Cross-Cultural Communication 30-Day Challenge – Build Trust

We are on the last stretch of this 30-day challenge to build trust in cross-cultural communication. This last series of tips to to dig deeper in how to cultivate politeness in a way that helps to build trust. This means looking at where politeness starts withing us. Here are the 4 other tips on being polite:

• Use subtlety
• Seek the path of gentleness
• Do not brag and boast
• Show genuine care

Be Polite

When we take a close look at how we can improve our cross-cultural communication skills, we often realize that we need to look within. We need to fully understand certain things about ourselves that we take for granted.

How does our own culture influence our definition of politeness? What does being polite actually mean to us? What are the boundaries? Within what context?

Trust In Cross-Cultural Communication Challenge – Tip 28

Cultivate authentic humility

The questions get deeper for today’s tip of cultivating authentic humility because we all have different definitions and different levels of acceptance of what is authentic humility.

Authentic Humility

What is humility in cross-cultural communication? It is recognizing:

• Ourselves as we are in the face of another culture
• We have our own cultural baggage and what this means
• We are one person from one culture and there are other people from other cultures

When does this humility become authentic? When we are conscious of it and act with this in mind.

When Finding The Right Path To Politeness Is Difficult

It is important to know your definition of politeness… from all angles. This helps in two ways:

• To recognize your danger zones and avoid situations where you may overreact
• To acknowledge and recognize other definitions and interpretations of politeness

So, where does authentic humility come into politeness?

Well sometimes it can be difficult to act in a manner that is perceived as polite by another culture… when it is just too foreign and it takes time to grasp.

The Role Of Authentic Humility

What can you do in situations where it is difficult to understand other definitions of politeness?

Well, this is where authentic humility plays an important role. It can help you further along the path of connecting with a foreign culture… by taking the first step.

Authentic humility is a little like the opposite of imposing your own culture on someone else. It creates a breathing room. It offers space to meet on neutral ground. It is a place to begin the journey of connecting with other cultures.  Authentic humility is a great asset in cross-cultural communication.

Questions for you…

• What can you do when you do not understand other cross-cultural definitions of politeness?
• What does authentic humility in cross-cultural communication mean to you?
• How does authentic humility boost your cross-cultural communication skills?

Please share your stories in the comment section below.

Get All Cross-Cultural Communication Tips:

• Read more about all of the 2009 Cross-Cultural Communication Challenges
• Cross Cultural Communication Challenge 1 – Expand Your Mindset
• Cross Cultural Communication Challenge 2 – Get Extreme With Clarity
• Cross Cultural Communication Challenge 3 – Build Trust

Free Mini-Posters With Monthly Calenders

Mindset	Clarity	Trust
Expand Your Mindset	Get Extreme With Clarity	Build Trust

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

Trust In Cross-Cultural Communication – Tip 28

Cross-Cultural Communication 30-Day Challenge – Build Trust

Throughout this month’s series we have looked at 5 different areas to build trust in cross-cultural communication:

• Smooth Differences
• Cultivate Quiet Self-confidence
• Do What You Promise
• Be Honest
• Show Respect

The last area we are going to look at is to:

• Be Polite

And once again, we are going to look into 5 specific ways to be polite and build trust in cross-cultural communication. The 5 tips ways of being polite are:

• Use subtlety
• Seek the path of gentleness
• Cultivate authentic humility
• Do not brag and boast
• Show genuine care

Be Polite

First let’s look at reasons why we may not remain polite…

Of course there are cultural differences in politeness, but there are times when we can forget to remain polite. Sometimes at a very basic level, we let ourselves react negatively to cross-cultural differences. Sometimes the culture shock makes us forget to remain polite.

Politeness and lack of politeness is a recurring theme in cross-cultural difficulties.

How does being polite help you build trust in cross-cultural communication? The answer is very simply because a lack of politeness is not a good foundation for building trust. In some cultures and in some circumstances a lack of politeness is a serious breach of protocol. It is always a good idea to take the simple steps you need to be polite in all cross-cultural circumstances.

