Cross-Cultural Twitter Interviews

Do you want to develop your international markets, but find yourself hesitating? In my Cross-Cultural Twitter Interview series I ask everyone to share a useful tip for people starting to develop an international business. These interviews are with a very diverse group of people with strong cross-cultural skills and who often have first hand experience in business abroad.

Of course there are more tips we can add to this list. Please feel free to share yours below.

21 International Business Tips

1. Do your market and cross-cultural research! You have to find the cultural code for your product, service or business. You have to be ON CODE in your relationships.  – @deborahswallow
2. Don’t rush into it. Do Ur homework (aka research). Hire some1 who knows what U don’t.- @HoeferleConsult
3. Jump in the deep end and go do it. Work with an international company, get involved with international activities, learn and learn – @dkiernan
4. Firstly learn to win in your initial market, understand why you win, understand how internationally direct and thru partners - @dkiernan
5. travel & work for a longer period of time in different countries, make personal connections, …learning the language & books & research won’t do the trick alone !- @transdomo
6. “Research” yourself first then research the country/-ies you’re interested in – @culturematters
7. Travel the world by yourself. Skip the group tours. Walk, bike, take trains. Go out and meet your neighbors. Smile.- @PicSeshu
8. Be transparent, open, listen. In fact, develop very same qualities which r needed 2 be successful with social media – @tdebaillon
9. One bit of advice to people in international business is be prepared to make mistakes so don’t forget to have fun – @DR4Ward
10. Develop cultural proficiency: knowing when to listen, when to ask for help and when to speak – @XCulture
11. Treat the world as a big domestic market and be sensitive to it.  I do not mean be homogeneous, but you can’t be limited by thinking inside your borders.  If you want to trade internationally, you cannot perceive there to be a border around your own country. – @jackyan
12. Without language skills, you can’t hope to fully understand the country, its business, and most everyday aspects. – @CotterHUE
13. Come to Canada, it’s all here, we’re host to over 200 cultures… plus, we cross markets every day; it’s a fascinating consumer base ..seriously? advice for those interested in international business: do your research/homework – @DoreenatDMS
14. In another country, trying to speak the language brings many advantages… even if they know yours – @pocketcultures
15. Learn about the cultures and customs of those you work/do business with. Learning a bit of their lingo shows respect – @psitutor
16. Read, research & ask: from local business practices, legislation, & policies, to history, traditions and everyday life – @culturalrealms
17. Know about their culture before you pitch in. A friendly gesture in local lingo can remove all the barriers…I’ve witnessed business deals getting finalized simply because both parties gave due respect to each others’ culture. – @mintblogger
18. If you are interested in international business, start to read an international magazine, e.g. The Economist. – @lyceum
19. Learn a new language. It takes years, but depending on translation and interpretation is expensive, and will never capture the whole cultural context of a conversation or relationship. Unless you use @LCWllc ’s translation services, of course. – @SeanJamesOliver
20. Have confidence in what you bring to the table but be flexible with what others bring to the table – @DavidComp
21. For people interested in int’l business…combine cross-cultural experience with learning cross-cultural theory… the theory helps illuminate the experience. Both are important. - @CateBrubaker

What Is Your Tip To Improve International Business Skills?

What do you find most useful in developing international business skills?

• What’s your favorite tip?
• Does one stand out and resonate with you?
• Do you have another one to add?

Go ahead and share your international business tips below.

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

21 International Business Tips

Twitter Interviews – #CKinterview

Today’s Cross-Cultural Interview is with Cate Brubaker . Cate is the person behind the Twitter handle @CateBrubaker.

Cate Brubaker specializes in intercultural education. By day, Cate is a Cross-cultural Program Development Manager for an international education organization. By night, she’s a blogger, author, and consultant. Cate is also co-founder and President of SIETAR-NC and Marketing Co-chair for the 2010 SIETAR-USA conference. She is based in the U.S. but has lived in Germany and traveled throughout Europe, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.

This is a 2 part interview:

• Part 1 – The Blog Interview
• Part 2 – The Twitter Interview for 10 Cross-Cultural & International Questions

Cate Brubaker – Part 1

Hi Cate, for those who don’t know you, can you please tell us something about yourself?

Cate Brubaker : Hi everyone! I grew up among the evergreen trees of Oregon and now live in the land of barbecue and sweet tea, otherwise known as North Carolina. I’ve also lived in Germany and the Midwestern U.S. – places where winter lasts entirely too long.

I’m married, and although my husband and I would like to live abroad again, we’re enjoying getting to know the “the South.”

My career path so far: candy store, catering, English teacher, German teacher, grad student, study abroad, intercultural trainer…

I’m trying to figure out how to be a professional round-the-world backpacker.

How did you pick up your cross-cultural skills?

Cate Brubaker : Experience. Study. Mistakes. Lots and lots of each.

As a kid I was drawn to anyone who wasn’t from “around here.” I remember being really, really curious about the rest of the world. I wanted to explore and understand other countries on their terms and turf.

At 16, I got my chance, thanks to the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Program. The year I spent living in Germany – my first time traveling outside the U.S. – was difficult, exhilarating, and the reason I’ve worked cross-culturally ever since.

I studied German in college and grad school, spent a couple more years in Germany, and traveled whenever I could. I spent a lot of time trying to understand my (sometimes negative) reactions and interpretations…but I often felt stuck, and sometimes I just couldn’t understand or even explain the cultural rifts I encountered.

