Intercultural communication in transnational work

When you, as a volunteer, encounter other internationally working volunteers, you will probably observe, interpret and judge what you see and experience on the basis of your cultural values. This approach is absolutely legitimate because it allows you to act and react intuitively and naturally to the circumstances given by that specific situation. Not having this internalized value system shared by all members your culture would be like driving without GPS. However, having this cultural orientation system carries the danger of taking it as universally granted. Intercultural encounters may be judged on the basis of the value set of the own cultural background.

Why can this be a risk for successful intercultural communication?

Here are some reasons:

• Not realising cultural differences may lead to misinterpretation of intercultural communication situations.
• Not accepting cultural differences may lead to reinforcing stereotypes and prejudices.
• Underestimating cultural differences leads to assumptions of similarity. Assumptions of similarity can imply that the own cultural values and view of the world remain unquestioned, which may lead to respecting less the other culture.

These given reasons are the first three “ethnocentric” stages in Milton J. Bennett’s understanding of the learning process towards more intercultural awareness (DMIS model by Bennett, 2017 and https://www.idrinstitute.org/dmis/ ). To bridge these ethnocentric stages helps to enhance transnational communication skills.

Try to figure out why by reflecting on the following intercultural communication situation.

Just take a minute to reflect: Imagine you are from a culture in which it is quite normal to express without hesitation your own opinion or to give and receive direct feedback. You have been working on a new international project for a few days with a new colleague from an Asian country. One day you have to give him or her some instructions. After checking back with your colleague if what you said was clear, your colleague nods the head and says yes. You expect that the task won’t take longer than a few hours. But at the end of the day your colleague still hasn’t come back to you. You enquire and notice that he or she has hardly started. You are quite furious because you relied on his or her input for the following stages of the project.

What went wrong?

Basis of the misunderstanding is the fact that both parts involved in the situation assumed to have the same verbal and non-verbal communication system. However, the nodding of the head and the verbal “yes” meant for one involved part “I understood”, for the other “I have heard”, which does not necessarily imply intellectually understanding the message.

What can be done to avoid the breakdown of communication?

Probably a first step could be accepting that communication went wrong because there are cultural differences that lead to different understandings instead of blaming the other for having made a mistake. As a second step, both could try to change their culturally given communication styles for example by trying to read more between the lines on the one hand and trying to ask more for help (maybe by addressing other colleagues if preferred) on the other hand. The parties involved could also try to talk about the situation in a more informal setting, for example during a coffee break. This will help especially the partner from a low context culture to express an opinion.

After more practice and in the long run, maybe both parties of the example above may be able to switch from one communication style to another and adapt and integrate different communication strategies as varying intercultural situations require. This is what in the Milton J. Bennett model would be the highest stage of intercultural awareness. (See for the Model https://www.idrinstitute.org/dmis/; Barmeyer, 2012, p. 43)

https://pixabay.com/de/vectors/kunst-grenzen-junge-kinder-2026066/

Tips for enhancing intercultural awareness in transnational communication

• Be open to new intercultural experiences.
• Expect to be surprised by new encounters.
• Reflect on your own cultural values.
• Be aware of your own personal attitude towards your cultural values.
• Detect behaviour and communication strategies in yourself and in others that are culturally bound.
• Question your behaviour and your communication strategies.
• Reflect on your own ways of thinking and on your opinions.
• Try to understand the cultural roots of time perception, display of status, family ties, friendship.
• In intercultural communication situations, try to take the perspective of your counterpart.
• Be interested in cultural norms and values of your culturally different counterpart.
• Listen carefully and give room to what your counterpart has to say even if this means taking a step back.

These tips may seem difficult to you to realise. The good news is that intercultural awareness is a learning process that can be trained.