Twitter Interviews – #CKinterview

Today’s Cross-Cultural Interview is with Sean Oliver. Sean is the person behind the Twitter handle @SeanJamesOliver.

Sean Oliver is a Project Manager for Language & Culture Worldwide, a cross-cultural training and consulting firm, and translation service provider. He has traveled in Europe and Central/South America, and has lived in Chile and Costa Rica. He currently resides on the far north side of Chicago, in the Rogers Park neighborhood. He graduated Suma Cum Laude from Beloit College in Wisconsin in 2002 with a BA in Anthropology, and self-designed minor in Sex/Gender Studies.

This is a 2 part interview:

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

Sean Oliver – Part 1

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

Sean Oliver: I grew up in Sandusky, Ohio. My parents were both college professors; my Dad is a Poli Sci PhD, and my Mom has two Masters’s Degrees, in Spanish and French. They’re both retired now. They took me and my one younger brother traveling a lot, all over the continental USA, and to Germany, Switzerland, France, Cuba, and other European countries when I was little.

When I was 14, we went to live in San Jose, Costa Rica for about 6 months. My brother and I attended school there. In high school I went to Italy with a class trip, which was pretty much an example of how not to travel, as our “adult” chaperones were drunk the whole time, while the students were forbidden from leaving the hotel. In college, I traveled on my own in Northern Chile, between Santiago and Iquique, then made my way up to Pisagua, where I worked an Archeological site in Pisagua on the coast in the Atacama desert.

After I graduated, I got a job as a “dig-bum” with Far Western Anthropological Research Group, based in Davis, California. I followed my then-girlfriend back to Chicago to try living in a big city, which I had never done. I worked in a restaurant for 6 months, after not having any luck with finding Archaeological work in Illinois, then went to work for Countrywide Home Loans for 4 ½ years. I worked as a math tutor when the housing market collapsed, and then I got hired on by LCW, who liked my varied work history, and my combined culture and business experience. I speak decent Spanish, though my trip to Chile in ’02 was definitely the pinnacle of my ability.

I lived in Humboldt Park in Chicago for 6 years, which used to be a largely Puerto Rican neighborhood, and is still the biggest concentration of Puerto Ricans in Chicago, but I don’t get speak Spanish much since I moved up North with my girlfriend. I still miss Humboldt Park though. It’s about an hour each way taking the L (train) and a bus or two, so I don’t get back there much.

I do have an affinity for Caribbean culture, particularly Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. I cook Caribbean-style food all the time. My favorite recipes are Arroz con Moros (Dominican style) and tostones with mojo criollo. I love Salsa, Bachata, and Reggaeton, although watching me Salsa usually inspires laughter.

How did you pick up your cross-cultural skills?

Sean Oliver: I’ve kind of been a 3rd culture-kid, in some respects, my whole life, though not in the traditional sense. No one in my hometown did any kind of traveling like my family did, and there wasn’t much exposure to non-English language.

My parents both grew up on farms, and were from extremely humble beginnings. There’s a picture of my Dad from the late 40’s where he and his sister are wearing overalls, straw hats, and no shoes; they weren’t in costume, that’s just how little money my grandparents had at the time. My Dad was a staunch conservative; he dropped out of college twice, and then went to Vietnam, and he returned to the US one of the most liberal people I’ve ever met, much to the chagrin of some of his former students. He served his last two years of military service in Bavaria, and made lots of friends that we ended up visiting.

My mom was the first in her family to go to college; her language skills still amaze me. So you have the rural grandparents, the ivory-tower parents, and then Sandusky, where I spent 18 years, was a relatively gritty, urban, rust-belt type of town, only an hour away from Cleveland, right on Lake Erie.

So before I even got to college, I was juggling 3 different cultures: I had to learn to be un-nerdy to avoid getting beaten up at school, to speak at home in a manner that was acceptable to my parents, and to show interest in church to make my Grandparents happy.

If you’re familiar with the DMIS model of Intercultural Sensitivity, I’ve had to be in the “Adaptation” stage for quite some time. (Knowing when to audit and alter my own speech and behavior in particular cultural context.)

