{"id":5241,"date":"2021-11-17T12:07:14","date_gmt":"2021-11-17T11:07:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tibicon.net\/en\/?p=5241"},"modified":"2025-06-19T14:44:36","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T12:44:36","slug":"meetings-with-people-different-cultures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tibicon.net\/en\/2021\/11\/meetings-with-people-different-cultures\/","title":{"rendered":"THREE THINGS TO DO (PLUS ONE...) IN MEETINGS WITH PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT CULTURES"},"content":{"rendered":"

The world is getting ever smaller, and it is more and more common to attend meetings with people from different cultures; meetings where communication takes place in English, among non-native speakers.<\/p>\n

The difficulties we may face are of different types, and overcoming them might not be so easy:<\/p>\n

Difficulties that may be even more robust
\nif the meeting is virtual!<\/h2>\n

Any examples?<\/p>\n

In Oriental cultures<\/strong>, starting a meeting with irrelevant discussions, simply making conversation, is quite normal; conscious listening is common and saying NO is a sign of a lack of respect.<\/p>\n

In Western cultures <\/strong>interrupting, correcting, or asking direct questions irritates the interlocutor; starting a meeting by making conversation that is not relevant to the goal is considered a waste of time (especially in the US), and directly showing your thoughts, without any preambles, is the norm.<\/p>\n

How can you behave to avoid misunderstandings<\/strong>, make sure you understand the message, and manage communication effectively when none of the participants speaks the native language?<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n

    Prepare the meeting<\/h2>\n