Online networkers learn lessons on cross-cultural comms
Offline gatherings for online networkers gain momentum as second meeting takes place.
Last week, members from the "London area communicators" group on Melcrum's Communicator's Network website had their second successful meet up. This time the aim was to discuss cross-cultural communication challenges.
The group of around 30 (See Figure 1, below) gathered in London at The British Council's headquarters, a global organization that faces many challenges itself when communicating its services to an international audience.
Figure 1. The group gets briefed on the workshop
Communicators in role play
Part of the agenda for the evening was a practical workshop led by Neil Urquhart, (see Figure 2, below) from organizational communication consultancy, Clear Transition. The workshop, called "You just don't understand", saw Urquhart present the group with a role-play exercise which brought to life the difficulties of trying to communicate messages to a cross-cultural audience.
Communicators need to be aware that they subconsciously make assumptions about their audience.
Lessons learned
After discussing the outcomes of the exercise, the group agreed that they'd learned some valuable lessons on cross- cultural communication. One such lesson was to be aware that communicators subconsciously make assumptions about their audience.
While the group recognized that these assumptions are part of human nature, they concluded that it's important to challenge them.
Cross-cultural competencies
Urquhart also identified 6 cross-cultural communication competencies.
- Tolerance of ambiguity
- Behavioral flexibility
- Communicative awareness
- Knowledge discovery
- Respect for others
- Empathy
He also explained the concept of "red flags", which are labels we give others when they behave in unexpected or apparently inappropriate ways, without realizing that their behavior might be seen as perfectly acceptable or even expected in their own culture.
Figure 2. Neil Urquhart runs through conclusions
Future events
The event was once again organized by the group administrator Matt O'Neill from new media company Cordovan Digital. O'Neill, also the Hub's Channels and New Media expert, has planned the next event for 13th November. It will be themed around brand osmosis.
More details can be found on the London Area Communicators group page on the Communicators' Network.
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