our accents can create pre-judgments in others

World Maps

84. World Languages Map – some of the many languages of the world, where they are spoken & how many people speak them

Cross-Cultural Communication 30-Day Challenge 2 – Clarity

1. #cccctips 20 – Be sure keep your written cross-cultural communication simple
2. #CCCCtips 21 – In cross-cultural communication try rephrasing key points & difficult things to understand
3. #ccccTips 22 – In cross-cultural communication a good glossary is an invaluable tool to improve clarity
4. #ccccTips 23 – In cross-cultural communication do not forget to mention the obvious
5. #ccccTips 24 In cross-cultural communication break complex ideas into easy pieces and present them in a logical order
6. #ccccTips 25 – In cross-cultural communication tell others why you do things differently and explain your culture
7. #ccccTips 26 – Look for different perspectives to see how you can simplify & clarify your cross-cultural communication
8. #ccccTips 27 – Make sure that all of the elements of your cross-cultural communication say the same thing

Find more tips and links on Twitter here

• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 25 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 24 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 23 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 22 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 21 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 20 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 19 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 18 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 17 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 16 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 15 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 14 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 13 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 12 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 11 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 10 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 9 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 8 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 7 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 6 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 5 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 4 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 3 of 2009
• Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 2 of 2009
• 301 Twitter Culture Tips & International Links

Post from: Cindy King

Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 26 of 2009

When you have a global vision over all aspects of your cross-cultural conversation it is much easier to pick up on any areas where you need to add clarity. Striving to pay attention to everything is one reason why it can be tiring in the beginning.

Some businesses prefer to have a team of 2 people to attend a cross-cultural meeting. One person focuses on the agenda of the meeting and the other person focuses on the conversation as a whole. Even though I have never personally worked within these specific roles, I have found it natural to compare impressions after a cross-cultural meeting. But don’t forget, if you need strong international skills you will also need to become skilled at multi-tasking mentally.

Clarity In Cross-Cultural Communication Tip 28

So now you have a global vision of your cross-cultural communication, now what?

Notice similarities where glitches happen in your communication.

Here are a few guidelines for you to start thinking about how you can improve the clarity of your communication:

• Look for similarities in how things happen.
• Look at what worked well and what didn’t.
• When the business deal has been concluded, review your communication to see if you can improve your understanding of what went well and what didn’t.

This is how you can develop your cross-cultural skills and learn where you need to improve your clarity. This is something you can only learn through practice. So remember to do this after each cross-cultural encounter. It only takes a few minutes to mentally go over things in your head.

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

• Which Directories are You Relying on?
• Cultural Dimensions – A New Tool
• Where Cultural Miscommunication Happens

Post from: Cindy King

Clarity In Cross-Cultural Communication – Tip 28

In verbal cross-cultural communication it is useful to add similar tactics used in written communication. They improve your clarity when speaking, just as much as they do in writing.

Clarity In Cross-Cultural Communication Tip 27

Here is today’s tip:

Make sure that all of the elements of your communication say the same thing

Sometimes we let our thoughts drift from one subject to another. People that speak your language and come from the same environment usually follow your conversation. But with people from other cultures and non-native English speakers this can be very challenging. They might not understand you or they might understand something different.

An internal edit of your communication will tell you when you need to make your conversation easier for everyone to follow. You will be surprised what a few words can do to improve clarity.

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

• Adjust Your Own English Communication To Meet Other Language Levels
• Stop Pushing Your Foreign Visitors Away
• What Is Your Culture On The Social Web?

Post from: Cindy King

Clarity In Cross-Cultural Communication – Tip 27

To get extreme with clarity in cross-cultural communication we have already looked at listening, assumptions, awareness, simplifying and explaining. The last series of 5 tips is focused on using a global vision.

Clarity in a cross-cultural communication can get lost in cultural differences. And these cultural differences may or may not be easy to see. This is why you need to keep your eyes and ears open to identify areas that need more clarity.

Clarity In Cross-Cultural Communication Tip 26

Here is today’s tip:

Look for different perspectives to see how you can simplify and clarify your communication

This reminds us not to continually see the cross-cultural conversation from our own viewpoint. The more aware you are of the other person’s viewpoint the easier it is to communicate with clarity.

Although this can seem challenging when you first start in international business, it becomes much easier with a little bit of experience. In fact, when you become familiar with a specific culture, your ability to see the other person’s viewpoint improves and this becomes an automatic reflex.

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

• One Eye Gives Vision, Two Eyes Give Perspective
• Is Your Political Correctness Hindering Your International Communication
• International Sales Best Practice – Stick With It

Post from: Cindy King

Clarity In Cross-Cultural Communication – Tip 26

Some cultures are more open than others. Some people like to talk and some people don’t. There is one common human trait we need to remember in cross-cultural communication: we need to understand others before we can have a meaningful connection with them.

This is the last tip on improving explanations to get extreme clarity in cross-cultural communications.  Tomorrow we will look at how a global vision can improve your clarity in communication.

Clarity In Cross-Cultural Communication Tip 25

Today’s tip reminds us of our own role in helping others to understand us:

Tell others why you do certain things differently so they can understand your cultural environment

Mistrust in foreigners is common in most cultures. We often notice the cultural differences before we notice the similarities. And in most cases cultural differences create a stronger reaction than similarities.

This means that we need to improve our understanding of different cultures before we can truly become “friends”.

When we feel the negative reaction towards a cultural difference, it is sometimes difficult for us to remember to ask “why”. Why is there a cultural difference? Instead of relying on the other person to move out of his own comfort zone to ask you why you do things differently, it is much easier and helpful for you to provide the explanation.

People with strong international skills reach out and offer explanations. These are not excuses. You are simply giving the other person an opportunity to adjust and possibly open a dialogue for further exchange and understanding.

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

• International Sales Best Practice – Have The Answers
• Is International English In Your Future?
• Customizing Content For Your Clients

Post from: Cindy King

Clarity In Cross-Cultural Communication – Tip 25

This is the fourth tip on improving your explanations to get extreme clarity in cross-cultural communication. There are many different tactics you can use to explain yourself. Some of them are obvious and most of them are simple.

Clarity In Cross-Cultural Communication Tip 24

Today’s tip is both obvious and simple to do:

Break complex ideas into easy pieces and present them in a logical order

This is obvious when you think of a professor teaching first year students or explaining what he knows to people outside of his area of expertise. In cross-cultural communication this is a very similar tactic, except for one thing… you might not think it is complex enough to warrant slowing down and spelling things out in simple terms.

Experienced international professionals develop the habit of always explaining ideas in a simple and logical format, no matter how complex these ideas seem or do not seem to be.

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

• Internationalize Your Own Communication
• Customizing Content For Your Clients
• Culture-Free Communication

Post from: Cindy King

Clarity In Cross-Cultural Communication – Tip 24