Whether you receive foreigners or travel abroad, cross-cultural awareness is a key factor in doing business.

“When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” goes the old saying. If only cross-cultural communication and awareness were so simple!

The fact is, when people go to another country, their culture follows them. “Foreigners” (by the way, when you travel to another country, you become one) can be swept up in a state of confusion. They must often deal with a language barrier, and they also may not understand why people behave the way they do and what this behavior means.

Here are a few tips for approaching cross-cultural business contacts:

1.) Get informed before you go: Specialized firms now offer training in cross-cultural awareness and doing business in foreign countries. If you will be doing a lot of business within a certain culture, investing in a country-specific training session could pay off. If this isn’t in your budget, at least read up on the culture you will be dealing with.

2.) Think language: If you will be meeting with non-English speakers, plan a strategy for dealing with potential language barriers. “Everybody will speak English there” is a statement that could bear some testing over the phone before an important business meeting is set up. You may find that language interpretation services are necessary for at least part of your time with your foreign business partners.

3.) Be flexible: Don’t take everything you read to the letter. The world is changing fast, and a certain global business culture is emerging as businesspeople study abroad and travel more. The people you deal with may not follow the “international business culture profiles” that you have read about at all.

In other words, prepare as best you can, but also be ready to go with the flow.

Betty Carlson

See Also

• Language Translation, Inc.
  A leading language translation and interpretation service provider for more than 20 years

Whether you receive foreigners or travel abroad, cross-cultural awareness is a key factor in doing business.

“When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” goes the old saying. If only cross-cultural communication and awareness were so simple!

The fact is, when people go to another country, their culture follows them. “Foreigners” (by the way, when you travel to another country, you become one) can be swept up in a state of confusion. They must often deal with a language barrier, and they also may not understand why people behave the way they do and what this behavior means.

Here are a few tips for approaching cross-cultural business contacts:

1.) Get informed before you go: Specialized firms now offer training in cross-cultural awareness and doing business in foreign countries. If you will be doing a lot of business within a certain culture, investing in a country-specific training session could pay off. If this isn’t in your budget, at least read up on the culture you will be dealing with.

2.) Think language: If you will be meeting with non-English speakers, plan a strategy for dealing with potential language barriers. “Everybody will speak English there” is a statement that could bear some testing over the phone before an important business meeting is set up. You may find that language interpretation services are necessary for at least part of your time with your foreign business partners.

3.) Be flexible: Don’t take everything you read to the letter. The world is changing fast, and a certain global business culture is emerging as businesspeople study abroad and travel more. The people you deal with may not follow the “international business culture profiles” that you have read about at all.

In other words, prepare as best you can, but also be ready to go with the flow.

Betty Carlson

See Also

• Language Translation, Inc.
  A leading language translation and interpretation service provider for more than 20 years