I recently watched this short video on Cross-Cultural Communication by William Sinunu. [display_podcast]

The Minority Understands The Majority Better

Sinunu has several pertinent observations on cross-cultural communication.  Something stood out when I watched this video. Sinunu says:

The minority knows more about the majority than the majority knows about itself. The world knows more about the United States than they know about themselves.

An Untainted Viewpoint

This echos the comments I heard growing up in the Bahamas:

• It is easy to get a better picture and deeper understanding of the world when you come from a tiny country.

Throughout my 25 years in international sales and marketing I have learned to do my own research and not assume that my interpretations of common generalizations apply to a current business situation. In my experience looking at generalizations after the encounter is more appropriate.

An Intimate Understanding

But, going beyond generalizations… What about the knowledge minorities have of the country they are living in? What about their viewpoint?  And their own mindset as a minority? Do minorities have better starting point for understanding cross-cultural communication? I think this is a great subject for a debate. …Even if there are probably too many influencing factors to come up with any conclusions.

The Rise Of Minority Populations

And of course, another thought comes to mind.  The recent trends in ethnic marketing and their increasing important. This is another debate that would be fascinating.  It would be interested to hear what the social trend analysts have to say about how society will evolve when the current ethnic minorities become majorities in several of the worlds leading countries. And how will their better understanding of the current majority and future minority populations come into play?

An Opportunity To Break Down Cultural Barriers

The video ends with this quote:

Stereotypes whither when human contacts flourish – Queen Elizabeth II

Yes, there will be an opportunity for better cross-cultural understanding.  But I think this is probably a bit too optimistic for the human race.  The future will be made with other factors influencing it’s course. What do you think?

What do you think? Please share your thoughts and comments below.

Photos from Shutterstock.

  Filed under: Cross-Cultural Communication

Cindy King

Comments

• 

  scotty · 31 January, 2009 · 

  I would also point out that not only are minorities better at understanding larger cultures, they are more easily able to see repression. It’s awfully hard to see the repression in our world when you benefit from it, as I do by being a white male, but if you are in the minority there is nothing to stop you from feeling the repression in our society and no benefit from it for you either.

  • 

    Cindy · 2 February, 2009 · 

    True. And this can also be a block.

    Barriers for good cross-cultural communication exist on both sides. Depending where you live, it may or may not be culturally acceptable for people to express both sides of the coin.

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