Trust In Cross-Cultural Communication Challenge – Tip 26

Use Subtlety

It is not always straightforward to know:

• What politeness really means in other cultures and how to create this – words do not always have the same interpretations
• How polite others find you and what you can do to improve this perception

This is why a dose of subtlety is always useful.  Of course there are other forms of politeness, but subtlety helps you to avoid cross-cultural pitfalls and gently find the direction to take.

A Question Of Style

Although many seasoned international professionals master the use of subtlety, not all use it to the same extent.  This might be related to the cultures you are used to dealing with.  High context cultures would require more frequent use of subtlety than others. There are different styles in using subtlety in communication.

Reasons To Use Subtlety In Communication

Dimension To Communication

When you do use subtlety this usually adds another dimension to cross-cultural communication.  It widens your scope of action.

When Direct Communication Does Not Work

There are international business situations where a direct approach does not work very well.  Often a more subtle approach can move discussions forward faster.

Added Value In Business

Subtle communication expertise can be extremely valuable in international business.

A Skill To Master

It takes time to master subtlety in communication, to know:

• When to use it
• How to use it
• And when not to use it

Subtlety in communication is an advanced communication skill that  takes cross-cultural communication to another level.  It can help to build trust, because others quickly recognize this as a desire for meaningful communication, respect of each person’s cultures and a form of politeness.

Questions for you…

• Do you find it easy to recognize subtlety in cross-cultural communication?
• When do you need subtlety in cross-cultural communication?
• How do you build trust in international clients with subtlety in cross-cultural communication?

Please share your stories in the comment section below.

Get All Cross-Cultural Communication Tips:

• Read more about all of the 2009 Cross-Cultural Communication Challenges
• Cross Cultural Communication Challenge 1 – Expand Your Mindset
• Cross Cultural Communication Challenge 2 – Get Extreme With Clarity
• Cross Cultural Communication Challenge 3 – Build Trust

Free Mini-Posters With Monthly Calenders

Mindset	Clarity	Trust
Expand Your Mindset	Get Extreme With Clarity	Build Trust

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

Trust In Cross-Cultural Communication – Tip 26

Social Media In International Web Marketing

Readers saw me launch a Tweet Plan for strategic business development  mid-November 2008. And some of you may have noticed an article on Copyblogger on New Year’s Eve a short month and a half later, about the results Twitter had on my business.

Well, since then I have had quite a few people sign up to look at how I Tweet. And I have had a few followers tell me that they like my Tweets because they are always positive and have a nice tone.

Of course, this makes me happy.  Social media has been a journey for me.  I started out lacking in confidence in my social communication skills.  That is why I spent my first two months following community managers on Twitter, trying to pick up social media communication skills by osmosis.

The comments about my current social media communication skills got me thinking…

When I Tweet I now use a personal technique for communicating with different cultures in international business.  This technique is something I have been doing for years as a way to open myself for closer communication with international clients.  And it is another story…

But it is interesting how I use cross-cultural communication techniques in across the board in social media.

Let’s go back to why I started using this technique on Twitter.  This is what I want to talk to you about today.

It Starts With Politeness

Two months ago, my communication skills were already good… or so I thought.  You see, the communication skills I had were crafted in a business-to-business environment.  I know how to:

• Communicate well in an international business environment
• Negotiate contracts with both small and very large companies from all over the world
• Communicate well in crisis management in a multicultural environment
• Write emails that are socially, culturally and professionally correct
• Write speeches, white papers, case studies and direct response copywriting to bring in international business

But two months ago I was not happy with my social media communication skills.  To be frank, I was still wondering why I was spending time on social media.

When you have good communication skills, it is easy to notice new people on Twitter.  Their Tweets are stiff.  They do not realize when they are:

• Rude
• Clumsy
• Impolite
• Boring
• Egocentric
• Pompous

And when I started on Twitter I knew I did not what to be look like the newbie I was.  I wanted to improve my social media communication skills as fast as I could.

Comparison With International Communication

Luckily Chris Garrett commented on how people perceived something as being impolite in his Authority Blogger course.  And this sparked a light bulb moment for me.

• I was able to compare social media politeness to expert international communication skills.

