Intercultural communication teamwork and leadership/Communicating across difference/Video signpost: Cross cultural communication
View video – Tyler Legrand: A Failure to Communicate [8:15 min.] This brief animation features two girls meeting in a train station. One wears a veil, the other is deaf. It illustrates how miscommunication can arise, and how it can easily be resolved with empathy and goodwill.
View video – Speak First’s Cultural Diversity: Tips for communicating with cultural awareness. [5:01 min.] The key message in this video is that cultural awareness starts with acknowledging cultural differences. Snéha Khilay, the speaker, also gives examples of national communication patterns, but reminds there is always individual diversity within cultures. What are some differences and similarities you notice about Riccardi and Khilay’s observations on national communication patterns? Note: the format of this video may help you develop your own mock job interview video.
View video – Pellegrino Riccardi, TEDxBergen: Cross cultural communication [19:57 min.] In this video, Riccardi states the most important thing is to look at your own perceptions. People tend to see what they want or expect to see, based on what is accepted and familiar. Different cultural meanings for similar language usage is the main challenge of working across borders. Different rules can be tricky too. However, he notes that curiosity, common conversation rituals, and active listening will help you navigate a lot of cross-cultural encounters successfully. He also suggests reflection on positive aspects of various cultures you belong to will help you develop a global mindset.
