The_Essential_Manager_s_Handbook

302 / COMMUNICATING EXTERNALLY

Communicating internationally

On a personal level, communicating

across international borders means

becoming more aware of the ways in

which your thinking or actions are

culturally biased.

Start by recognizing that your own

education, background, and beliefs may

be considered fine, or even laudable in

your own culture, but they may not count

for so much to someone from a different

country. Take a nonjudgmental position

toward those from other cultures, and you

are likely to find that they will extend the

same hospitable tolerance toward you.

If you find yourself making personal

judgments, keep them to yourself. When

you’re writing or speaking to people from

another culture, try to understand life

LEARN TO

RECOGNIZE “NO”

Some cultures consider it

rude to say “no.” If you are

met with vague answers to

requests, such as “I‘ll try” or

“yes, but it may be difficult”

in these cultures, it may be

safer to assume that your

request has been refused.

Tip

In focus

ETHNOCENTRISM

All cultures, to one degree or

another, display ethnocentrism: the

tendency to evaluate a foreigner’s

behavior by the standards of one’s

own culture, and to believe that

one’s culture is superior to all

others. We tend to take our own

culture for granted. We’re born into

it, and we live with its rules and

assumptions day in and day out.

We quickly come to believe that

the way we live is simply “the way

things should be.” As a result, we

often see our behavior as correct.

However, culture is not value-

neutral. We have good reasons

for believing and behaving as we

do, but that doesn’t necessarily

mean that others are “wrong.”

from their perspective. Learn to

communicate respect for other

people’s ways, their country,

and their values.

US_302-303_Comm_Across_Cultures.indd 302 30/05/16 3:05 pm