When I was teaching, and especially when I worked for a study abroad program in Germany, I noticed that many of my students had similar difficulties. I wanted to learn how to guide my students (and myself) into deeper cross-cultural learning. One thing led to another, and I discovered the field of intercultural communication. I felt like a whole new world had opened up to me. I dove into studying everything I could get my hands on.

Nowadays I strive to maintain a balance of keeping up with theory and putting myself in cross-cultural situations that stretch me. Developing cross-cultural skills is a life-long endeavor.

How do you use your cross-cultural skills in your job?

Cate Brubaker : My job requires me to walk my cross-cultural talk every day. Some days I’m more successful than others!

In my day job, I not only have colleagues from around the world, I also facilitate workshops for intercultural audiences. My job sometimes takes me outside the U.S. (I’ve worked with educators in Europe, the Caribbean, and Central and South America).

One thing I’ve learned in my current job is that my cross-cultural skills aren’t only applicable in situations where I’m working with people from other countries – they’re also useful when working with my U.S. colleagues who sometimes have very different communication styles, backgrounds, and perspectives than I do.

One example: early on in my current job I was moved into a department I really didn’t want to work in. One I didn’t think I belonged in. I remember feeling like I’d moved to another country because everything seemed so foreign. Then it hit me: I could put my cross-cultural skills to work, even though everyone on my team was the same nationality as me.

During the year I spent in that department I strove to understand my new department’s perspectives, communication styles, and values. Was it a difficult year? Yes. But I’m so grateful for the experience because I gained a deeper understanding – and respect – for the work my colleagues do.

Can you tell us about your blog?

Cate Brubaker:

Isn’t it interesting that we all grow up learning a culture? And even more interesting, that school is one of the places where we learn it?

We at CulturallyTeaching are fascinated by this connection between education and culture. A favorite elementary school teacher, a student’s interaction with her host mother, even a photo of a school lunch – these stories communicate culture.

Our mission is simple: document stories about education across cultures.

CulturallyTeaching is run by a team of 3: me – from the U.S., Anamaria, who is originally from Romania but lives in the U.S., and Pamela, a teacher who just returned home to Argentina after 3 years in the U.S.

Here are a couple CulturallyTeaching posts your readers might enjoy:

43 cross-cultural quotes for the classroom
Sleeping in school – a cultural thing?
I’ve ‘turned on my Romanian’

Our goal is to create a community of educulturalists – people interested in the intersection between education and culture. We’re always looking for people to share their experiences with CulturallyTeaching, so if any of your readers are interested, please contact us. Don’t be shy, we’ll make it as easy as possible for you to share your story. We believe everyone has a story to tell.

I have a couple of lists I’m building here on this blog, and wonder if you have anything you would like to share.

Do you have a favorite movie that could help people understand cultural issues?

Cate Brubaker: A few of my favorites: L’auberge Espagnole (captures some universal elements of studying abroad), Good Bye Lennon (humorous take on the fall of the Berlin wall), 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (drama set in 1980′s Romania)

Do you have a book you could recommend to help others improve their cultural insights?

Cate Brubaker: Lost in Translation: Life in a New Language by Eva Hoffman – a powerful book that’s also a delight to read.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

Cate Brubaker: What I love about blogging and being on Twitter and Facebook is connecting with people all over the world. Even though I’d love to spend a year traveling the world and documenting people’s stories about education and culture in person, I really enjoy engaging with and learning from people online.

I’d especially love to connect with people from parts of the world I don’t have as much experience with as I’d like – Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Oceania.
Thanks for interviewing me, Cindy. I’ve enjoyed reading the other interviews you’ve done, and I’m thrilled to be part of the series.

Cate, thank you for sharing so much with us in this portion of the interview already. I’m looking forward to hearing your answers to the 10 Cross-Cultural Questions on Twitter with you later today.

Cate Brubaker – Part 2 – The Twitter Interview

This is an interview series of the people I recommend you follow on Twitter for the cross-cultural and international business insights in their tweets.

More Twitter Interviews

• Martin Lindeskog – @lyceum
• Rajeev Edmonds – @mintblogger
• Rossitza Ohridska-Olson – @culturalrealms
• Charmayne Paul – @psitutor
• Lucy Chatburn – @pocketcultures
• Doreen Iannuzzi – @DoreenatDMS
• Donna Jackson – @wisequeen
• Chris Cotter – @CotterHUE
• Jack Yan – @jackyan
• Silvia Cambié – @XCulture
• Bill Ward – @DR4WARD
• Thierry De Baillon – @t_de_baillon
• Seshu – @PicSeshu
• Neil Urquhart – @culturematters
• Klaus & Flavia Westerwelle – @transdomo
• Donagh Kiernan – @dkiernan
• Christian Hoeferle – @hoeferleconsult
• Caroline – @ohh_la_la
• Deborah Swallow – @DeborahSwallow
• Steve Roesler – @steveroesler
• Matthew Bennett – @matthewbennett

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

Twitter Interview With Cate Brubaker

Resources

Darren Rowse over at Problogger asked for readers to share a list of bloggers relevant to their industry. A few readers have already shared some good lists.  I particularly liked reading the list of Translation and Localization bloggers.  So I decided to share the list of bloggers I read to stay current.