Now in all my years in international business, I have only met a handful of these top level international communicators.  You know the people with the highest international skill levels.  It is very hard to describe what makes a great international communicator.  But when you meet one, you are become painfully aware of the huge gaps possible in international skill levels.

Good international communicators are excellent communicators in all cultures and in all circumstances.

It is much easier to describe what these expert international communicators are not.  They do not:

• Boast
• Brag
• Say that they know everything, or more than anyone else

They are always:

• Helpful
• Polite
• Interesting to talk to
• Listening

The Likability Factor

And something else is there.  They also have one common trait:

• Everyone likes them.

You never forget the skilled international communicators because their level of communication usually equals their level of likability.  It is not charisma.  These people are just genuinely likable… to everyone.

Good communication and likability together make an extremely powerful combination.

Good Communication Skills

It is interesting… these great international communicators do seem to use a code similar to good social media communicators.

Again, I cannot put this code into words.  The visual thinker in me is still processing this.  But I do think there is a common code or common tactics between the two groups.

I’ll write more about this later.

There is one thing I am very sure of though…

In today’s customer-centric business environment, the two skills of good communication and likability are key to success.

This is the fastest way to connect with people.

Yes, even for business.  This is obvious as more and more businesses are turning to social media.

And yes, even for international business.  Genuine likability crosses cultures.

This brings me back to developing the right mindset on Twitter. We all have different levels of communication skills and these take time and effort to improve.  But you can easily adopt the right mindset:

• Open yourself up to communication
• Seek to make a real connection
• Be positive
• Avoid anything even slightly negative
• Take the initiative to open the conversation

This is also how you begin to develop your international skills.  You will never develop international nor social media skills if you stay in your own house and only look at the world through a screen with filters. An open mindset can connect you with all sort of different people.  And the right mindset lets your likability factor soar.

• What is it that makes you like people on social media?
• What is it that makes you dislike people on social media?
• What similarities to do see between international communication skills and social media communication skills?

More on Social Media In International Web Marketing

• How Do You Use Social Media For Business?
• The Cultural Divide In The Social Media Evolution
• How Cultural Differences Impact International Social Media
• How To Sort Through The Social Media Hype
• It Is Business-To-People In Social Media Marketing
• How Do You Use Social Media For Small Business?
• 12 Social Media Tactics In My Marketing Plan
• 7 Cross-Cultural Skills For Businesses To Master Social Media
• Content Marketing To Reach International Markets
• Choice Of Social Media For International Markets
• Connecting With People On Twitter
• Cultural Differences In Social Media Marketing
• Guerrilla Marketing With Social Media To Enter New International Markets
• Likability For International And Social Media Communication
• New Marketing Taints Old Networking Tactics
• Social Media Marketing Across Cultures
• Understanding Social Media For Stronger International Web Marketing

More in the Get International Clients Business Guides

• Build Your International Marketing Strategy
• Connect With Your International Markets
• International Market Research
• International Web Marketing

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

Likability For International And Social Media Communication

Culture & Political Correctness

A recent reader of one of my articles got offended with my use of the words “foreign languages”.  She said I should use “other languages”.  According to the reader this is more “politically correct”. Hmm…

Random Thoughts On Political Correctness From My Childhood

This reminds me of something I lived through as a child.  You see I grew up in the Bahamas. Now, just in case you do not know, the Bahamas is a very small country close to Florida.  Bahamians are predominately “black”.  There are a few “white” Bahamians, and I am one of them.

But, am I “white”? On birth certificates in the past my family was labeled at “mixed”.  You see, years ago, only pure blood British residents got “white” checked on their birth certificate. And my family originates from one of the very first settlers in the Bahamas…who happened to be “white” but did not come from England.

In my early years, I never noticed any racial prejudice among the locals.  But when I was a teenager a major event happened in my eyes. 