How much of your cross-cultural experience is related to your professional experience? Is there a story behind your interest in international business?

Sean Oliver: When I worked for Countrywide, I remember being shocked at first by the diversity of the people I worked with. You would think that a financial services company wouldn’t be that diverse, in general, but even in the suburban offices I worked in before we moved to downtown Chicago, there were people of Chinese, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Guatemalan, Brazilian, Polish, Irish, Croatian, Filipino, African-American, German, Greek and Thai backgrounds. I was a processor, which meant I had to work on deals with all of the different salespeople.

I had a leg up on other processors, as I knew a little bit about the various cultures, and was able to work out the best ways to work with everyone as individuals. Some people needed very direct communication, some very indirect. Some people wanted to form relationships as a pretext for working together, some people just wanted to “get down to business.”

My Anthropology degree and personal background were a great jumping off point for working in such a multicultural environment. I actually kind of fell into business as a career. I got hired because I was smart and had great references, and then found I really enjoyed it.

Nobody in my family, or the people I grew up around expected me to go that route. It’s always exciting and fast-paced, and as it’s not what most of my training was in, there’s always new skills to learn. I love learning new things.

Can you tell us about your online presence?

Sean Oliver: So… I don’t have a blog. I used to use MySpace, but I think it’s been 6 months since I even looked at it. After all the work that went into the MySpace page, I haven’t had the desire to develop another profile on Facebook. And honestly, as far as a blog goes, my interests are varied to the point where I don’t think I could write about 1, or even 2 or 3 topics without getting bored with it.

I tend to get hyper-focused on one thing for a week or two, and then it’s onto the next thing. I’ve played the guitar since I was 12, I’m an avid bicyclist (although Chicago Winter is too much for me, though lots of people ride year-round), I love sports (especially American football), reading, cooking, politics, particle physics, zoology, silly video games, barbecuing, cooking, playing darts and pool, going out … I’m all over the place. I don’t think there’s a blog audience for people who want to hear about the evolution of offensive strategy in football, and then talk about gender roles across cultures. I could be wrong, I suppose.

I like Twitter because, to me anyways, it’s all about the content. I like that there’s really no profile, unlike Facebook/MySpace: you are what you post. That’s all. People that tweet nothing but ambiguous “inspirational” quotes, or the minutia of their daily lives, or constant self-promotion get un-followed pretty quickly.

I was reading the article, “How to Connect Globally with Social Media” that you collaborated on, and I definitely fall into that American archetype of being content-focused. Content, content, content. It’s such a neat tool to get on the same page as other professionals; I went to a roundtable discussion for language service providers and translators the other day, and we had all read the same articles. Guess how we connected to them all? Twitter.

I started my personal Twitter profile in August, and I started Language & Culture’s in October. I’m proud of the fact that I’ve pretty much grown them both organically, although there’s definitely plenty of room for growth and improvement.

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?

Sean Oliver: Is “all of them” a good answer?

Unfortunately, we need archetypes as people. There simply isn’t time to get to know everyone we interact with as individuals. Especially in a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic city like Chicago, and in international business, having some idea about how people will likely prefer to communicate, and about what to expect people to value gives you a huge advantage in negotiations and forming relationships.

However, letting those archetypes become ingrained in our heads as concrete stereotypes is hugely counter-productive. People, as individuals, can vary widely from the cultural “norms” of their particular society, and we should never make assumptions about people, only educated guesses.

Also, knowing something about people’s history, language, and material culture always provides a jump-off point for conversation. Particularly in the United States where a lot of people really don’t know anything about the world outside the US borders, and their attitudes tend to be stereotype-heavy, actually knowing something about different cultures can surprise and delight people you’re dealing with from those cultures.

I’m always saddened by the enduring stereotypes about African-Americans, Latinos, and gay people in the United States, particularly from members of other cultural minorities. I could list a few examples, but they’re really too numerous to mention.

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

Sean Oliver: I would recommend: “Crash”, “Black Robe”, “Men with Guns”, ”The Mission”, “Mr. Baseball”, “Dances with Wolves”, “Lost in Translation”, and “Remember the Titans”.

