Cross-Cultural Communication 30-Day Challenge – Build Trust
Trust requires maintaining a delicate balance in cross-cultural communication. Little things can often count more than what is obvious in developing trust. This is why international professionals become good at processing information for different purposes.
Be Honest
Being honest and making sure you are perceived as such is fundamental in nurturing trust when working with different cultures.
Today’s tip takes off where we left yesterday. In addition to avoiding hidden agendas and not being perceived as having a hidden agenda, you can sometimes go a long way in building trust by being forthcoming… but not always. Let’s have a look.
Trust In Cross-Cultural Communication Challenge – Tip 18
Be forthcoming
What are the actions of being honest? Of course, there is the reality of being honest. Unfortunately, this is not always enough in cross-cultural environments. Sometimes funny little things happen and misinterpretations set in that lead to an impression of a lack of honesty.
We have already looked at as actions to take to be honest:
- Being open and truthful
- Avoiding hidden agendas
Today let’s look at how the action of being forthcoming and sharing information can help you build trust. This simply means giving the other person:
- Information to explain yourself more
- More details to provide a better understanding
Should You Be Forthcoming In All Cross-Cultural Encounters?
Know when to share information is not easy. Sharing information to explain your cultural differences is usually a good idea. This helps others to understand you better and avoids misinterpretations. But there are business situations where you need to know just how honest you should be.
Who you share the information with can be important. You also need to know how to share your information. There are different expectations in different countries. Sharing too much information with the wrong person or too little with the right person can leave different perceptions. These perceptions are often linked to how forthcoming you are, and whether nurtures an environment of honesty and trust.
In some cultures timing is critical. In international business there are different practices and expectations with when to talk about certain topics.
So, should you be forthcoming in sharing information with international clients? The answer is:
- It depends… and it is not something you should do in all cross-cultural encounters.
This is just one of the different currents going on in a cross-cultural communication with international clients that you need to be aware of.
The Art Of Being Forthcoming
Most international professionals adapt the art of being forthcoming to their personal style. To do this they take in the many:
- Different factors
- Different personalities
- Different situations
This is why there are no real guidelines on what information to share with international clients when cross-cultural differences make communication difficult. The best advice advice is simply to be aware of the cultural intricacies that may be involved.
- You may need to share information with another person or at a different time
- You may need to take things slowly
You will need to discover what information you need to share to avoid any misinterpretations effecting the perception of your honesty.
And what about you?
- When was the last time you came away from a cross-cultural encounter thinking you shared more information than usual?
- When was the last time you realized you should have shared more information with an international client?
- How do you think sharing information transmits honesty in cross-cultural communication?
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
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