Techniques of Cross-Cultural Communication

1. Techniques of Cross-Cultural Communication Teacher- ShahedRahman

2. Introduction Business has become more Global Communication across cultures effectively improves your productivity and efficiency and promotes harmonious work environments Cross communication involves understanding cultural differences and overcoming language problems

3. PROBLEMS OF CULTURAL DIFFERENCES • Culture is often improperly assumed to be the cause of miscommunication • It is easy to over generalize cultural practices • Two major kinds of cultural differences affect communication • Body Positions and Movements • Differences in views and practices concerning various factors of human relationship

4. Body Positions and Movements • Body positions and movement differ among cultures • In some cultures people sit, in some cultures people squat • Manners of walking differ among cultures • Communication with body parts ( hands, arms, head, etc) • Hand gestures differ by cultures • Touching and Handshaking • Eye Movements

5. Views and Practices Concerning Factors of Human Relationships • Differing attitudes toward various factors of human relationships cause communication problems • Time • Views about time differ widely. Some cultures stress punctuality; some do not. • Space • In some cultures, people want to be far apart; in other cultures, they want to be close • Odors • Some cultures view body odors as bad, others view them as normal • Frankness • High context cultures are more frank and explicit than low-context cultures

6. Intimacy of Relationships Intimacy among people varies in different cultures How people view superior & subordinate relations also differs The role of women

7. Values Each culture has a different values concerning such matters as attitude toward work Employee- employer relations

8. Expression of Emotions Social behavior varies by culture. Such as practices concerning affection, laughter, and emotion We must recognize them, look for them and understand them.

9. Effects on Business Communication Techniques Cultural Differences affect Communication Our communication techniques are not universally acceptable You must modify your communications to fit the culture of your recipient

10. PROBLEMS OF LANGUAGE • Lack of Language Equivalency • Differences among languages make equivalent translations difficult • Prove the point • Grammar and syntax differences add to the difficulty • Multiple meanings of the Words • Words with the same meaning can differ in usage by culture • Use back translating for important communications • Difficulties in using English • English is the primary language of international business • Many nonnatives have problems using English • Example – Pass away – cash in – end up

11. Culturally derived Words • Culturally derived words, specially slang, cause problems • So avoid slang • Words derived from sports, social activities, and so on cause problems • Colloquialisms also cause problems • Example – head for home • Nuts ( crazy )

12. Thank You Afrikaans (Southern Africa) Dankie English (Australia) Ta Cantonese (China) [for service] M goi Bengali (Bangladesh) Dhanyabad Malay (Malaysia, Brunei) Terima kasih Russian (Russia) Spasibo German (Central Europe) Dankeschön Arabic (Middle East) Shukran French (France,Canada) Merci