Cross-Cultural Communication 30-Day Challenge – Build Trust
There are elements to building a good foundation for trust that are easy to understand. Today’s tip is the first of 5 tips for one of these. It is easy to understand that you will not have a good environment for trust if you miss this one.
The problem is that this is not always easy to do in cross-cultural encounters…
Do What You Promise
In some cultures, if you do not fulfill your promise you lose all possibility of trust for at least a very long time. In other cultures there are different areas of nuance. It depends what was promised, who promised it and how things happened. All of these factors come into play in determining whether you may or may not have jeopardized your international business by not doing as you promised.
In general, when you do not do as you promise you run the risk of losing trust. This is understandable:
- Delivering what you promise is important for your business.
In international business things can be a bit more complicated. What is not so easy to understand is the differences between:
- What you understand you promised
- What the person from another culture understands you promised
- The expectations on all sides that come with this promise
Avoid losing trust – Many cross-cultural difficulties that arise in international business stem from a misunderstanding of what was promised.
Build trust by delivering what you promise – No matter what culture you are dealing with the truth remains that you build a foundation for trust by doing what you promise.
Trust In Cross-Cultural Communication Challenge – Tip 11
Clearly explain what you promise
Today’s tip is not always an issue. It depends on the mixture of cultures involved and the level of cross-cultural competency. Most of your international clients will understand your promise and they will work with you to sort out any cross-cultural challenges here.
Cross-Cultural Difficulties In Mutual Understanding
The first cross-cultural problem with doing what you promise is to be sure that everyone has the same understanding of what is promised. This is not always easy. Communication difficulties can arise because:
- Language skills interfere with understanding
- Cultural differences change expectations
- The scope of what is promised is not clearly outlined
In addition, I would like to add that this is an area where even little cultural differences can impact the understanding of:
- What is promised
- How the promise will be delivered
- Who made the promise
- Who has to do what
- Expectations regarding all of the above
Cross-Cultural Explanation Skills
The first step in making sure that you deliver what you promised is to clearly explain what you promise in the first place. Now, this really depends what business you are in, but many businesses connecting with their first international clients over estimate the clarity of their promise. Their promise is clear to them, and their domestic clients… but it might not be of absolute clarity to their international clients.
You can only learn how you need to explain things to your clients through cross-cultural skills and practice. And there is only one place to start:
- Begin by clearly stating what you promise
- Give all the details
- Explain how things will happen, who does what and when
- Ask if there is anything else they need
- Ask if you, or someone, should speak to anyone else about anything
- Ask if they if this is alright with them
- Give them time to answer
- Pay attention to any comment they make and ask further questions
As you get more international clients you will learn:
- The right vocabulary to use to make it easier to communicate with each particular culture
- The cultural expectations with regards to your business
And, something very interesting also happens… you will also have a much clearer idea of:
- What your international clients want
This is an excellent second reason why you should invest the time to learn how to clearly explain what you promise.
What about you?
- Do you and your international clients have the same understanding of what your business promises?
- How do you make promises to your international clients?
- What do you promise your cross-cultural clients?
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 |
She is who I turn to when I have questions and you should too"
-- Chris Garrett, co-author of the "Problogger" book
