How To Make A Perfect Cross-Cultural Communication At The Workplace?
A workplace in the USA might more often than not, have employees coming from various cultural backgrounds. Be it Asians, Indians, Europeans, or even tribal Africans, respecting one’s culture and communicating around it is key to success in the workplace. This is why cross cultural communication has become pretty important in modern workplaces.
However, this is something that is not taught by anyone, not even in schools. To make your professional career more “professional,” learning some skills is important. Therefore, learn more about this form of communication by reading this post till the end.
Steps To Improve Cross-Cultural Communication At Workplace
Making other people feel at ease in your presence is not something that comes easy to everyone. This is because not everyone is a people person.
However, a positive mood is always preferred, both at work and during social events. It’s simpler than you would think to master cross-cultural communication skills in the workplace. You can quickly become a communication and culture expert with only a few pointers.
1. Maintain Professional Decorum
The first thing you should do while getting ready for a meeting with overseas coworkers is learning about their culture. Learn about their corporate etiquette so you can abide by it and prevent misunderstandings and awkward situations.
Investigate in-depth the formality levels used for business communication in their nation or countries and act in accordance. For instance, if you’re conducting business with Italians, try your best to be presentable, as wearing properly is seen as a sign of success in their society.
An additional piece of advice is to steer clear of the number 17 when making any type of proposal to an Italian, as it is seen to be unlucky. Similarly, do not use the number 9 while conducting business with Japanese associates. Remember that other civilizations can potentially dislike numbers in a similar way, making the study of cross-cultural communication important.
2. Avoid Using Slang Words
Slang has no place in business communication since it might make you come out as immature and unmotivated to close the transaction. In addition to this, it’s possible that certain team members won’t fully comprehend you. Even if they are able to speak your language, they might not be conversant with the lingo used today. After all, using slang is not permitted in professional communication, which has certain guidelines that you should go by.
To avoid misunderstanding or, worse still, insulting your international colleagues, I highly advise against using colloquialisms or casual language. Save your after-work social groups for being hip.
3. Speak Slowly And Clearly
Speak slowly, even if your overseas coworkers are native speakers of the language you’re utilizing in your professional communications. Make an effort to speak more clearly so that your coworkers can understand you. In the same way, refrain from utilizing lengthy phrases and use brief intervals to allow your audience to process what you’ve stated.
However, you should be mindful to avoid being patronizing by speaking too slowly. On the other hand, if you notice that one of your coworkers is speaking excessively fast or incoherently, don’t be afraid to ask them to slow down or, if necessary, repeat themselves. Since transparency is a key component of intercultural dialogue, feel free to express any concerns you may have.
4. Avoid Closed Questions
Avoid using closed questions, often known as Yes/No questions, while engaging with your foreign coworkers. Even if your discussion partner doesn’t mean it, you will usually always get a “Yes” as an answer because stating “No” is considered impolite in several nations, such as India and Japan.
Conversely, when you ask open-ended questions, you inspire your team members to be more inventive and come up with ideas you might not have thought of. Even Dr. William Lane, a specialist in special education, thinks that closed questions put a stop to discourse and contends that open-ended inquiries enhance it.
5. Be Careful With Humor
Have you ever heard the story of the guy who enters a pub, offends his coworker, and destroys a business deal? It doesn’t evoke any memory. Perhaps this is the case because comedy is rarely appropriate in business, at least not in global companies.
Aside from the fact that some jokes often don’t translate well, you might unintentionally upset your foreign coworkers by telling them due to some hidden cultural differences. So why take a chance? After all, comedy is well known to be culturally dependent on cross-cultural communication.
It is thus wiser to omit the joke you heard the night before at a pub if you are unsure if it is universally funny and that it will be understood. Again, reserve it for your buddies outside of work the only danger you run there is that they may think your joke is weak.
6. Consider Any Special Needs Of Team Members
Remember that some of your employees are located in different parts of the globe. Therefore, be aware of any time zone variations with your overseas colleagues and select a mode of communication accordingly. Good cross-cultural communication may be the greatest answer to this issue.
In addition, keep in mind that your employees may observe other holidays. As a result, be sensitive to diverse cultures and faiths practiced by your coworkers. However, keep in mind that religion is a private matter, and some team members may not choose to discuss this element of their lives.
An illustration from the Bumble team messaging app illustrates a misunderstanding brought on by the cultural variations in how various holidays are observed
7. Be Supportive
Not least of all, assist your overseas colleagues. All team members must feel at ease for intercultural dialogue to be productive. As a result, be respectful of your coworkers, communicate properly with them, and support them as required. It’s crucial that your staff feels connected, especially in remote working environments.
Giving your all will result in solid professional bonds with your coworkers, which will boost team trust. You must admit that the foundation of every relationship, including one between colleagues, is trust.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
People working in the corporate sectors have various questions regarding cross cultural communication skills. Here are my answers to their questions:
Through cross cultural communication, people may avoid misunderstandings and misinterpretations and instead create constructive connections across formerly formidable cultural divides.
People’s propensity to interpret their ideas and experiences through the prism of their own culture is one of the largest obstacles to cross cultural communication. As various cultures frequently have various methods of experiencing the world, this can result in misconceptions and miscommunication.
Cross cultural communication can be improved by having strong cross-cultural knowledge. As a result, it promotes more trust. Employees or clients are more likely to pay attention when they are aware of possible differences and similarities.
Conclusion
As you can see, cross-cultural communication is pretty important. If you work in a big office alongside colleagues from various cultures, learning their cultural roots will make communication easier. Therefore, brush up on their culture before you approach them. Or best yet – brush up it up by communicating with them politely, without getting too friendly at first. You have no idea how many more doors it will open up for you in your career.
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