5. Tips for effective international communication.

http://www.cls.utk.edu/pdf/ls/Week1_Lesson7.pdf

http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/encyclopedia/Cos-Des/Cross-Cultural-International-Communication.html#b

International communication – it examines how people from different cultures/nations/beliefs/religion come together to work and communicate with each other.

Today, more than ever business success requires intercultural awareness and effective cross-cultural communication skills. Working, meeting, dealing, entertaining, negotiating and corresponding with colleagues or clients from different can be quite problematic. Understanding and appreciating intercultural differences promotes clearer communication, breaks down barriers, builds trust, strengthens, relationships, opens horizons and give prosperous results.

Demands for intercultural communication skills are increasing as more and more businesses go global or international. They realize that there are barriers and limitations when entering a foreign territory. Without the help of intercultural communication they can unknowingly cause confusion and misunderstandings.

There are many theories that set principles to help interpret the basis of intercultural communication. These theories help to iron out possible ripples of misunderstanding by giving a basic guideline on how to address situations. These guidelines help prevent clashes between different groups caused by misperceptions.

Tips for effective intercultural communication

In order for you to become an effective communicator in this global workplace, the following is a list of things that you should try to work towards .

·      Develop a sense of cultural awareness.  First of all, be aware of what it is to be from your own country.  Then, learn all you possibly can about the culture of the people with whom you need to communicate. 

·      Do away with ethnocentrism.  Ethnocentrism is the tendency to judge all other groups according to your own group’s standards, behaviours and customs and to see other groups as inferior by comparison.  You have to give up your ethnocentricity in an intercultural communication context, because different cultures have different ways of behaving and interpreting behaviours so you must:

·      Recognize differences.  Just because people do things differently from you, it does not mean that they are inefficient or stupid.  Being different should not always be seen as negative. 

·       Show respect for your counterparts.

·      Learn to adapt.  Be flexible and ready to adapt or adjust your behaviour, but do not overdo your adjustment as then you may be perceived as insincere.  Just try to act in a way appropriate to the target culture, be yourself and show sincerity. 

·      Be more tolerant.  Because people of different cultures do things differently from one another, you must be tolerant of deviations from the norms - what you are used to in your own culture.  Remember what may be the norm for you may not be the norm for other cultures.

·         Listen carefully and empathize.  Put yourself in the other person’s shoes, consider his/her point of view and understand where he/she is coming from.

·         Look beyond the superficial.  Do not get distracted by dress, appearance, or environmental discomforts.

·         Do not lapse into your own language while in the presence of others who do not speak it.  When in an intercultural context, always use a language which is understood by all.  Using a language that is only understood by the few people from your own culture may be seen as your way of excluding all others in the group or may suggest that you have something negative to say.     

·         Break assumptions

·        Avoid herd mentality

·         Take responsibility for the communication.  Do not assume it is the other person’s responsibility to make the communication work.  As a party in the communication process, you also have to do your part to ensure effective communication. 

When using language,

·         Send clear messages in both oral and written communication

·         Use simple, frequently used words

·         Be very careful with translation

·         Avoid slang, acronyms, colloquialisms and idiomatic expressions 

In written communication, 

·         Use short, simple sentences and short paragraphs

·         Number points for clarity

·         Reflect your relationship with the reader in your choice of words 

In oral communication, 

·         Speak slowly and clearly

·         Be careful with pronunciation

·         Simplify speech

·         Make one point at a time

·         Adapt tone of voice, style and behaviour to what is culturally acceptable to your audience

·         Watch the other person for misunderstanding and be ready to provide feedback   

As a final note, while learning all you can about a particular culture is a good way to figure out how to send and receive intercultural messages effectively, it is unrealistic to expect to understand another culture completely.  No matter how much you study French culture, for example, you will never be French if you are a Singaporean who have been born and bred in Singapore.  In addition, do not overgeneralize and look at people as stereotypical “Germans” or “Americans” and then never move beyond that view.  As in all our interpersonal communication, we need to communicate with individuals as individuals who are by their very nature unique, one from the other, whatever culture they come from.  To be effective in intercultural communication, it helps to learn useful general information but it is imperative to be aware and open to variations and individual differences.