UPDATE: Darren Rowse has now compiled a list of 47 Lists of Bloggers to Watch in 2010 – well worth looking at!

Cross-Cultural & International Bloggers

You need cross-cultural and international business skills in order to develop your business internationally. What’s interesting is that I find these same cross-cultural skills also help me in social media.  Strong people skills are always useful.

No matter how strong these people skills are you still need to nurture them.  And it’s also important to do this to stay competitive in today’s changing international business environment. This is why it’s a good idea to follow a variety of blogs to help maintain these skills.

Here is the list of bloggers with strong cross-cultural or international profiles that I like to follow.

• Some of these blogs are focused on personal relationships or travel. although this may seem to have little to do with international business, the truth is that you can often learn a lot by observing these different situations.
• Some of these blogs are very business focused, usually with a specific topic. And again, they often give insights into cultural barriers for international business.
• Some of the bloggers are new to international business and some are old pros.

This mixture works for me.  Let me know what you think.

1. Ad Sheik – this is a blog for advertisers who want to reach multicultural audiences
2. All About Race – a blog on race in America to share, discuss, argue, learn, teach, laugh and understand
3. All Things Workplace - Steve Roesler is an international management consultant and also blogs about topics with international insights
4. American German Business Blog – Klaus & Flavia Westerwelle are Germans based in the US helping businesses go international
5. Anastiasia Ashman – Furthering the Worldwide Cultural Conversation
6. Asia Biz Blog - Rich Kuslan blogs on China business and law
7. Bella’s Boliva Blog – a blog with trivia and news from the eastern region of Bolivia
8. Career By Choice - Megan Fitzgerald blogs to help expatriates improve their careers
9. Chanda Communications - Silvia Cambie blogs on cross-cultural connections
10. Chinese & Chosen – An interactive report on the intersection of Chinese & Jewish in NYC
11. Cross-Cultural Moments – Elizabeth Abbot’s blog on transforming international living into personal and professional progress
12. Cultural Realms – Rossitza Ohridska blogs about cultural discovery, the business of cultural tourism, emerging destinations, internet strategies and world travel
13. Culturally Teaching – Cate Brubaker share lots of cross-cultural insights here, not only for teaching or teachers
14. Deborah Swallow – Deborah Swallow blogs on intercultural communication
15. Dot Global – Joe Kutchera’s blog on marketing to Spanish-language consumers
16. Family On Bikes - Between North & South Poles, a family biking and blogging from Alaska to Argentina
17. Fluent In 3 Months – Benny Lewis’s blog of unconventional language learning tips as he travels the world
18. From Power To Poverty – interesting blog by Duncan Green, Head of Research for Oxfam GB
19. Fusion View - Yang-May Ooi’s blog on cross-cultural topics
20. Global Business Perspectives – Beverly Cornell interviews people with international profiles
21. Global Coach Center - Margarita Gokun Silver blogs about being a cross-cultural coach
22. Global Voices – A vibrant global community of more than 150 active volunteer authors and translators and more than 20 freelance part- time regional and language editors
23. globalEDGE International Business Blog - to keep current on international business and global trade
24. Gori Girl – A blog on interracial relationships and advice by a white girl with an Indian husband
25. Intercultural Eyes – Bettina Hansel’s blog with a geographic & interculturalist perspective
26. Intercultural Talk – The blog where Deanna Shoss teaches us to engage & delight in cultural differences
27. International Higher Education Consulting Blog – This is where David Comp blogs about studying abroad – great resource
28. International Trade Law News – Where Doug Jacobson blogs about news, analysis and information on export controls, sanctions, customs law, FCPA, antidumping and other international trade issues
29. Investing In Africa – Ryan Shen Hoover’s blog on Africa is an interesting read
30. Jack Yan – The Persuader – Jack has a strong cross-cultural background and shares a wide variety of interests on his blog
31. Maidsfield Blog – Donagh Kiernan blogs about partnering into international markets
32. Matthew Bennett – Matthew blogs on culture, law, business and politics in the UK and Spain, as well as the Spanish and English languages, English-Spanish translation and Spanglish Lex
33. Original Wavelength - Rana Sinha’s blog on cross-cultural issues, culture, psychology, inter-cultural management and communication, international business, team-working and human resource development and management (HRD and HRM).
34. Pocket Cultures – a great group of bloggers from all over the world
35. Racialicious – Carmen Van Kerckhove blogs at the intersection of race and pop culture
36. RW3 Culture Wizard – An interesting blog, stimulating cross-cultural skills for business
37. Southeast Schnitzel – Christian Höferle blogs about cultural topics and German business
38. Technicultr - Jessica Faye Carter’s blog on multicultural social media news
39. Textappeal – Elliot Polak shares insights on Culture Shocks in global media and marketing
40. The Art Of Nonconformity – Chris Guillebeau blogs about his travels and his cultural insights can help you open your own mindset
41. The Four Hour Work Week – Tim Ferris often shares unique insights about his travels on his blog
42. The Global Small Business Blog – Laurel Delaney’s blog helps small businesses go global
43. The International Entrepreneur - Becky DeStigter likes to blog about international business
44. Touch Points – Steve Finikiotis has extensive international business experience and often shares useful insights on his blog
45. Translator Power – Amadou M. Sall is an active cross-cultural online connector and this is his blog

And don’t forget this blog: CindyKing.biz

There’s More

You can also find some more links to interesting websites on the Resources page.  And if you want an easy way to connect with these bloggers, have a look at the Twitter Resources page for the links to the Twitter handles and Facebook & LinkedIn profiles for many of the bloggers listed above.

