Cross-cultural training activities by Joseba Arregi, Dmitrii Enygin, Venera Midova (book club books .TXT) 📕

they will action each point in real-life. Make sure the examples are made clear.

There may be other specific suggestions that are particularly appropriate to the learners concerned. These can easily substitute some of the more generic strategies and techniques outlined in the checklist.

Culture-shock Checklist handout

Read each of the following strategies and techniques for dealing with culture shock. On the right hand side, write down some specific behaviours that describe how you can put each strategy or technique into practice. The first two have some examples already inserted.

Strategies and techniques

How you can put this in practice.

1. Anticipate it - do not let it take you by surprise.

For example, make a list of all the things likely to cause me culture shock.

2. Find out as much as you can about where you are going before you leave.

For example, attend a country-specific briefing. Read a cultural awareness book.

3. Identify familiar things you can do to keep you busy and active.

4. Fight stress, do not deny your symptoms and do not give in to them.

5. Monitor your drinking and eating habits.

6. Give yourself time to adapt. Making mistakes is a normal part of learning.

7. Discuss your experiences with your colleagues.

8. Expect the same symptoms when you come home.

9. Think about the positive aspects of culture shock.

10. Retain a sense of humour!

Training Exercise 13 – Cross-cultural communication skills checklist

Key objectives

To explore generic strategies for improving cross-cultural communication.

To enable learners to reflect on which strategies may be useful in any given situation

Time

30 minutes

Materials

Cross-cultural communication skills checklist

Background rationale

This activity is useful as a way of consolidating some of the generic skills associated with effective cross-cultural communication.

Procedure

Provide a copy of the 'Cross-Cultural Communication Skills checklist' handout to the learner and make sure that the instructions are understood.

Work with the learner to provide some practical examples of each skill, identifying any specific skills that are particularly applicable in another country or culture of interest.

Discussion points

It is important to encourage learners to explore the types of behaviour associated with each strategy, and reflect on what might be most relevant to them.

Summarize frequently

Confirm and reconfirm your understanding and intentions at every step in the dialogue.

Use big, bold signposts to tell people where you are going. Aim for dialogue, not debate.

If your counterparts are unwilling to negotiate, aim for a better understanding of each other and establish a positive relationship, without pressurizing others to change their own views.

Identify common goals and develop a shared perception of equal status. Be structured and clear.

Say exactly what you mean and mean exactly what you say.

Structure your language in a clear and logical way with one idea per sentence.

Be realistic about what you can achieve.

Be open and friendly.

Demonstrate patience, positive feedback and human interest (this works well in any culture).

Give more than the minimum and mirror your partner's tone.

Use humour (but take care). Invite feedback; do not just expect it.

Ask how people are doing and make sure that they have understood you correctly.

Look for covert or hidden signs of disagreement.

Watch out for suggestions that are really requests. Use questions effectively and often.

Use simple, straightforward questions.

Make sure that the answer you get is the answer to the question you asked. Keep positive.

Keep your language positive, constructive and optimistic.

Use tone and tempo to stress the important information.

Build in pauses for understanding.

Grade your language to that of your counterpart.

Find out your counterpart's language competence and do not overestimate it.

Keep your sentences short and simple.

Avoid idioms or sarcasm and take care with humour. Make sure your verbal and non-verbal communication agree.

Make sure that your body language mirrors your spoken language: all communications channels need to reinforce the same message.

Be yourself, and use body language that is natural to you. Know yourself to know others.

Identify and keep in mind the response you want from the communication.

Be aware of your stereotypes and communication styles - and the way in which you may come across to other people.

Cross-cultural Communication Skills Checklist

Read each of the following strategies and techniques for communicating effectively across cultures.

On the right hand side, write down some specific behaviour that describes how you can put each strategy or technique into practice. The first two have some examples already inserted.

Strategies and techniques.

How you can put this in practice.

Clarify frequently

Paraphrase what you think you have heard to make sure that you understand the communication accurately.

Emphasize the feelings expressed, as well as the substance.

Confirm that you accurately understand and acknowledge the message, even if you do not agree with it.

Use active listening

Demonstrate interest.

Acknowledge comments with your head or voice.

Avoid mistaking vagueness for ambiguity or disinterest.

Summarise frequently

Aim for dialogue, not debate.

Be structured and clear.

Be open and friendly.

Invite feedback, do not just expect it.

Use questions effectively and often.

Keep positive.

Grade your language to suit your counterpart.

Make sure that your verbal and non-verbal communication agrees.

Know yourself to know others.

Training Exercise 14 – What makes a cross-culturally effective individual?

Key objectives

To enable learners to reflect on the characteristics of cross- culturally effective individuals, teams and organizations.

To enable learners to reflect on how well developed their own cross-cultural skills are.