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

Sean Oliver: “Culture Matters” The Peace Corps Cross-Cultural workbook, is excellent. If you’re a newbie to the whole cross-cultural field, or a long-time trainer or consultant, it’s a fantastic resource. Language & Culture’s founding partners, Randall Stieghorst and Monica Marcel met while they were Peace Corps volunteers in Latvia. It’s how they got the idea to start the cross-cultural training part piece of the business.

It’s slightly unrelated, but “In Search of Respect” by Philippe Bourgois, all about life in Spanish Harlem in the 1990s, written by an anthropologist living there, is a fantastic read, and really explores race and class in American in a way that’s not often dealt with honestly.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

Sean Oliver: I’d like to get better at Spanish, of course. I don’t really have the aptitude for language like my Mom, or like my boss Randy, who speaks 5 languages. I’m always jealous of that skill!

I suppose I’d like to start with the continents I haven’t been to: Asia and Africa. I’d kind of like to see Vietnam with my Dad, I think that would be incredible. It’s kind of a pipe-dream though. I’d love to get to South Africa for the World Cup this summer, but it’s probably too late to plan that.

Africa is definitely the continent I’m the least knowledgeable about. I think by and large, Americans have this stereotype of Africa as mono-cultural, but it’s really as varied and diverse as any other place on the planet, both culturally and ethnically. I’d like to see that for myself. I’ve been following a woman on Twitter ( @gaylepescud ) who is a volunteer in Ghana, and her experiences are a great window into that culture.

Sean, this was very insightful. Thank you for sharing so many tips 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.

Sean Oliver- 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 Sean Oliver

Improve Your Cross-Cultural Communication

I started this blog at the beginning of this year, and it is slowly finding its groove.

• Cross-cultural business

A fair amount of visitors interested in “culture” in general also find their way here.  And some of these readers do not immediately grasp the “business” slant.

Of course, this is because they read this blog with their own filters.  And this makes them stand out.

The different ways people use certain words is intriguing.

Buzz Around Cultural Marketing

Over this past year, I have noticed an increase in the buzz around the word “cross-cultural” and other related words related.

This buzz seems to stem from one source.

There is obviously a wider recognition of the need for ethnic marketing within individual countries.  And there are two very obvious reasons:

• The Obama effect
• Several leading countries will have ethnic groups representing the majority of their population within most of our lifetimes.

Different Words

With the increase in buzz around this,  it is easy to see the different definitions people have for:

• Cross-cultural
• Multicultural
• Intercultural
• International
• Ethnic
• Racial

No.  We do not always use these words with the same definition.

Of course, some people just do not know what word to use, and simply choose the first one they think of.

But sometimes I have to do a little research before I can grasp what people mean.  People often have different definitions for these words.

Context In Definitions

Here is what I have noticed:

• Different context = different definition

There seems to be a difference in definition  when these words are used in a business context  or a social context.  These words tend to have a broader definition in a social context.

• There is a current trend

I notice a distinct preference for the word “multicultural”.

• A shift in flavor?

I also wonder if there is a slightly negative flavor to the word “ethnic”.  It sometimes appears to be on a similar level as the word “racial”.

International Business

Now, let’s look at how you can use these words in business:

If you are selling to different ethnic groups within your own country, you will need good:

• Ethnic marketing tactics
• Cross-cultural communication skills

If you are selling to international clients on the front line, you will need good:

• Cross-cultural communication skills
• Cross-cultural marketing tactics

If you are establishing your international business, you will need good:

• International sales strategies
• International marketing strategies

And in all cases you are working in a multicultural environment.

You can use your favorite reference source to look up definitions for these words.

In communication across cultures, I would never break through if I imposed rigid definitions to others.

I do quite the opposite and concentrate my efforts on finding common grounds of understanding.

Definitions For International Success

Different definitions for common words are a barrier in international business.  These barriers can start within your own team.  Define the words you use to improve your:

• Communication
• Marketing
• Business Strategy

Again, this is just food for thought.  You do not need to use my definitions.

What is important to seeing the difference when people use the same word as you do, but give a different definition to this same word.

• You know how to define your “ideal client”
• You know how to create a “persona”
• You know how to qualify a lead

Don’t forget to build your international business on a solid foundation.