What about you? Do you have any favorite cross-cultural and international bloggers not on this list?  Please share them in the comments below.

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

45 Cross-Cultural & International Bloggers To Watch In 2010

Cross-Cultural Differences

Cultural mistakes can happen when doing something as simple as setting an appointment. This follows on from by recent article on cultural confusion about the date of a deadline.

Here are five cultural differences in how we communicate times and dates that can lead to misunderstandings.

1. Fun With Half Hours

Some cultures use expressions where a “half hour” can mean 30 minutes before the hour referenced and not after the hour. This can lead to confusion when “half nine” means 8:30 and not 9:30.

This can happen when a non-native English speaker uses literal translations from their own language which uses such expressions.  But there are even native English speakers in some parts of the world who use similar expressions.

This type of mistake usually happens when speaking as most people write out the numbers.

Takeaway: Always be clear in how you say the time.

2. At Ease With 24 Hour Clocks

Here in Europe most businesses refer to time using the 24 hour clock.

The trouble is that there are many areas of the world where people are not at ease with this.  It takes them too long to calculate 16:00 as being 4pm. Confusion rarely happens with this, but it does make things easier for everyone and shows a bit more respect if you take the time to verify that everyone has the right time.

Takeaway:  Pay extra special attention to all references to time when dealing with people who may not be familiar with the 24 hour clock.

3. Different Dates

You also need to pay attention when writing numerical dates.  If you have an international audience it is much wiser to spell out the relevant month.  Instead of writing either “01.12.2010″ or “12.01.2010″ use either “12 January 2010″ or “January 12, 2010″

Most of the online forms have now solved this problem.  The confusion today is related to people not being aware of their global audience.

Takeaway: It is probably best to get into the habit of spelling the month when you can and then pay attention to clear instructions on all of the places where you have to use numerical dates.

4. Confusion With Next Tuesday

Another area of confusion is how some people refer to upcoming days of the week. If today is Monday December 28th and I refer to “This Friday” most people will understand Friday 1st January 2010.

The trouble is that not everyone would use the words “This Friday”. Some people would refer to Friday 1st January 2010 as “Next Friday”. It the next Friday to come.

Now I know there are grammar rule books that give the “proper’ way of saying this.  But you still need to communicate with different people who do not use the same rule book.

Takeaway: Use a date and if you do not have a calendar handy, explain what you mean.  ”Next Friday, in 4 days time” or “next Friday, at the end of next week”.

5. Acronyms For Time Zones

Navigating time zones for international meetings has become more complicated.   Not only do countries change the acronyms for their own time zones, but I have also encountered companies who use different acronyms for far away regions.

This can work within a company, but you cannot expect those far away regions to understand your own acronyms.  I won’t give any acronyms here because you should avoid them in all cross-cultural communication.

Speaking for time zones, if you are familiar with Greenwich Mean Time, did you notice that it now changes every summer?  So London is no longer on Greenwich Mean Time all of the time.  And did you notice how different countries use different start and end dates to change their summer time  zones?

Setting appointments across international time zones has become such a minefield that I now like to state the nearest big city for all people concerned when I confirm times.  This means there is no mistake with acronyms and the time for big cities can be found quickly online.  

Takeaway: Create a time on an easy to read global online clock and share the link.  Once you enter in your own time, let everyone check the time themselves.

Where Is Your Audience

Many people only think about the people they are interested in reaching.  There are also many people online who are not used to communicating with international audiences. And let’s face it… you need to pay attention to many little details if you want to communicate with international audiences.

But let me leave you a good reasons why you should remember to pay attention to these little details the next time you set up appointment with people who do not live next door to you.

Building trust across cultures is much harder to do.  You can lose it in a second… and you don’t always realize when you have lost trust.

People notice your cultural differences and these little mistakes stand out.  Your trust building capacity takes a hit when someone feels frustrated at having to make the extra effort to get an appointment right, or when someone feels hurt at having missed an appointment due to a cultural blunder.

No matter how much you appoligize and how well they seem to take it, cultural mistakes like these always make all of the other cultural differences stand out. The perception of dealing with foreigners is strengthened. And this is not the best environment to conduct business.

It’s just not worth it. A little discipline at this early stage can go a long way in building good international relationships.

Now over to you…

• What other cultural differences have you noticed people making that lead to confusion when setting up appointments?
• How do you make sure your international meetings are well organized?
• Do you have a favorite online world clock?

More on Cross-Cultural Differences:

• A Comparison Of Words In Different Cultures
• Cultural Differences In Doing Things
• Culture Changes How Brains Work
• Different Countries = Different Rules
• Different Eye Tracking For Different Cultures
• Free Courses, Content And Culture Scams
• Music In Cultural Differences
• Why These Colors?

More In These Get International Clients Business Guides:

• Connect With Your International Markets
• Culture Customized Content
• Cultural Web Tools

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

5 Cultural Differences In Understanding Appointments

Cross-Cultural Differences

I recently got myself into a little bit of trouble in misinterpreting instructions on a deadline. Now this is my fault because I tend to scan most of the information I consume online. But the instructions were not very clear and explicit either and I naturally assumed the most obvious interpretation to me. This is the problem with reading like this.  Scanning favorizes assumptions and assumptions can lead to errors.