Time

30 minutes

Materials

'What Makes a Cross-culturally Effective Individual?' handout

Background rationale

This is a simple activity designed to encourage learners to think about the personal and team skills underpinning cross-cultural effectiveness.

Procedure

Give the learner a copy of 'What Makes a Cross-culturally Effective Individual?' handout

Lead a general discussion, talking through the learners' responses to the handout. Observations and suggestions for discussion

There are, of course, no correct or incorrect answers to this exercise: all of the quotes describe ways of making cross-cultural interaction more effective. The main focus of feedback and discussion should be to explore the skills and understanding underpinning each quote and to identify how each relates to an overall model of a cross-culturally effective individual.

What Makes a Cross-culturally Effective Individual? Handout

The quotes below are adapted from interviews conducted with individuals who are highly experienced in cross-cultural working. Each respondent was asked what he or she believed to be the most important characteristics contributing to their success in working across cultures.

Read each quote...

'You need to continually question your own assumptions and preconceptions; even about things you think should be blindingly obvious to everyone concerned'

'The most successful expatriates are those who can slip into 'local time' as soon as they get there'

'The best people are interested in international work, and motivated to live and work with people from different backgrounds'

'For me, learning the language was a vital part of coming to understand the people and the country.'

'You have to recognize that other people are different and look at things in different ways. Usually not better or worse, just different'

'Having a set of clear core values helps guide our people and provides them with support wherever they go'

'You know that you are not going to understand everything that is going on; you just have to learn to accept it, even laugh about it'

'Of course, sometimes you have to adapt and sometimes you have to stand your ground. You cannot change everything you do. It is knowing when to take either approach that is so difficult'

'Once you know the rules people follow and the logic they operate by, everything else falls into place'

Draw on these quotes (and your own experiences) to clarify the combination of attitudes, skills and knowledge you think are most important for a cross-culturally effective individual.

To what extent do you, your team and your organization currently possess the attitude, skills and knowledge outlined above?

Training Exercise 15 – Use your RADAR

Key objectives

To explore the five-step 'RADAR' technique for recognizing and overcoming cross-cultural misunderstandings.

To enable learners to practise using this technique to deal with real-life cross-cultural misunderstandings.

Time

40 to 60 minutes.

Materials

Using your RADAR handout

Background rationale

No matter how well prepared someone may be for cross-cultural contact, misunderstandings can occur in any situation where individuals with different values, beliefs and ways of doing things interact. In these circumstances it is necessary to attempt to overcome misunderstandings in a structured and explicit fashion.

This activity introduces critical incidents describing cross-cultural misunderstandings and invites learners to work through these incidents using the RADAR technique.

Procedure

Introduce the RADAR technique, or ask the learners to define their understanding of the technique based on their reading.

Introduce the objective of the activity.

Distribute a copy of the 'Using Your RADAR' handout to the learner.

Ask the learners to brainstorm the application of the RADAR technique to critical incident 2

Summarize and discuss. In case 2 the informal and humorous US presentation style conflicted with German expectations.

Using Your RADAR handout

Critical incident 1

A manufacturing company wanted to boost its flagging exports to continental Europe. Ronald, a young Dutch marketing manager with a lot of experience in the Amsterdam office of the organization was seconded to the company's London headquarters for six months in order to help with a new marketing project. Ronald spent several weeks researching the marketing department's methods and talking to his counterparts. Eventually, he drew up a number of clear proposals for boosting European sales, which he intended to present at a senior management meeting. During the meeting Ronald explained what the problems were and what needed to be done to solve them.

At the end of the meeting Ronald asked if anyone had any comments or suggestions, and was a little surprised when everyone kept silent. A week later Ronald was transferred back to Amsterdam, even though he still had three months of his secondment to serve. Shortly afterwards, Ronald's manager in Amsterdam received a memo from head office suggesting that he be moved to a 'less sensitive' position in the company where he did not have to deal with clients or senior management.

Critical incident 2

Andreas, a young American business school graduate, strode confidently into the Berlin conference room and stood at the podium. He was there to present a radical change to his organization's networking systems to an audience drawn from across the German joint venture.

Andreas worked confidently through each of his presentation points in a logical progression, relying on the slides to convey the more technical information. To engage the audience he added a bit of humour by telling some jokes along the way. After completing the formal presentation, Andreas invited questions. At this point, he adopted a more informal stance, taking off his jacket, loosening his tie and perching on the edge of the table. He addressed the audience by their first names and made sure that he kept good eye contact with anyone he spoke to.

As the audience left he shook hands with everyone and slapped them on the back in a gesture of camaraderie, just like in the films. To his surprise, the feedback from some parts of the organization was decidedly mixed.

RADAR Activity Sheet

Read the two of the critical incidents above. Apply the 5 RADAR steps to each incident. The first one