4 rules of cross-cultural communication

According to the Federal Security Service, 3.88 million people left Russia in the first quarter of 2022. Some leave by themselves, others leave with their families, teams or whole companies. All these people face problems related to cultural differences. In this article we will discuss how to build business relations in another country.

Moving to a new country evokes a set of questions, one of which is cultural adaptation. I’ve worked in India with the teams from six countries. Now I am in Yerevan and working on projects withininternational markets. Switching from one cultural context to another takes a lot of energy. Tiredness comes after several meetings, because they are all held in different countries and formats (face-to-face, online). So, you’re wondering: how can I switch quickly without losing my resource?

A few weeks of self-observation led to a pattern that helps me stay awake by switching between contexts several times during a day.

Barriers of cross-cultural communication

First, it is important to understand the categories in which the communication distortion occurs. In business communications, these are factors of decision-making, speed of communication, types of thinking, trust factors, and others that are not clear if you have no experience of communication in terms of this culture.

At the same time, there is a number of common causes of disruption of cross-cultural communications, which are:

· different perception of reality by representatives of different cultures;

· differences in the stereotypical assessment of the same phenomena in different cultures;

· semantic and technical communication disorders resulting from linguistic (verbal) and emotional (paraverbal) communications, as well as differences in interpretation of gestures (nonverbal).

4F Model

I’ve came up with the 4F model based on my own experience of living and communicating in a different business contexts.

1. Focus on the context.
Place, time, language, culture, person.

Look through the factors listed above (say them out loud). This will allow you to land at the basic level: meeting with this country, at this place (online/offline), at this time, with this person.

When I interact with someone from a different context, it is always helpful to read articles, reports on the country’s economy and culture, watch movies, or visit national galleries.

2. Focus on the task.
Answer to the question: about what?

What the meeting will be about, whether a small talk is appropriate or not. There are cultures where a clear meeting plan and time are of the utmost importance. In other cultural contexts, for example, in Yerevan, the first meeting may seem to be one big small talk, because in this culture it is vital to establish personal contact with the interlocutor, and then discuss business issues. This is similar to the French culture, where business lunches are a common practice. Food is essential in France, and it is taken seriously, so the beginning of any dialogue will be about dishes and wines. Understanding these features will allow you to avoid creating unnecessary tension in communication and set right priorities for meeting tasks.

3. Focus on yourself.
In this precise case, who am I? With what role and skills?

This tests our flexibility and ability to communicate empathically. Some are annoyed by slowness, others by punctuality. Some are inclined to a strictly formal (hierarchical) style of communication, while others strive for informality and avoid regalia. Understanding your strengths, personal communication style, and mindset is crucial when entering a new cultural context. Otherwise, there is a risk that you will be annoyed and will not understand why, and this will definitely impact the effectiveness of interaction with your interlocutor.

When I was working in India, I had a girl from China in my team to whom I assigned tasks. After a couple of meetings, it became obvious why the tasks weren’t done properly. My thinking style was goingfrom something general to something specific, and I rarely go into details about the process itself, focusing more on the image of the result. However, it was important for my colleague to understand the details of the process. I was talking about the “what” to do, and she needed an answer to the “how”question.

When communicating with a colleague from Australia, my speech rate went to its maximum, otherwise she did not perceive the information. Certainly, it wasn’t always possible to adapt. Yet, in such a case, the main thing is to pay attention to your reactions, behavior and awareness that everyone is different. This focus will help you develop the right communication strategies to achieve your goals. For example, how do I get the opinion of a person from the hierarchical culture? One of the principles is to name a specific person and highlight the significance of his or her opinion.

4. Focus on the result.
What are your expectations from the meeting?

The result is quite a relative concept, especially when you do the same action in different cultural contexts. This focus helps you set appropriate expectations without forcing yourself or other people. For some, a good result of the first meeting will be just a personal acquaintance, and for others — specific agreements on the next steps, though all of you have the same meeting agenda.

Fast algorithm

1. What context am I in?

2. What problem am I solving?

3. Who am I in this? What set of skills do I need?

4. What would be a good result?

Developing cross-cultural communication is a complex skill that requires a high degree of reflection, care, and flexibility. If you are going to dive into this topic, I recommend reading the book by Erin Meyer «The Culture Map”.