Intercultural business communication skills

Intercultural communication (communication between people from different cultures) is now taking place all over the world, especially in large cities like Boston and New York. We are encountering people with different ways of communicating in every area of our lives including our careers and the business world, our social lives and in our academic courses. This is an exciting moment but do you sometimes feel confused or lost in these encounters? For example, did you ever wonder why your colleague said "yes, I will try " when he really meant "no, absolutely not"? Culture is more complex than we realize! To be successful in intercultural communication, we need some knowledge and skills. What do we need to successfully communicate with a friend, colleague or acquaintance from another culture? In this article, I will talk about 6 things you can do to improve your cultural competence and become a better intercultural communicator.

Share these tips with your network on Twitter...

Tweet

5 Ways to Improve your Intercultural Communication Skills:

1. Be aware of your own culture: After my experiences living and working in Asia, Europe and Latin America, I have realized that self awareness is the first step to effective intercultural communication. Step back and think about the way that you communicate. Are you direct or indirect? Do you use nonverbal gestures frequently or rarely and in what contexts? Do you seek agreement from the people who are listening to you when you make a statement? Now think about how you developed your communication style. What aspects of your culture shaped the way you interact with others?

2. Be a learner: When you are trying to solve a problem with people from all different parts of the world, you know that you have a rich opportunity for learning. Try to focus less on asserting your own opinion or ideas and instead, try to find out what other people's ideas are, how those ideas might reflect their own culture and how various points of view could create a stronger solution to your problem.