Read more on how to improve your Cross-Cultural Communication here:

- Listen To Your International Clients To Build Trust And Increase Sales
- Where Cultural Miscommunication Happens
- Beyond Cultural Generalizations
- Getting Beyond Visible Cultural Differences
- Better Cross-Cultural Communication – Rephrase, Don’t Shout
- Why Empathy Develops Your International Business
- 7 Tips For Easy Cross-Cultural Encounters
- Morphing Into A Foreign Culture

Read about Cross-Cultural Communication Differences in these articles:

- Curiosity Versus Empathy
- Morphing Into A Foreign Culture
- Free Courses, Content And Culture Scams
- Different Countries = Different Rules
- Different Eye Tracking For Different Cultures
- Music In Cultural Differences

And read even more in the…

Get International Clients International Sales Road Map

Guide 5 – Connect With Your International Markets • How can you connect with your international clients?• What communication do you need to connect with international markets? Read about how to create your international marketing strategy.

Guide To Cultural Web Tools • How can you tweak your web site to improve your cross-cultural communication? Lots of tools here.

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

Different Definitions For Culture Words

Cross-Cultural Living

Early this summer, I mentioned one of my favorite books – Megatrends Europe by Adjiedj Bakas.  This is an eye-opening book to read.  It shows you how the environment you know today may be very different in the not-so-distant future.

Although Bakas does not tell you what life will be like in years to come, he shows you how to pay attention for current trends in society.  Of course, there are two reasons why you need to do this:

• If you are in business it is always good to be one of the first to know about any new trends in your market.
• If you are in international business, it makes it easier to understand different cultures today and possible trends for the future.

NPR’s Kicks Off A Month On Multiculturalism

Last Friday, a month long series on multiculturalism, started on the American National Public Radio, NPR.  NPR produces and distributes noncommercial news, talk, and entertainment programming.

This first episode is a 16 minute long audio called:

• Living In A Multicultural America

During this audio, NPR’s Tony Cox talks with:

• Ronald Takaki, professor emeritus of ethnic studies at the University of California at Berkeley
• Jen Chau, founder and executive director of Swirl, a national multi-ethnic organization

Current Reflection On Heritage

Of course, it is natural for Americans to reflect more on multiculturalism:

• First black president
• Expanding global economy

Multiculturalism – A Shift In Meaning

The program looks at how Barak Obama and Tiger Woods refer to their mixed heritage.

But what I found interesting was the question whether young people have a different definition of the word “multicultural” than older generations.

Now, differences in meaning are a common occurrence in cross-cultural communication.  It does not take longer than a few months living in a foreign country before you realize that people have very different meanings for certain words.

A Trend To Watch

A shift in perception of what multiculturalism actually means, within different age groups in one country is interesting.

• How will this shift effect society?
• How will this effect international business?

It will be even more interesting following this trend through to see where it leads. It is not easy to predict what things will be like in the future.

Just like Bakas points out in Mega Trends Europe, several factors influence how our societies evolve.

If you look at this shift in perception of multiculturalism alone, you might only see a small picture of how it effects society.

• Other social and economic changes can also impact multiculturalism in America

And together with these other factors, this shift in perception of multiculturalism could effect international business.

Brush up your international skills…
Read more on Cross-Cultural Living:

• 92 Ways To Say Happy New Year
• Can Flat Stanley Spend A Day With You?
• Card Giving In Different Cultures
• Cultural Differences Even In Washing Dishes
• Cultural IQ
• Differences In Copywriting Job Titles In French
• Different Names In The World
• Don’t Confuse Sales Method With Your Product Or Service
• Example Of Cultural Differences In Italian Politics
• Foreign Film Festival
• It’s All About The Offer – Let’s Refuel America!
• Living In A Multicultural America
• Motivation To Travel?
• The Cross-Cultural Classroom
• Twestival 2009 Across The Globe

Use these skills in your international tactics on the…
Get International Clients International Sales Road Map:

Step 5 – Connect With Your International Markets Connect… • With culture customized content • With trust and empathy • With strong cross-cultural communication

International Business Success Basics • Do you feel at a loss with regards to dealing with international business? This guide gives you the background information you need right from the start.