A Change The Definition Of Politeness

The movie “Roots” by Alex Hailey hit television.  I noticed a change in the “blacks” around me. I didn’t always use the term “black”… When I was younger everyone around me used the word “colored”.  This was polite.  This is the word everyone used. But, just after the movie Roots came on television “colored” became offensive. There was a period of confusion.  Both “colored” and “black” were used.  It was hard to follow who wanted to be called what.  Let’s face it.  Most of the people around me were “blacks”. Why the change?  What had happened? Well, there was a lot of coverage in the press about “injustice”. What injustice?  No one ever told me anything before.

By the way, this movement actually did not stop with the change in the use of “black” instead of “colored”. It went further. and lead “blacks” to show more prejudice against the “whites”, local “whites” or foreigners alike. Such as making “whites” wait in a check out line for all of the “blacks” to be served first. Did it all start with the movie Roots?  I don’t know.  But that the events did happen in that sequence.

During this time of confusion I turned to local history books. I asked questions.  And I found out that one of my relatives had been a slave.  No one had mentioned it before. You see… The Bahamas never had big plantations with large numbers of slaves.  Most of the plants and shrubs you see there now, are growing because boat loads of soil were brought in to sustain them. And most of the slaves on the islands were domestic slaves.  And there were “white” slaves too. Life for the early settlers in the Bahamas was tough.  Very tough.  For everyone.  There was no soil to grow anything on.  Bahamians have a slightly different slave history than the other areas with soil and plantations. How could this media coverage lead to such confusion about what is now considered polite or not? The American movement with its media coverage made “black” the politically correct word to use on our islands too.

Where Is Accuracy

OK… Is “black” the right term to use?

Several of my “black” friends had such light skin color, that I was darker than them after a summer in the sun…  But then, my family was not always considered “white” either. Is there a difference? Well the pragmatic side of me did notice something. Look at the palms of your hands. “Black” people have a darker color underneath the lines of their hands.  And “white” people don’t.

Personally I do not think “black” is accurate.  There are just too many shades involved. “Colored” is much more accurate. And “white”?  Lots of different shades there too. Some cultures and languages do have several ways to describe variations in skin color.  And some cultures don’t. I left the Bahamas, and American television a couple of years after Roots came out and did not get to witness the American revolution of political correctness. And I’m glad I did not.  There are too many examples of this going so far it is laughable in other cultures.  And it is nice to see both points of view.

Communicate With Clarity For Everyone

By the way… The term “other language” is not very useful to me.  It does not accurately convey the meaning I want to get across. A large portion of my readers are non-native English speakers… with  very basic English language skills.  The word “other” will lead to confusion.

• Other?
• What other?
• How is it other?
• In reference to what?

Sure, “other language” is used in some environments.  But until it really goes global and everyone else knows what it means, I will continue to use “foreign language”.  More people understand this. I actually like the terms “native-” and  “non-native”.  This is very clear.  Accurate.  But it is awkward.  You cannot use it to replace “foreign” all the time.

Adjust Your Communication For The Market You Are Targeting

The internet marketer, Frank Kern, says in one of his videos, that internet marketers need to remember that they sell to the people that spend their time online sending those cutesy emails with death threats if you don’t send them on to a dozen other people. These people represent the core buyer market for most North American internet marketers. My line of thought continues along these lines… if you are marketing to a country impregnated with various definitions of political correctness you need to adapt your communication to sell to them.  Their definitions of political correctness is part of their cultural profile.   It is an extra layer of cultural politeness.

But, if you are reading this, you are either an international business developer or a marketing professional.  You already know this.  Right?

Beyond Personal Musings

As a cross-cultural marketer with an outside view, political correctness increases the barrier to good cross-cultural communication.  It creates a challenge for good cross-cultural communication. Because… At most, political correctness is simply one groups definition of politeness.  Sometimes it is only a euphemism. This language twisting loses its accuracy.  It is only relevant to the group concerned, and the people who adhere to that group.

And if you take any personal offense to my points of views, I have some good advice for you.  Go read this book:

• Wisdom from the Four Agreements, by Don Miguel Ruiz

It is a very quick read. I must confess I read it in a bookstore, and did not buy it.  Something I regret.  It is a good gift for people who get easily offended.