Different Meanings In How You Use The Word Deadline

My downfall came because people can use two ways of giving deadlines:

• Deadline December 23rd = meaning this is the last day for you to take action
• Deadline December 23rd = meaning you need to take action before this date. In this case your last day for taking action would be December 22nd.

And I navigate almost exclusively in circles where people use the first example with the deadline date given is the last day to take action. But there are people who give the date to mean the first day after you must take action. And this is what happened to me. I had left taking action to what I thought was the very last day, but I was already one day too late.

Different Ways Of Communication

Let’s look at some differences in language:

• By December 23rd
• Before December 23rd

What do these mean to you? I have actually met different people who use either of these examples with the two different meanings above. This is why setting and interpreting deadlines is not as straightforward as it seems.

Clarify Your Deadlines

When you set deadlines for people who speak a different language, you usually make sure to communicate with extra clarity.  But when setting deadlines for people who speak English too, it’s easy to lose that clarity and assume everyone uses your own communication style. This was a reminder to always clarify deadline dates even within cultures where I expect easy communication.

An Inconvenient Outcome For Both Of Us

Fortunately I was able to get this resolved. But this incident was inconvenient to me for 3 reasons:

• It required 2 hours of my time to resolve this which I would happily have avoided
• It was not resolved properly and brought extra attention to myself
• I hate getting myself noticed like this and feel a small degree of resentment for this service provider’s sloppy instructions for putting me in this situation

The embarrassment and inconvenience was slight, but I will remember this incident in any other future miscommunication. And it’s a shame for this service provider to lose trust points through such a small lack of clarity. As it turned out I was not the only one who had a different interpretation for deadline dates. The instructions were simply not clear enough.

More on Cross-Cultural Differences:

• A Comparison Of Words In Different Cultures
• Cultural Differences In Doing Things
• Culture Changes How Brains Work
• Different Countries = Different Rules
• Different Eye Tracking For Different Cultures
• Free Courses, Content And Culture Scams
• Music In Cultural Differences
• Why These Colors?

More In These Get International Clients Business Guides:

• Connect With Your International Markets
• Culture Customized Content
• Cultural Web Tools

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

Cultural Differences In Understanding Deadlines

Culturally Customized Content

I‘m collaborating with an American writer to write an ebook. The book will be marketed to an American audience and I have spent all of my life marketing to international audiences. So this represents a fair bit of cultural adaptation on my part. But with my cross-cultural marketing background I find this fascinating. So I thought I’d share one of the first changes I made to adapt my writing to an American audience.

2 Different Perceptions of “Let’s”

My American mentor pointed out that I use the words “Let’s…” often and to an American audience this comes with a certain perception. With these 2 little words, American readers perceive me as putting myself above them.

With my cross-cultural background I find this interesting. I’ve worked so long within different cultures and the words “Let’s…” are not perceived in the same way at all… in fact the effect is the opposite. I use them to be perceived as part of their team, on their level, with the exact same words.

Opposite cultural perceptions with the exact same words.

Cultural Behavior Scales

If you are not aware of the cultural scales of Individualism and Collectivism, I’ve written about them here.

Although these cultural scales have limitations they can often be helpful when looking for explanations in different cultural perceptions.  Together with some basic cross-cultural skills you can also use them to look for ideas in improving your cross-cultural communication.

If this intrigues you, be sure to also take the time to look at this long list of countries with their scores on 5 different culture scales.

It’s not surprising how different cultures have different perceptions from the exact same words.

A word of caution: do not go overboard into stereotypes and broad generalizations.  These scales can only provide a certain degree of insights into cultural differences.  You need strong cross-cultural skills to interpret them wisely and learn how to apply them to your communication.

The Answer Is In The Culture Code

Another way to understand these cultural differences in perception is to look at the different culture codes.  This example reminds me of The Culture Code which I re-read recently.

First in this book Clotaire Rapaille explains how when an American construction worker whistles at a American woman passing by on a big city street the woman will scowl and her response would be one of anger. And if you put the same woman on a big city street in Italy with an Italian construction worker, the woman would blush and be flattered.

The reason is because of different culture codes. The American code for sex is violence and the Italian code for sex is having fun. And this is communicated in the way men whistle in both of these countries and what women have to deal with. Clotaire Rapaille even goes so far to say in his book that he would never want to be an American woman today because of the challenges with the culture codes in being an American woman.

Changes In Culture Codes

This brings me back to the second reason why I thought of the Culture Code. In Clotaire Rapaille’s recent Archetype Discoveries Newsletter he alludes to the rise of the Latina, the South American woman in the United States. And I cannot help wondering how this will impact American culture codes. You see, in general all South American countries have higher scores on the Collectivism scales and the United States has a notorious high score at the opposite end of this scale – “Individualism”.

It is going to be fascinating to watch the rise of the Latina and how this impacts the American culture code as the older American generation dies off.

And this change in culture code will impact perceptions in how we write.  With the Latina influencing American communication, I wonder if the perception of the words “Let’s” will change in the future.

Writing For Different Cultures

Writing in English for different cultures is not easy today.

We have gone through changes:

• The global economy and the web have given rise to a certain understanding and tolerance for cultural differences.
• There is also a certain International English used in “standard” international business today.

