- Do your presentations go well every time?
- Does your humour sometimes fall on deaf ears?
- Ever wondered if you could have prepared better?
Being understood by others starts by understanding them.
Through understanding them, we gain valuable insights into the cultural characteristics of our audience. We can then adapt our skills for maximum impact and influence.
I recently read a blog from Communicaid about interacting in a cross-cultural environment. It mentioned 3 key cultural differences. Being aware of these, they said, and adapting your style accordingly, has a massive impact on the results you get.
Cultural skills are very relevant to our work with international managers and leaders, whether the focus is strategy, a business problem or a difficult meeting ahead.
If you are an international manager wanting to develop your team and get better results, it’s important to know the different communication preferences and cultural expectations you are likely to meet. If you are a leader reporting to shareholders, there will still be a mix of preferences and expectations that you need to meet.
I’ve chosen to focus here on two cultural differences which concern communication:
- Cultural communication style
- Humour
Cultural Communication Style
Keep in mind there are two basic types of cultures: low context and high context . Each responds in different ways and has different preferences.
To present a very simplified picture, low context cultures like Germany, Sweden and Switzerland, for example, prefer presentations with a clear structure and lots of information.
High context cultures like Brazil and Italy, on the other hand, place more emphasis on personal face-to-face interactions. So a good suggestion would be to reduce your tendency for detail and build the relationship.
Humour
Adding humour to your presentation can be a risk when presenting to a global group but can be much appreciated. Humour works well in presenting to a U.K group, for example, but is generally less appreciated in the same way in countries such as Germany, Japan and France. So be aware who you’re presenting to and adapt your levity accordingly.
This is a very brief look at cross-cultural differences and the importance of adapting your own communication style. Of course, it’s not enough to know the generalised style of a group because each individual in that group will be slightly different, and some may be extremely different from the norm. But having a general idea, while knowing that everyone won’t be identical, is a way to prepare yourself for difference and to adapt your style so that you are heard more easily.
I hope these observations will encourage you to learn more, so you can increase your impact and influence when presenting to a cross-cultural audience.
Look out for my next blog where I’ll explain how you can DISCover your own communication style and get practical tips for adapting to the preferences of others, whatever their nationality.
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