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

Living In A Multicultural America

International Marketing Review – On Multicultural Matters

Here is a list of links to other interesting articles elsewhere on the web

Welcome to the 22 November 2008 edition of the International Marketing Review. Biscuet presents Adjustment posted at  Biscuet.com Theme (Not so) Fresh –> saying “I think there are about four basic steps to adjusting to a new culture. Read over these and then check out the questions at the end.” smallbizbee presents Small Business Communication: Multicultural (Global) Conversations posted at smallbizbee saying “Communication is the interpersonal process that you and I do everyday to transmit and understand information. Symbols, signs, and conversational rules that we automatically see as “common” within our own culture can hamper or enhance the effectiveness of communication with people from another culture who are not familiar with Western styles of conversation, or us of theirs.” Karlene Lukovitz presents Obstacles To Effective Multicultural Marketing Persist posted at MediaPost  Publications saying “While multicultural marketing (MCM) is more important and widespread than ever, the effectiveness of such efforts continues to be hampered by inadequacies in several areas: budgets, internal and top-management support, best practices and metrics, according to a new study from the Association of National Advertisers (ANA).” Act!vated Storytellers presents Multicultural Folktale Theatre posted at Act!vated Storytellers saying “What? Entertaining theatrical productions, based on multicultural folk tales and classical literature. Where? The shows are presented at school assemblies and family nights, library reading programs and virtually any other place that wishes to provide educational entertainment for children and their families nationwide.” Kathi Sharpe presents Gang & Multicultural Outreach posted at I am Healed saying “we want to do outreach and have a positive impact on the community. We want to get kids out of gangs, increase the standard of living, decrease crime, and most of all get people saved and on fire for the Lord.” The Association of National Advertisers presents ANA Announces 2008 Multicultural Excellence Award Winners posted at ANA saying ” The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) has announced the winners of the 2008 Multicultural Excellence Awards. Now in its eighth year, the awards recognize ANA member companies and marketers for their work in producing superior multicultural advertising campaigns that ran between June 2007 and May 2008.  Winners were named in six categories.  This year, the ANA created a new category for strong work across all ethnic segments in Digital Media.” Laurel Delaney presents Big Emerging Markets Matter posted at The Global Small Business Blog saying “While en route to the World Entrepreneurship Forum in Evian, France, I read about eight different newspapers on the plane. One, the Financial Times, published a great article on Disney on how the studio is finding success in specifically targeting new markets.” Deanna Shoss presents The World is Connected Whether You Study Cultures or Not posted at Ethnic Events saying “It would seem impossible for anyone to deny the close, interconnectedness of all peoples around the globe, given the immediate domino effect of crashing economies around the world that continues, following the initial crises in the US. For me, it was Iceland going bankrupt just three days into the crisis that hit this message home. Iceland? ” Fred Stopsky presents Canada Agrees Yanks Do Speak English posted at The Impudent Observer saying “The Canadian government has agreed to drop its three hour test on English for new immigrants in light of the reaction it elicited from Americans. The language test was designed by British language experts and included a British interpretation as to what is proper or improper English.” Steven Engelfried presents My Multicultural Extra posted at ALSC Blog saying ” I’m learning a lot: everything from countless and varied definitions of what multicultural literature is to the crucial differences between “literary reading” and “multicultural reading.” So far I seem to be coming up with more questions than answers, but I’m okay with that. If teaching a class meant you had to know all the answers, I would be in big trouble.” Patrick Byers presents Everything I know I learned from a marketing intern posted at The Responsible Marketing Blog saying “I was reminded just how important our interns are to us last week, when Dinara Abilova, a University of Washington marketing major, really plused our weekly Huddle. First, she did a presentation called “Lost in translation” where she shared a list of brands that botched it when they moved into a foreign market. Multicultural marketing and marketing localization are immensely important, but an abundance of care is needed if you are going to take the leap into a new culture.” Loida Garcia-Febo presents Access to information and the power to transform communities posted at Information New Wave saying “Information New Wave is about a librarian and her views on the profession, access to information, and life.” Murray A. Mann & Rose Mary Bombela-Tobias presents  Twelve Characteristics of Multicultural Career Success posted at Career Management Alliance Blog saying “In the course of writing our books and columns, we have interviewed multicultural professionals from all walks of life and asked for opinions on a variety of topics, including the characteristics needed for success. We compiled their answers, added our own experiences, and identified twelve factors for a successful career — a career that positively coexists with a fulfilled life, uses your talents and skills to their full potential, and maximizes your opportunities and growth.” Ziva presents Multicultural Cemetery posted at  Babalu Blog saying “To be French today means to be not only ethnic French, but Italian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Jew, Arab and even Spanish (Francois Mitterrand)” Célina presents A Word from the Boss: Multicultural Management Challenges posted at BuzzParadise saying “Thanks to globalization and the rise of the Internet, accepting and dealing with cultural diversity are two things that seem to be taken for granted. It’s actually pretty incredible that nowadays you can communicate with people from different places almost instantly.” That concludes this edition of The International Marketing Review. If you have a post that you would like included in a future review, email me the link and if appropriate, I will try to include it. More International Marketing Reviews