We are going to continue going through changes with as the populations in many of the world’s leading nations change and the once minority ethnic groups become the new majorities.

It’s easy to think everyone has the same understanding of the English.  But this is not the case.  Different cultural perceptions pop up in the smallest of places. It safe to expect these different cultural perceptions to change over time too.

I’m definitely looking forward to this exercise in learning how to adapt my own writing for a predominant American audience and hope to come back to you with more clear examples of cultural differences.

What about you?

• What does “Let’s” say to you? Do you feel included or excluded in any way?
• What expressions do you find have different meanings in different cultures?
• How do you think the cultural evolution in our societies will influence communication in years to come?

Please share your thoughts and comments below.

More on Culturally Customized Content:

• A Different English For Your International Audience
• Customize Your Content For Different Cultures
• Customizing Content For Your Clients
• Do You Use English Or American Spelling?
• Multicultural Marketing And Colors
• The 2 Main Reasons Why Companies Do Not Have Good Foreign Language Content
• The Phases Of Cultural Communication You Go Through To Increase International Sales
• Translations, Foreign Language Content and Culturally Customized Content
• What Is Your Culture On The Social Web?
• Who Should You Get To Write Your Foreign Language Web Content
• Writing Info-Products For International Readers

More in the Get International Clients Business Guides

• Connect With Your International Markets
• International English
• Culture Customized Content
• Cultural Web Tools

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

Opposite Cultural Perceptions

International Sales Professions

Before I started my own consulting business I worked for a variety of industries, mainly related to communication and new technologies. I had daily contact with clients in a sales capacity, sometimes with more marketing responsibilities than others. But I always dealt with international clients. Clients from different cultures to the company I represented. I negotiated sales, facilitated sales and over the years I worked in all of the functions within the international sales process.

International Selling Was The Only World I Knew

International selling was easy for me because I developed cross-cultural skills very early on. And I always try to find the right way to connect with people, even across cultures. Besides, living in a foreign country and being fully integrated inside this foreign country, adapting to different cultures comes naturally to me.

Dealing with international clients was the only thing I knew.

The Differences In International Selling

I’ve had my business for almost 2 years now, and I now see how big the differences are between selling to international clients and selling to people from your own country.

Here are 12 reasons why international selling is harder:

1. When you’re selling to international clients you have to focus on trust all the time. Losing trust is one of the biggest reasons why you lose international sales. Cross-cultural differences create a minefield of possible trust breakers. All salespeople know they need to build trust and actively do this. But in an international environment the cultural differences increase the difficulty in nurturing, building and maintaining trust on many different levels.
2. When you’re selling to international clients you might not notice when you lose trust. This is the hardest one to deal with. Just as cultural differences create trust breaking situations, they also make it difficult to see when you lose trust. And when you lose an element of trust without realizing it and continue selling, this creates complex situations which are not good for sales.
3. When you’re selling to international clients you also have to deal with your own personal reactions to different cultural situations. Learning how to deal with our own personal cultural baggage and not let it interfere with international business takes work. And it can also raise difficult questions to answer concerning personal integrity and personal ethics. Learning how to separate reactions to these and how to act appropriately is hard work.
4. When you’re selling to international clients you have to identify any differences in doing business, often beyond the scope of sales. Different countries do things differently, we all know that. And yet it is surprising how many of these differences can pop up and effect your business and your selling.
5. When you’re selling to international clients you have to look for wrong assumptions which can pop up in unusual places. Many cross-cultural blunders happen because of wrong assumptions. In sales wrong assumptions can be disastrous.
6. When you’re selling to international clients you have to monitor what is said and the different understandings of what is said. People can take away different understandings for a variety of reasons: wrong assumptions, cultural differences in communication, and different levels in language skills. You simply cannot do business when both parties have different understanding of what is said. So you have to keep your ears open continually and summarize understandings at regular intervals.
7. When you’re selling to international clients you need to become skilled at multitask monitoring. There are many different things to monitor in international sales. Trust, mutual understanding, wrong assumptions are just a few related to the communication. You also need to monitor how cultural differences impact certain aspects of the business deal itself. There are also risk elements to monitor. International selling requires excellent multitasking skills just to monitor the different levels of what’s going on.
8. When you’re selling to international clients you have to be flexible and maintain your business focus at the same time. Different cultures have different styles of doing business. So you need to be flexible and adapt to these differences. When you are not used to certain situations it is easy to lose your business focus. Being both flexible and business focused can be challenging at times. It takes practice and skill to master this.
9. When you’re selling to international clients you must always be ready to adapt to unexpected situations. Both the ability to adapt and the readiness to adapt are important. Unexpected situations are common in international business. Dealing with this change demands personal energy.
10. When you’re selling to international clients you have different risk factors to take into consideration. There is always a more elevated risk factor in international business. Successful international salespeople know how to be the lookout post for any relevant risk factors for his business. International selling is a more varied occupation.
11. When you’re selling to international clients you need to adopt a marketing hat as well. The role of lookout post also involves marketing feedback. Most sales professionals understand the valuable role they play to their companies marketing functions. In an international environment this marketing role is critical. The international salesperson is usually the only person with constant direct insights into his company’s market.
12. When you’re selling to international clients you must have a very clear vision of your business goals and the framework you work in. Without an accurate and clear vision and understanding of your company’s goals you will not be able to find the best way to do all of the above. In international sales negotiations this alone is a very powerful tool.

