Trust In Cross-Cultural Communication – Tip 1

Cindy King — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 23:00:09 +0000

Cross-Cultural Communication 30-Day Challenge – Build Trust

Today starts the 3rd month-long Cross-Cultural Communication Challenge. When you first begin international business, you can feel challenged by how the cultural differences impact all aspects of business… and how funny little things can become important to good communication. No matter how much you read prior to your first cross-cultural business encounters, you can still feel uncomfortable.

Now, I’m not going to give you lists of things to do and not to do within each culture. If there is one thing I have learned more than anything else in my 25 years in the field as an international sales and marketing executive, it is that cross-cultural skills in international business requires a unique skill set. International professionals need to:

Operate with flexibility and adaptability

Process multiple sources of information at the same time

Have a sound fundamental understanding of their business

So, I would like to give you simple tips on how to broaden your perspective by breaking things down and focusing on one part of cross-cultural communication at a time.

There are many different aspects to developing good cross-cultural communication skills. This year I decided to dig deep into the 4 aspects I found the most useful in international business.Build Trust

During the first challenge we looked at how to expand your mindset to prepared for good cross-cultural communication. This is where you need to start… and you never realy stop working on mindset either. Our own mindset is the biggest hurdle in developing cross-cultural communication skills.

In the second challenge we looked at how to get extreme with clarity for great cross-cultural communication. Clarity comes second in importance in a business environment. Simply because so many initial contacts in international business do not get any results simply because they lack clarity. So many businesses cannot get their foot in the door simply because others cannot clearly grasp what is asked of them.

This month’s challenge is focused on how to build trust in cross-cultural communication. Trust is a huge issue in cross-cultural communication for international business. The main reason why trust is such a critical issue is because it is so quick and easy to lose in cross-cultural encounters. It is natural to mistrust:

Things you don’t know
People you don’t know
Different ways of doing things

In many cross-cultural circumstances, it is not trust that is the issue, it is the mistrust. Most professionals know how to use trust-building tactics to get business. International professionals learn to get proactive in:

Responding to common areas where mistrust can kick in
Avoiding to create situations which favor mistrust
Building trust… consistently, continuously and even in ways that can appear to be insignificant

This is why we are going to look at how to build trust in cross-cultural communication this month.

Smooth Cultural Differences

The first 5 tips on building trust will be on how to smooth out the cultural differences. Let’s smooth out the differences to avoid mistrust.

After this we will have a better foundation to work on building trust.

Trust In Cross-Cultural Communication Challenge – Tip 1

Keep your body language open to dialog

The first cultural differences people notice are the visible ones. Of course, there are some things we cannot change. But culture can influence our body language and people from different cultures will notice these differences in body language. So what can you do?

1 – Know Your Own Cultural Body Language

Instead of focusing on what you find “different” with other cultures you need to become aware of what other cultures notice in you.

Now, I don’t really believe everyone needs to go through cross-cultural training to understand this, and I hesitate to give any broad generalizations. There are so many differences in body language within any given culture. Different generations usually have differences in body languages. Education and social background also play a part in who we are and can show up in our body language.

The best way to learn what your body language portrays is to:

Meet up with people from different cultures
Pay very close attention to what you do
Ask cross-cultural friends
When you notice differences in others, look at what you do and explain why you do things like you do

2 – Adapt A More “Neutral” Body Language

It is almost always a good idea to try to soften any cultural differences in how you hold your body. This really depends on personal preferences, but most people who become aware of what they do that marks them culturally will try to soften the impact.

Here are some general areas to pay particular attention to:

The distance you feel comfortable from the other person and the distance they appear to want to keep
The placement of your arms… and theirs
Your facial expressions
The tone of your voice
How you hold your body compared to how others hold their bodies

3 – Adopt An “Open For Communication” Body Language

Even if you do nothing else, remember to follow the basic guidelines for a body language that is open for communication.

Do not fold your arms across your chest
Have a welcoming smile
Use the right level of eye contact

Don’t Start With Mistrust

The foundation for mistrust can be established before you even say one word. Remember to be aware of the image you project to others. Instead of focusing on how the other person is different from what you are used to, pay attention to the response you see in them and how they react to your body language.

Although your body language plays an important role in allaying fears and mistrust, it is really not that difficult to get right. With a little practice, it is easy to find the right way to approach international clients and business partners.

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Take Time To Communicate With Different Cultures

Cindy King — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 23:00:43 +0000

Cross-Cultural Communication Challenges

Today’s world is fast. And it can sometimes be too fast… Too fast for effective cross-cultural communication.

To establish a good base of communication with different cultures you need to give your full attention to the person you are speaking with.

Different Levels Of Communication

You see, communication happens on several levels and in cross-cultural communication each of these levels of communication is important.

Communication is not only about the words you speak, you also need to pay attention to:

Body language
Tone
How things are said
What is not said
The cultural meaning of what is said and how it is said

This can be quite a bit to follow all at once.

Pay Attention To Your Communication

When we are in familiar surroundings we do not always notice all of these different communication signals. We tend to only pick up the differences we are familiar with. We often focus on our own conversation and what we want to get out of it. We don’t try very hard to see things from the other person’s point of view.

This is why communication in cross-cultural environments requires more attention. Cultural differences effect communication on all levels.

When you are communicating with someone from a different culture you need to take in as much of this “extra” information as you can.

Awareness Of The Communication As A Whole

In cross-cultural encounters, you need to be aware of all of the different aspects of the communication before you can have a truly effective dialog.

You do not need to spend a lot of effort analyzing all of the details, you simply need to be aware of everything that is part of your communication in a cross-cultural environment.

This awareness of the communication as a whole, as well as a healthy dose of curiosity, will guide you to ask the right questions to connect across cultures.

Take The Time To Listen

Building strong cross-cultural skills starts with learning to listen to all aspects of the communication. This is why you need to put aside your busy habits. Busy habits keep you from picking up the whole communication.

You see, the easiest way to improve your cross-cultural communication is simply to slow down and focus on the conversation.

Forget:

Multitasking
Telephones
Over analysis
Passive listening with your own cultural filters

Simply be yourself, with quiet confidence, discreet respect, and an attentive presence. This is often the key to succeed in communicating effectively with different cultures. Quality listening and comprehensive listening skills make the difference in cross-cultural competence.

Do you listen to everything your international clients tell you?
How well do you listen to your cross-cultural clients?
What effects the quality of your listening in cross-cultural communication?

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