Cross-Cultural Communications

I read a blog post a few days ago by a friend who is studying abroad in Paris. The title of her post was "Lost in Translation."  


She said: 
"Here, the word "date" means nothing. Literally, there's no translation. Rendez-vous is probably the closest thing you can say to "date". but it still doesn't have the same meaning. You can Rendez-vous with your boss, teacher and grandparents. The word I am looking for has nothing to do with my grandparents, ya dig?"


I found this to be so interesting! I think it relates quite nicely to cross-cultural communications. Even though the book says that "globalization has narrowed the cultural divide" and that "cross-cultural faux pas are no longer deal-killers," I still believe that it's important for organizations to understand all aspects of not only their current customers, but also smaller segmented groups of customers they may or may not be communicating with. 

There are so many innuendos of other cultures that organizations fail to recognize, and these can hugely inhibit the success of their business affairs.  As the "global village" continues to expand, we will probably being to see less and less differences between cultures. Nevertheless, there will still most likely be very obvious barriers like language, customs and traditions that are imperative to understanding how a culture works, thinks and communicates.    

I found a handy chart that suggests ways in which to enhance cross-cultural communications. It goes along with the tactics listed in the book like awareness, commitment, research, partnerships, testing and evaluation. I think it epitomizes the steps that need to be taken in order to fully understand a different culture in a business or publica relations setting. 

To me, the most important would be to ask questions, distinguish perspectives, and respect differences.