The Multiplying Effect

Skilled sales professionals will probably nod their head and say they do all of the above already. But there is a multiplying effect which makes these tasks harder in international sales.

What’s your experience?

• Have you sold to both international clients and clients from your own country?
• What differences do you see between selling to international client and clients in your own country?
• What do you think, how is international selling harder?

Please leave your comments below.

More on International Sales Professions:

• The Job Of An International Sales Specialist
• What Is An International Business Development Executive?
• What Is An International Sales Specialist?
• What Makes A Good International Sales Specialist

Get International Clients – Business Guides On Sales

• Cross-Culture Sales
• Cross-Cultural Negotiation

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

12 Reasons Why International Selling Is Harder

Twitter Interviews – #CKinterview

Today’s Cross-Cultural Interview is with Charmayne (Char) Paul. Char is the person behind the Twitter handle @psitutor.  And Char is one of the people on Twitter I enjoy being around the most. Although she has not travelled she has a wealth of cultural skills the most experienced of us can appreciate. Her business is dealing with people from different cultures. You can tell that she experiences all of the challenges of cross-cultural communication on a regular basis and has a healthy approach to dealing with these differences.

Char is an Online Tutor:Mentor for students in higher education. She has a Bachelors Degree in Psychology (with Honors) from JCU, Cairns, Australia. She is currently completing her TESOL certificate online and taking e-courses to develop as an online instructor.

PSI stands for “Personal Study Instruction” to emphasise the tailored services to meet the needs and expectations of students. Students come to her when they need additional support with understanding concepts or completing an assessment. Over half of Char’s clients are ESL speakers who may be studying here in Australia or overseas, such as Saudi Arabia, China or Western Europe.

Char uses Skype, email and her blog to provide students with a range of academic services:

• Help with research for an essay/presentation or thesis
• Writing aid to structure an argument that flows
• Research design and analysis using SPSS
• Proofreading and formatting to APA, Oxford, Chicago and MLA styles
• Improvement of academic English skills for ESL students

Char also runs a Daily Skype Study Chat (psi_tutor) for students feeling overwhelmed with their workload at uni or college or just needing to bounce their ideas off somebody else.  In 2010 PSI Tutor:Mentor will be running a series of online workshops~ so let her know what you find most challenging with your studies!  Here’s a video to watch.

This is a 2 part interview:

• Part 1 – The Blog Interview
• Part 2 – The Twitter Interview for 10 Cross-Cultural & International Questions

Charmayne Paul – Part 1

Here is the first part of the interview with Char.

Hi Char, for those who don’t know you, can you please tell us something about yourself?

Charmayne Paul: I live in Cairns, a delight for those who adore reef and rainforest in tropical north Queensland in Australia.

My job is great! As an Online Tutor:Mentor I get to work with tertiary students from all over the globe~ from my home. I’ve never lived or worked abroad, but as Cairns is a tourist city there are many cross-cultural work opportunities. After high school I took a Community College course in Japanese and then worked with a Duty Free Store~ they thought my language skills very old fashioned Cultures that I feel close to are those that existed on and around this tropical island I call home; Indigenous Australian, Torres Strait (TI) and South Pacific Islander. Going to school and living next door to people of other ethnic backgrounds was the norm for me.

How did you pick up your cross-cultural skills?

Charmayne Paul: Any cross-cultural skills I have were mostly developed through interactions with those of other cultures. As a kid my friends were Aboriginal, TI, PNG, Dutch as well as Anglo-Australian. Later at TAFE and in the workforce I extended my skills by learning about Japan. As I travelled within Australia I met many international visitors and at uni we had a salad bowl of ethnicities. Nowadays I have Korean and Czech students living with me, coming for tutes and sometimes I provide homestay. Also, as my online tutor:mentor service grew I found that I have needed to take language courses (shout out to EduFire) to understand my clients better, and to show respect for their cultures as well. English may be the international language of communication for now, though it would be terrible to discount other languages because they are not “the norm”. Language is culture.

How do you use your cross-cultural skills in your job?

Charmayne Paul: To cultivate patience I like to learn a few basic words in a client’s language to show them that I value their culture and appreciate that they want to learn about mine. It is a great way to build rapport and to get a better understanding of how each culture approaches communication of particular topics. I also put into practice the basics that I know about different cultures, such as making sure my shoulders are covered on Skype cam for Muslim students, not making too much eye contact for Chinese students, and slowing down my speech patterns for patriarchal cultures. Living in this time where technology allows us to get to know others from around our global village is awesome. I am in awe at how much we can learn from each other, through language and communication styles. These two things reveal so much about how we make meaning of our world, thus how we interact. Amazing.

Can you tell us about your blog?

Charmayne Paul: Disillusioned with the culture within my work environment at the local university, I realised that I could meet my goal to provide student study support and their improved community engagement by striking out on my own. Personal Study Instruction is a common request from tertiary students. Not everyone works at the same pace, in the same way, science knows this yet so often in learning institutions it is not put into practice. I have a patient nature and it is fantastic to work with a student who really wants to understand a concept or achieve an academic outcome~ besides getting a good grade. In the real world employers and users of services want confident, efficient, effective and empathic professionals. The PSI Tutor:Mentor blog aims to encourage and support tertiary students in their personal and professional development. Cross-cultural awareness is a big part of this.

