We want to improve intercultural communication to develop relationships with diverse customers, partners and employees. But what are the main obstacles? It may not be the obvious ones! Learn how to recognize and remove this unconscious barrier to intercultural communication.

1. Improve Intercultural Communication
in the Work place
Start by recognizing and removing this unconscious barrier

2. Debbie Narver
BSc MBA MScIB
Research on cross
cultural team
performance and
international human
resources
Author of How to
Manage Culturally
Diverse Work Teams

3. Improve communication with
people from diverse cultures
When we think about
intercultural communication
problems, we tend to think of
the more obvious aspects such as
different language and
accents. But often the true
barrier is less obvious and often
unconscious.

4. Why is intercultural communication
important for business?

5. We need to work with customers, partners and
perhaps even employees that live in other
countries.
And here in Canada, multiculturalism is increasing
rapidly!
We need to recognize that our workforce is changing
to one of more diverse cultures.
The business world is becoming
more interconnected

6. Those that resist or deny
may find disadvantage in:
• Recruiting & retaining
skilled employees
• Attracting new customers
and/or keeping existing
customers
• Securing high value suppliers
& other partners in the
value chain

7. On the other hand, those organizations that are
proactive to implement a diversity strategy will
have an advantage in the above.
But how can we implement a diversity
strategy unless we can improve
intercultural communication?

8. What is holding us back?
• As we often focus only on the
language aspect, we miss key
aspects of communication.
• At a deeper level, we may
have very different context in
how we perceive & process
information about the world
around us.

9. • Take a moment to consider the environment you were raised in.
• Your parents taught you the type of behaviours that are
acceptable in society, and those that are not.
• They also taught you how to stay safe & get what you need from
the world.
• These customs & practices are passed down from generation to
generation. As you have never known another way, you believe
that these ways are universal.
The concept of Ethnocentricity

10. • In other communities, different customs and practices
have arisen to meet the needs of safety and security.
• These behaviours are effective within the environment
and social structure.
• The physical environment and history all play a part in
the values and beliefs that have arisen in a particular
society.
• Each adapts to their own specific needs.

11. Seeing the world
through our own lens
The degree to which we have
been conditioned in an
“isolated” society can affect
our ethnocentricity, in that we
just haven’t been exposed to
different ways of doing things.

12. Different than
stereotype and bias
Ethnocentricity is different
than overt bias and
stereotypes. While we can
strive to overcome the latter,
we may still be operating from
a particular belief system
which unconsciously rejects
different perspectives.

13. What does this
mean for
intercultural
communication in
the workplace?

14. Based on our assumptions that our beliefs and customs are
universal, we assume that others have the same
context. So we take “short cuts” in our communication.
For example, consider some of the following phrases that
we use in western culture, and how they would make sense
to someone that had not been raised in this culture?
•Another day, another dollar
•It’s a dog eat dog world
•Bringing home the bacon
•Time to rally the troops

15. We unconsciously assume that everyone just knows what
these things mean. In fact, we usually aren’t even aware
of the amount of times we use these kind of phrases in our
day to day.
And in the workplace, we just assume
that people know the basics of how to
communicate the way we do.

16. Where do we start to improve
intercultural communication?
Self
Awareness
What
assumptions are
you making?Provide
sufficient
context and
background

17. Learn more about cultural
diversity in the workplace
Get more tips in my previous
articles:
Advantage of Cross Cultural
Leadership in a Diverse Workplace
How a cross cultural training program
provides advantage in the workplace

18. Develop your Cross Cultural
Leadership Skills
• Engaging video-based training
https://strategic-
manager.teachable.com/p/cross-cultural-
leadership-foundation
• My book, in Kindle or Print
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MH28IIK

19. Visit our website to learn more about online Strategic
Management and Cross Cultural Leadership Training
www.nmcstrategicmanager.com
Try our learning system with a free mini course!