• #47 – Easter 2009
• #46 – G20
• #45 – UN-Earth Hour Events On Earth Day
• #44 – World Water Day
• #43 – Flat Stanley travels the world
• #42 – English Tweeting Women to follow from Europe
• #41 – English Tweeting Women to follow from Europe
• #40 – Intercultural Encounters
• #39 – International Valentines Day 2009
• #38 – The White Paper Summit 2009
• #37 – Social Media Changes and President Obama
• #36 – Social Media and the President
• #35 – Globalization and the Global Economy
• #34 – Cross-Cultural Encounters
• #33 – Cultural & International Links
• #32 – 2009 Predictions
• #31 – Christmas Meals Around The World
• #30 – Christmas Trees Around The World
• #29 – Santa Claus In Different Cultures
• #28 – International Christmas Shopping
• #26 – On International Sales
• #25 – On Cross-Cultural Communication
• #24 – On Translations
• #23 – On Email Marketing
• #19 – International Business

Here is a complete list of International Marketing Reviews

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

International Marketing Review #27

Cross-Cultural Living

Delhi to host six-day Chinese Film Festival. New Delhi held a six-day long Chinese Film Festival from March 28 to April 02, 2008 at Sirifort Auditorium.

Jointly organized by the Directorate of Film Festivals, Government of India and Film Bureau, China State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, the Festival would feature eight movies from China.

This is very interesting, seeing the 2 countries with the largest population sharing cultural events. Cinema is loved in India and China. Entry is free on first come first served basis.

The recent rise in Chinese film industry has attracted global businessmen, which can be best figured out with the popular Chinese artists, producer, and directors’ association with Hollywood. Chinese film festival is just another attempt to popularize its deep-rooted culture in terms of martial arts through films among global audience.

Chinese film makers originally had to rely on American technology and people but Chinese martial arts and its history made Chinese films popular worldwide. Go Bruse Lee!

Wikipedia list 18 different ethnic groups in China and says that at least 415 languages are actively spoken in India. What an incredible base for the film industry!

Brush up your international skills…
Read more on Cross-Cultural Living:

• 92 Ways To Say Happy New Year
• Can Flat Stanley Spend A Day With You?
• Card Giving In Different Cultures
• Cultural Differences Even In Washing Dishes
• Cultural IQ
• Differences In Copywriting Job Titles In French
• Different Names In The World
• Don’t Confuse Sales Method With Your Product Or Service
• Example Of Cultural Differences In Italian Politics
• Foreign Film Festival
• It’s All About The Offer – Let’s Refuel America!
• Living In A Multicultural America
• Motivation To Travel?
• The Cross-Cultural Classroom
• Twestival 2009 Across The Globe

Use these skills in your international tactics on the…
Get International Clients International Sales Road Map:

Step 5 – Connect With Your International Markets Connect… • With culture customized content • With trust and empathy • With strong cross-cultural communication

International Business Success Basics • Do you feel at a loss with regards to dealing with international business? This guide gives you the background information you need right from the start.

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

Foreign Film Festival