More on Culture & Political Correctness:

• Cultural Perceptions, Political Correctness & The New Racism
• Is Your Political Correctness Hindering Your International Communication
• Offense Taken With The Word “Foreign”
• Political Correctness Memories From The Bahamas

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

Political Correctness Memories From The Bahamas

Internationalize Your English

Earlier this week I wrote about Culture-Free English. Today I want to follow on with Cross-Culture-Appealing English.  Or how to write to appeal to a wide range of cultures…in English.  That is both native English speakers and non-native English speakers.

Why would I even want to bring this up?

Well…

• Do you want to develop your international business?
• No budget for translations?
• And you haven’t yet identified a specific country you want to sell to?

Businesses that answer yes to the three questions above should consider editing their international communication.

We looked at how Culture-Free English takes away the culturally-specific elements of your own communication. This has a flaw…

Culture-Free English can leave a rather bland communication. You need to bring it to life again.

And, one important element you need to look out for in cross-cultural communication is politeness. 

So you need to go back through your communication and edit it once again.

This time you need to try to add a variety of little touches to make your communication more appealing to a broad range of cultures.

Unfortunately this process is slow.  You will need to do this regularly.  You see, you also need feedback from your audience.

An experience cross-cultural marketer can help you speed up the process.  But even an experienced cross-cultural marketer will benefit from direct market feedback.

Here are the different elements you need to edit your communication for:

Frustration And Ease

Is your communication easy for everyone to understand?

The trouble is that sometimes cultural differences will bring up little frustrations.  This can be:

• How you write certain information, dates or times for example.
• Something you don’t communicate that is expected or needed in another culture.

Rudeness And Politeness

This is always a delicate issue.  There are just so many nuances to what people find polite or lacking in politeness.

Some cultures seem to need more politeness than others.

Some cultures are too blunt for others.

The passive tense can be a good tool when used wisely and not over used.

But the best way to acquire an internationally standard form of politeness is through practice.

This is also one of the easiest way to identify a seasoned international professional.  Their form of politeness crosses cultures extremely well.

Confusion And Clarity

Ah…

The ever important element of clarity.  Why am I always writing about clarity?

You need to work at building trust in cross-culture communication.

• The bad news: you must do this constantly
• The good news: it is very easy.  Simply concentrate on consistency and clarity.

Clarity is important for all good communication, most professionals know this.

But don’t make the mistake of assuming you have clarity in your communication just because it passes your own assessment.  You see, cultural differences can make it difficult to find out where any confusion starts.

So don’t be lazy. Go get feedback from your international audience.  Dig for it. And remember to listen for any confusion.  You don’t want to hear about it when it’s too late.

Most cases of confusion in cross-cultural communication can be remedied with more clarity in your own communication.

Cross-cultural communication teaches you how to communicate with even more clarity.

Is This For Everyone?

If you remember, I said that Culture-Free English might not be for everyone.  At least not 100% Culture-Free English.

But, I personally think everyone targeting an international market should make an effort to edit their communication for the element mentioned above.

…Sure, there are some websites out there that are deliberately rude to be provocative.

But most people want to communicate with ease, politeness and clarity.  You do this for your own domestic audience.

Why not try to take these a few steps further and increase your international appeal?

More on Internationalizing Your English:

• A Multicultural Writer Gets More International Readers?
• Adjust Your Own English Communication To Meet Other Language Levels
• Americans Need International English Too
• Culture-Free Communication
• Customize Your Content For Different Cultures
• Focus On Your Cultural Communication
• Global English To Avoid Miscommunication
• International English For Better Communication With Global Audiences
• Internationalize Your Own Communication
• Is International English In Your Future?
• Translation Friendly International English
• What Flavor Is Your English?
• What Is International English?
• Where To Learn How To Write International Or Global English

What you need to know about International English:

• International English Guidelines
  

More in these Get International Clients Business Guides

• International English
• Culture Customized Content

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

English For International Appeal

Culture & Political Correctness

Something interesting happened last night.  I was having a get-to-know-you-more conversation with a North American and he asked me question.  But he made his question politically correct.

He used the word “imagine”.  His question was not direct.

So what did I do…

I imagined…

…and gave a broad indirect answer.

