How to Improve Intercultural Communication Skills
Once, individuals could exist in a cultural cocoon and avoid interaction with those who didn't share their own cultural norms. Today, the world has become more multicultural, and that is to your benefit. Learning about others beyond your borders or comfort level can be both interesting and challenging. Whether you are at work and need to find ways to expand your communication skills or if you have discovered a new friend, there are several methods to enrich and improve intercultural communication.
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Instructions
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Respect the people that you encounter. Understand that the experiences you have had may not be the same as others. The best way to show respect for someone's cultural differences is to listen to her when she describes or shares her experiences with you. If a colleague or new friend is telling you something that is unique to her culture, don't laugh, make jokes or demean the culture.
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Educate yourself about different cultures. Be open to learning about culture and develop a sincere interest in learning about others. If this is a work-related situation, inquire with Human Resources to see if there are courses or activities related to intercultural training. If you have encountered a new friend, do some web surfing or head to the library to find out facts about his cultural history.
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Ask questions but be careful not to appear as if your interests in cultural differences are a forced effort, sterile or intolerant. For example, if a person is telling you about the way his culture approaches generations and family structure, instead of remarking, "That must have been uncomfortable to live with so many old people," you could say, "Did living with your grandparents make you closer to them?"
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Watch out for tone in your speech. Understand that many cultures give specific meaning to tone and body language. What may be a simple reaction to you could be seen as disrespectful. Be aware of when and how you laugh during interactions. Raising your voice or intonation at certain times may be seen as aggressive.
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Remove slang from your speech. Many words in slang are misunderstood across cultures. Slang is specific to culture and many times does not communicate in the same way across cultures. For example, in England a "fag" is a cigarette and an acceptable term. In the United States, this is seen as a derogatory term.
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References
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