Tag: intercultural communication

Thoughts about collective memory and “clouds” or Are our memories going global?

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taking care

Very often, when working in multicultural teams or simply being at an international conference, I have observed that people tend to form sub-groups with others from the same nationality. I always wondered where this might be coming from. Well according to scientific views on intercultural communication, the reason for this does not have to be the language alone but the fact, that because of comparable socialization and education processes, common routines or norms are given, meaning that the context of things doesn’t need to be explained. Other people in the group have more or less the same ‘cultural background’ and behaviours are easily handled without a lot of explanation.
We also do have something called the “collective memory” which is: “(…)the shared pool of information held in the memories of two or more members of a group.” Following these thoughts, it doesn’t surprise anymore that communication between members of a group where people have a similar upbringing, is usually much more ‘noisefree’ than intercultural communication.
But: have you ever thought about what will happen to the collective memory now that we have global “clouds” available where huge amounts of data from anywhere in the world are saved and shared? Are we truly going to become “global citizens” in a couple of generations or are our national/cultural roots affirm themselves? What do you think?

Basic thoughts on communication

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Binary world

Communicating in today’s environment is not easy; not only are we constantly ‘followed’ by technical devices asking for an immediate response, a mail or a call but as the global world suddenly sits with us in our living rooms and offices, intercultural exchange and dialogue has become so ‘natural’ that we tend to forget its rules. Having to juggle with so many priorities at the same time, we respond, in the best possible manner without thinking too much as our mind is already preoccupied with the next task. So it then happens, that suddenly a message that was intended as a collection of feedback – no more and no less – to be discussed on the phone at a later stage creates a reaction at the other end of the world where it was sent, which was not foreseeable by any means and not stoppable as rumors already started to spread… well, a tsumami of mails and a couple of strange feelings later we come to a point where we ask ourselves these questions: WHAT HAPPENED HERE? And: COULD THIS HAVE BEEN AVOIDED?

The answer clearly is: yes! As even though people all speak English and we are all ‘one family’ speaking virtually together at any time of the day: before sending out a message or a communication, the ramifications should be thought of. No time doesn’t mean no mindful e-mailing! Well, let’s print this out and put it up on a prominent place so that it can be seen… taking the time to think things through actually saves you time that you need to spend afterwards to repair the broken vase after the fact! Have an excellent evening, morning, day, Jenny

What the month of December can teach us about culture

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Christmas stockingMy post today has been prompted by a discussion that can be observed every year exactly at the same time: what do you have to write on your “end of the year” greeting cards, should it be” season’s greetings”? Or maybe “Merry x-mas and Happy New Year” as it used to be, or maybe even “Holiday greetings”? For English natives, this is easy as some expressions are more used in the UK, some others in the States or in Canada. But then, when you translate the wishes into other languages as good global citizens nowadays have to do, the problems begin… actually, this is not completely true. If I could choose on my own what I wanted to say, things would be more or less easy.

Once I have battled myself through diverse online dictionaries and discussion forums to find out what the most appropriate greeting for each language and country would be (yes, some countries have the same language but the greeting would slightly differ), the job is done. But normally, you cannot decide these things on your own as you have people in these countries who all want to have their say. What happens is that you get as many opinions as you ask people… funnily enough, every year, I am promising myself to simply keep the wording from last time (which I then forget in January at the latest) or to just send out cards in one language (which I then decide would be very sad being in Europe). Well, maybe I should just print out this post and take it out again next year as by now I successfully made it to the last round of card revisions for 2012….!

When looking at this particular period of time from a cultural perspective, greeting cards are actually not the only subjects of interest. Living and working in a multicultural environment, the second thing that struck me more than other years, was the fact that I am surrounded by so many different rites that I am not even aware of. For me, being German, it is normal for example to have a handmade advent calendar, an advent wreath, where every Sunday until x-mas a new candle may be lit, and, of course, to welcome Saint Nicholas to your house on the 6th of December by filling up a boot for old and young with sweets, tangerines and nuts.

Speaking with Lebanese neighbours the other day, I learned that this last practice does not exist. They have “Eid il-Burbara” on the 4th of December instead…whereas in Belgium and in the Netherlands the “Sinterklaas” even come to schools on the 6th. Nothing alike exists to my knowledge in the English-speaking and Canadian world but I am sure there are many more traditions out there that I don’t know of.

What it shows me again is that navigating through cultural waters really necessitates mindful non-judging and acceptance as we might see many things that appear “strange” or inappropriate to us. When keeping an open mind, inquiring and giving it a second thought, you will discover a true abundance of differences and cultural finesses, which are really enriching when you take the time to look. It will also give you the opportunity to meet new people and maybe even make new friends, who knows?!

What are your experiences around this time of the year? Please share them with me!

What to consider when striving towards becoming an effective communicator

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Did you know that verbal communication as such has commonly three different components or levels? These are:

  1. Paraverbal
  2. Non-verbal
  3. Verbal

In order to be an effective communicator, it is important to know what lies behind these definitions and what they mean for oral communications:

Paraverbal

These aspects of communication refer to the intonation, cadence, volume or pace of saying words. It can also be the accent, a laughter, a pause or a slight cough.

Non-verbal

Here we mean communication through gestures and touch, by using body language or posture, by facial expression and eye contact.

Verbal

Verbal aspects are what we actually say to our communication partner using language and linguistic symbols.

Following a study of Albert Mehrabian[1], an American Psychologist which has been further elaborated and refined by various other researchers subsequently, the following numbers will be interesting to you, who still have their validity and illustrate to what extent which aspect of communications is relevant to the understanding of information, thus to effectively communicating a message where your counterpart understands the meaning behind what you want to deliver:

  • The verbal aspect only accounts for 7 % (hence the content of what you are saying)
  • 38 % come from the paraverbal aspect of communication and surely not surprising:
  • 55 % from the non-verbal aspects.

Especially when looking into intercultural communications, one more level of communication can be added, as does Jürgen Bolten (1997)[2] for example. The:

Extra-verbal

With extra-verbal we mean factors inherent to a situation which can have an influence on the act of communication, i.e. the time, the situational condition, technical means, clothing, expectations.

In order to have the desired effect when communicating, negotiating, speaking etc. you need to take all of these aspects into consideration, especially the ones which are not directly linked to delivering words as shown above. This will substantially affect your relationship and the message that your counterpart receives and understands. You can imagine that if an intercultural dimension is added to this, things get even more complex!

How these different levels are having an impact on written communications and how you do all this in a mindful way will be looked at in the following posts.

Have an excellent day and thanks for reading!

[1] See for example here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Mehrabian

[2] Jürgen Bolten (1997): Interkulturelle Wirtschaftskommunikation. In: Walter, Rolf (Editor)

Wirtschaftswissenschaften. Eine Einführung. Paderborn: Schöningh. S. 469-497.