The majority of visitors to my blog are international. I started with a website though found it too static for higher education student needs. The interactive nature of a blog makes it a portal of conversation as well as a storehouse for tertiary resources and a contact point for tutor or mentoring services.

2010 will see the launch of my Membership site (fingers crossed~ must understand the software I’ve bought first!). My $1 for 1 year model aims to make access viable for tertiary students in developing nations as well, whilst providing a source of revenue that will enable me to create jobs for other tutors. I anticipate it to be a win-win-win, for uni/college students-other tutors-and me

Social media like Facebook and Twitter are a must for making contact with an international audience and to learn about their cultures. My excuse for reading the variety of blogs that I do is so that I can post material for students! I am very blessed to work at something I love doing, so even in my downtime what I am reading can usually be related back to my career purpose: To support student learning.

Besides blogging I take part in e-courses such as learning to use Moodle, WikiEducator and e-conferences.
I also run classes on EduFire and publish non-peer reviewed academic articles on Lulu. I am learning to podcast and braving myself for more YouTube videos. Apart from work I use the Internet to exchange poetry and short fiction feedback. Again, this is a great way to meet others from around the globe.

I have a couple of lists I’m building here on this blog, and wonder if you have anything you would like to share.

Have you come across any cultural stereotypes that bother you, or you find inappropriate?

Charmayne Paul: Once in a while a student may assume that because I live in Australia that I am affluent~ and perhaps I am compared to their living situation. However, I come from a very humble background and maintain a very simple lifestyle~ I am not a capitalist per se, more of a sustainable person. My business is not about making a profit, of course some profit is necessary to pay bills and to extend my services, such as providing jobs for others. Overall though, my goal is for equal access to learning support. Students in my home of Cairns have the option to trade fruit and veggies or labor around my home for my services. So, yes, sometimes it bothers me that another assumes that I am wealthy and should want to do work for free or no fee.

Do you have a favorite movie that could help people understand cultural issues?

Charmayne Paul: Sure~ but are they appropriate…? 300 is one i watch regularly as I love the message of celebrating one’s culture and not taking a “melting pot” approach, especially when it means the dilution of the values under the tyranny of another.

The Kite Runner brought home the cultural differences between my country and Afghanistan, as well as highlighting cultural issues for youth that have migrated to a western nation. Bend It Like Beckham shows the difficulties of a second generation Indian teenager who is female and wants to play soccer.

A favorite Aussie movie is One Night The Moon, set in 1932 about a missing Anglo-Australian child whose parents resist taking up the skills of a local Aboriginal tracker due to their racist feelings. The movie highlights how the farmer (Anglo) sees the land as “mine”, whilst the tracker sees the landscape as “me”. Two mutually exclusive ways of approaching life. Beautiful message, cinematography and ending~ tracker find the child.

Do you have a book you could recommend to help others improve their cultural insights?

Charmayne Paul: A Son of the Circus by John Irving, he has a wicked sense of humor and his sarcasm resonates well with my Aussie culture. The book is fiction, about an Indian man and his Indian wife who return to Bombay every couple of years for their holiday. Their Americanized culture is so different to the “norm” in their home country. Lots of laughs as well as insights into cultural values in the East and West.

And finally…

Is there anything else you would like to share?

Charmayne Paul: I would like to travel more overseas when my business is sustainable; it would be great to visit other nations, teach English in trade for homestay and to experience other cultures and their beautiful land and seascapes. So far I have only been to a couple of places in Micronesia~ Guam twice, and Palau. Oh, there was the airport in Manila

I am actively learning at least 500 words and phrases from an assortment of languages at present; Czech (so hard!), German, Japanese, Korean, Italian, Spanish and Arabic. I would like to add to these in 2010 with French, Pali, Portuguese and Turkish.

Due to my pet companions, I am not keen at this point in my life to live in another country; though I am eager to travel more often for 3-6 weeks at a time in one place. Especially I want to travel to the developing world, where I can contribute my teaching and researcher skills. I am also an avid gardener, so perhaps I could help out planting crops or digging holes for a well. Wouldn’t that give me some perspective on life!

Char, thank you for sharing this with us.  I hope others can see why I value your cultural insights. I’m looking forward to  going through the the 10 Cross-Cultural Questions on Twitter with you later today.

Charmayne Paul – Part 2 – The Twitter Interview

This is an interview series of the people I recommend you follow on Twitter for the cross-cultural and international business insights in their tweets.

More Twitter Interviews

• Rajeev Edmonds – @mintblogger
• Rossitza Ohridska-Olson – @culturalrealms
• Charmayne Paul – @psitutor
• Lucy Chatburn – @pocketcultures
• Doreen Iannuzzi – @DoreenatDMS
• Donna Jackson – @wisequeen
• Chris Cotter – @CotterHUE
• Jack Yan – @jackyan
• Silvia Cambié – @XCulture
• Bill Ward – @DR4WARD
• Thierry De Baillon – @t_de_baillon
• Seshu – @PicSeshu
• Neil Urquhart – @culturematters
• Klaus & Flavia Westerwelle – @transdomo
• Donagh Kiernan – @dkiernan
• Christian Hoeferle – @hoeferleconsult
• Caroline – @ohh_la_la
• Deborah Swallow – @DeborahSwallow
• Steve Roesler – @steveroesler
• Matthew Bennett – @matthewbennett

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

Twitter Interview With Charmayne Paul