Communication can be difficult even when there isn’t a language barrier.
For example, diverse workforces at global companies often struggle to address cultural assumptions during conversations in person or via employee communications platforms. So, it isn’t enough to just get your point across effectively. You have to truly understand cross-cultural communication for efficient collaboration and business success.
To fully understand cross-cultural communication or intercultural communication, you should probably know what culture is. According to communication theory, culture is the social behavior and norms throughout societies, consisting of the values, beliefs, and systems of language and communication.
Often referred to as intercultural communication, cross-cultural communication is the study of how verbal and nonverbal communication takes place among individuals from different backgrounds, geographies, and cultures.
As you can see, the definition is very straightforward, but learning how to implement cross-cultural communication into your career is not as black and white.
Communication is also the core of public relations. Publishing statements to broad audiences, monitoring all communication coming from clients, and preparing stakeholders for the worst are all duties of a PR professional.
With the globalization of businesses, PR professionals, in particular, must learn about cross-cultural communication and its impact on the PR industry so they don't make the mistake of misusing a culture in the form of cultural appropriation.
It is important to note before diving into the details of cross-cultural communication that there are cultural generalizations that do not account for specific individuals in a culture. For example, different countries around the world interpret hand gestures in different ways.
Since cross-cultural communication is how people belonging to different cultures communicate with each other, there are bound to be clashes between different cultures. One tactic to reduce these clashes is prioritizing diversity when hiring. When people from differing cultures work toward a common goal, the risk of offensive misunderstandings decreases, and the quality of work increases.
Companies with multicultural environments must focus on cross-cultural communication skills to create a positive work culture. With thoughtful cross-cultural communication, you can eliminate miscommunication and foster strong relationships with people from diverse backgrounds. This respectful multicultural communication enables every stakeholder to benefit from the free exchange of information.
Strong intercultural communication can also help companies uncover opportunities and fuel business growth. For example, employees from different cultural backgrounds and age groups can share unique insights about their generations' consumer behavior, preferences, and habits. Their understanding of the target market can help you fuel business growth across markets.
Embracing cultural differences also helps you improve engagement among employees from different countries and reduce churn.
Understanding these three elements is key to effective cross-cultural communication.
Cross-cultural situations can take different shapes. Effective communication strategies often address the barriers created by factors like:
Before the pandemic, companies could easily address these cross-cultural barriers with work trips where everyone had the opportunity to know their co-workers better. In today’s era of remote work, you need to be proactive in enriching interpersonal communication within an organization.
Effective cross-cultural communication can be the difference between success and failure for a business. People have a high brand affinity for inclusive companies who make people from all cultures feel seen. With the rise of technology, people have an opportunity to put anything a company says or does under a microscope and then share their opinions with the world.
The first and most commonly forgotten step in becoming culturally aware is to reflect on your own culture. In order to learn about others, you must first know about yourself. Perform a self-evaluation and consider the culture with which you identify, what aspects of that particular culture pertain to you, and what style of communication your culture has lent you.
Reflecting upon your own culture will help you embrace cultural differences with an open mind. When surrounded by like-minded people, it’s easy to forget that what you do and how you act are not the universal norm. That’s why looking at yourself critically will improve your cultural awareness.
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After reflecting, it’s time you gather all the information you can on new cultures. This takes lots of time and will not happen overnight. Focus first on cultures with which you interact or target through marketing.
People are unique. Someone could come from a certain culture and not identify with any of the beliefs or traits of that particular culture.
In today’s society, there’s a line between cultural awareness and cultural assimilation or stereotyping. So instead of assuming information, ask more than one person from that particular culture about it.
People tend to be more sympathetic and receptive to questions than they are to assumptions. There’s nothing wrong with not knowing, but there is a fault in not wanting to know. Also, consider celebrating different cultures with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts.
So, be curious and ask the right questions. These questions will be easier to ask once you self-reflect and research cultures other than yours.
Focusing on cross-cultural communications will help your employees get better at collaborating and take your business to new heights. Don’t let your communications get lost in translation.
Check out top diversity recruiting tools that help you eliminate unconscious bias while sourcing candidates from varied backgrounds.
This article was originally published in 2019. It has been updated with new information.
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