Also see information on Janet's other Language and Communication Skills specialist areas: English Language Training for Business and Business Writing Training..
Cross cultural communication can affect professionals in organisations with branches or clients overseas, whether emailing them, phoning or communicating face to face. Training deals with how to communicate effectively with these people.
If you need convincing about its importance then take a look at this embarrassing excerpt from an episode of the BBC's Apprentice: Laura runs through her presentation at the speed of knots and the German man (who has a high level of English) can't understand. No prizes for guessing what happened next - they lost the business.
What is cross cultural communication training for?
Let's say for example you have a client overseas and you're sending a member of staff to give a presentation to them. Now how sure are you that they'll adjust their language? Will they slow down and avoid slang? Of course they'll probably be speaking to people with a high level of English. But they won't realise that our language is littered with things that aren't literal; they'll use things like phrasal verbs or multi-part verb phrases which are notoriously difficult for second language speakers of English. Similarly, in English we're full of euphemisms and don't like being direct about anything; a colleague could tell you that someone has 'popped their clogs' or 'has a bun in the oven', phrases which don't mean anything!
Who are cross cultural communication skills important for?
This sort of training would suit cross cultural management such as senior executives going overseas as well as people doing office work and writing to each other by email or talking over the phone. I've done some training and coaching with senior executives and I've also done some with doctors in hospitals.
What would cross cultural communication training involve?
Effective cross cultural communication skills simply involve readjustment and remembering to avoid complex sentences, certain types of words or types of language. This applies to written communications in general too, including emails. Training is often about simply raising awareness and giving individuals the power to know what to change about their language to make it clearer. Whilst incredibly important, it needn't be something that much time is spent on - short lunchtime training sessions can introduce the basics.
I worked on cross cultural communications with a large cosmetic company who wanted to improve cultural awareness of certain group of countries in business terms. This included dealing with cultural norms: for example consider the typical structure of a meeting in the UK - this can be completely different in other countries. Similarly, if you're working in London in England, do you expect your boss's door to be open? Is it open plan? Is there a hierarchy? Do you shake hands or kiss cheeks? It sounds simple but it can completely throw you if you're in a meeting and no one talks or you feel you're behaving incorrectly in the workplace - you can feel awkward.
Also see the related area of English Language Training for Business.
This short discussion gives just a snapshot of what we can provide to organisations wishing to improve the language and communication skills of their employees. We provide a wide range of services in three key areas - leadership development and management training, business coaching and learning and development consultancy. Learning Consultancy Partnership can offer bespoke solutions to organisations throughout the UK and we'd be pleased to discuss your requirements; simply email or call us on 01273 590232.
In summary: why are Cross Cultural Communication skills important?
- Professionals deal with individuals with different cultures and languages, whether face to face, over the phone, by email or even indirectly when writing internal communications
- Poor cross cultural communication leads to lost business, mistakes and lack of confidence
- Cross cultural managers and senior executives often need only make small adjustments to their language with the help of training or coaching
- Training is low-cost - many staff can gain a lot from a short lunchtime session