But there was a slight problem. The conversation was not smooth. Here we were both good communicators in our fields, and there was a very slight glitch.

He had actually wanted a direct answer to his “imagine” and indirect question.

Political Correctness

This got me thinking.  This was yet another example of the North American “political correctness” movement.

You probably know by now that I grew up over 40 years ago in a small country.

In a former British colony that only became 100% independent in 1972…

And so close to the United States, that we received the American television before satellite television…

This means that I have “followed” life in America very closely, and at the time I felt I could identify myself with Floridians.  But, I followed the British school system and only had access to British books on my little island.  I read my first book in AmericanEnglish after I left the islands.

I moved a ocean away from North America years before this movement started.  And it still puzzles me. Every time I visit now I see different ways this “political correctness” has changed this society from what I once knew.

Of course with my cross-cultural communication skills I have not picked up any political correctness skills.

You see, the two do not mix.  .

Well, here in France I guess people around me would refer to this as “a puritan form of politeness”.  And over here the word puritan is far from being a compliment.

Political Correctness Hinders Good Cross-Cultural Communication

Political correctness does not translate well into cross-cultural communication.

For effective cross-cultural communication you need clarity.

Communicating with “political correctness” is not clear communication.

Some cultures appear to contortion politeness to such an extent that it excludes clear communication.

Most cultural generalizations will locate this sort of problem in eastern countries, — yes, my own personal politeness stipulates that I remain general here.

But this is also a communication problem in North America.  Political politeness simply excludes clarity in communication.

And North Americans probably do not even recognize this handicap in cross-cultural communication.

How To Recognize International Skills In Others

Yes, politeness is a wonderful, exotic creature to observe.

One of the ways I can quickly identify someone with good cross-cultural communication skills is to pay attention his personal code of politeness.  Someone with a strong international mind-set knows now to stay at an even level of politeness in different environments.

Someone with lesser “politeness” skills usually reacts to different cultural environments.

For example the German reader who insists very strongly, to the point of being overbearing, that you can only develop an international business with face-to-face contact.

Well, it is not that it is impossible without face-to-face contact, this reader is simply showing that she does not know how to communicate other than face-to-face.  If this person had stronger skill sets she would have reacted with more flexibility.

How To Acquire Universal Politeness

Cultural or personal values for politeness can be difficult to negotiate when people react badly when they perceive a lack of politeness.

This is why you need to work on bringing your own level of politeness into a level of universal politeness.

Universal politeness gets you out of sticky situations when they do happen.

And…

It also helps you to avoid many pitfalls that happen due to cultural differences in politeness.

As a mother from a very small country, raising 2 daughters in a foreign country, I have spent considerable thought and effort educating my children in my own cultural ways of politeness.

You see…

My children cannot pick it up easily through the environment they live in.  And even when they were small they noticed the difference between my politeness and the others around them.  When they started treating me as the odd one out I knew I had to do something.  They did not see my form of politeness as being politeness.

• The fact that I live in a foreign country makes it difficult – odd one out.
• The fact that I come from a small country also makes it difficult – less exposure to my own environment.

In the end, I was very happy to see my effort pay off… every time I took my daughters back to my home country and they acted as if they were totally at home.

It takes some consistent effort when educating different forms of politeness outside of their own natural environment.  But it can be done.

The best way is to consistently:

• Explain situations
• Give different points of view
• Develop these different points of view
• Create situations to show different interpretations
• Live exposure to different cultures

Naturally Acquired International Communication Skills

This last example gives you the easy way out for most people…

You can acquire universal politeness skills naturally…

With regular exposure to different cultures…

But only if you make the effort to adapt to different cultures.

You see, I often encounter people who never want to adapt, or who only want to adapt so much…like the German reader I mentioned above.

You do have to be open to real communication.

More on Culture & Political Correctness:

• Cultural Perceptions, Political Correctness & The New Racism
• Is Your Political Correctness Hindering Your International Communication
• Offense Taken With The Word “Foreign”
• Political Correctness Memories From The Bahamas

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

Is Your Political Correctness Hindering Your International Communication