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The Culture Map Chapter 1 (What makes a good communicator? (If you are…
The Culture Map Chapter 1
Communicating across cultures
USA and other Anglo-Saxon cultures, people to communicate as literally and explicitly as possible - good communication is about clarity and accountability for accurate transmission of the message is placed on the communicator
In many Asian cultures, India, China, Japan, Indonesia, messages are often conveyed implicitly, requiring the listener to read between the lines - good communicating is subtle, layered and depend on subtext - responsibility for transmission is placed on both communicator and listener
same applies to many African cultures and to a lesser degree Latin American cultures e.g. Argentina, Brazil and Latin European cultures e.g. Spain, Italy, Portugal, France
Being a good listener is equally as important as being a good speaker, both are essential skills and equally variable from one culture to another
High or low context
people from cultures that prefer low context communication assume a low level of shared context - few shared reference points and little implicit knowledge linking the speaker to the listener
While speaking they are likely to explicitly spell out all ideas, providing all background information and knowledge needed to understand the message
effective communication must be clear, simple and explicit in order to effectively pass the message
USA is the lowest context culture in the world, followed by Canada, Australia, Netherlands and Germany and the UK
Philosophy = "tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you've told them"
High context cultures - communication depends on unconscious assumptions about common reference points and shared knowledge
e.g. Japan, India, China
The interplay of language and history
Languages reflect communication style of the culture that uses that language
Example - Japanese and Hindi are both high context languages, relatively high percentage of words can be interpreted in multiple ways based on how and when they are used - similar in French - therefore, it is up to the listener to discern the intention of the speaker depending on the context used
Sous-entendu (french) also exists in Spanish and Portuguese, sobrentendido and subentendido (although less common). Basically means making something known so that the listener could see it if they wanted to see it
Similar French expression refers to saying something at the deuxieme degre (second degree) - saying something explicitly is the first degree message but the unspoken subtext of the message is the second degree meaning
English is a lower context languages than the romance languages descended from Latin (French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese) - though they are lower context than most Asian languages
Japan is the highest context culture in the world
History of a country strongly impacts its position on the communicating scale
High context cultures tend to have a long shared history. normally they are relationship oriented societies where networks of connections are passed through generations, generating more shared context among community members.
e.g. Japan is an island society with a homogenous population and thousands of years of shared history
In contrast, USA only has a few hundred years of shared history shaped by inflows of immigrants from various countries around the world with different histories, languages, backgrounds. As they had little shared context, they learned to pass messages in the most explicit and clear manner possible with little room for ambiguity and misunderstanding.
First countries are clustered by language type - left you see the Anglo-Saxon cluster, then the Romance language cluster, furthest to the right, the Asian languages
Then, within each cluster length of history and level of homogenity impact the communication style
What makes a good communicator?
If you are from low context, you could perceive high context communicators as secretive, lacking transparency or unable to effectively communicate
If you're from high context, you might perceive a low context communicator as stating the obvious, or even condescending and patronising
in high context, the more educated and sophisticated you are, the greater your ability to both speak and listen with an understanding of implicit layered messages.
In low context cultures, most educated and sophisticated business people are those who communicate in a clear explicit manner - chairman of a french or japanese company is likely to be a lot more high context than those who work on the shop floor of the same company - chairman of an American or Australian org is likely to be more low context than those with entry level jobs
thus, education tends to move individuals toward a more extreme version of the dominant cultural tendency
Strategies for working with people from higher-context cultures
practice listening more carefully, learn to listen to what is meant instead of what is said - reflect more, ask more clarifying questions and make an effort to be more receptive to body language cues - for verification, ask open ended questions rather than backing the person into a corner (requiring a yes/no response)
if you are confused, work to get all the info you need to pick up the intended message - a big mistake is assuming the other individual is purposely omitting info or unable to communicate explicitly - over time you may not need to ask for as much clarity as the other also learns to adapt to you
when you find yourself frustrated by misunderstanding, self deprication, laugh at yourself and using postive words to describe the other culture are good options
allows you to accept the blame for not understanding, then ask for assistance
Strategies for working with low context people
be as transparent, clear and specific as possible, after a phone call repeat all points again or send a follow up email repeating the points
if you are not 100% sure what you have been asked to do don't read between the lines, state clearly you don't understand and ask for clarification
focus on when you are expecting the other person to read your intended message and be more explicit, ask if you have been clear enough
Strategies for multicultural collaborations
on a multicultural teams, misunderstanding takes place more between people from 2 high context cultures with entirely different roots e.g. brazilian and chinese - high context communication works well when from the same culture and when you interpret cues the same way
one strategy to remember: multicultural teams need low context processes
three levels of verification can take place at the end of any meeting
one person would recap the key points orally, with the task rotating from one team member to another
each person would summarise orally what to do next
one person would send out a written recap on a rotating basis
If you have more than 1 high context culture on your team, lay out the issue and have the team develop their own solution, don't wait until problems arise
When should you put it in writing?
The lower context the culture, the more people tend to put things in writing - a mark of professionalism and transparency
American businesses compared to Asian and European have more organisational charts, titles, written objectives and performance appraisals
To high context cultures putting things in writing suggests a lack of trust on them to follow through their verbal commitments
If your team has both high and low context individuals, put things in writing to reduce confusion and save time BUT explain why you are doing it