Intercultural Target Training GmbH

Posts

How the British handle difficult questions

In every culture, there are questions and topics that are taboo. They are considered too personal or indiscreet, and people feel embarrassed or even offended when asked about them. Handling difficult questions about taboo subjects can be really tricky and each culture deals with them differently. Not all cultures have the same taboos. When making small talk, an international colleague might innocently ask you about your salary, family, health or age without realising that these questions could make you feel uncomfortable. How do you deal with these difficult questions without further embarrassment? What do you say to make sure your colleague doesn’t lose face?

How the Brits do it

There are 3 main strategies that the British use when it comes to handling difficult questions. They use these strategies so they can prevent negative consequences like socially awkward situations and damaged business relationships. By using these phrases and strategies the British can avoid difficult questions rather than feeling embarrassed by talking about a topic that makes them feel uncomfortable. What’s more, they can do it in a way that doesn’t offend the person who showed interest in them by asking the question.

Strategy 1: Try to gain time to think about how to respond

Phrases:

  • Let me think…
  • That’s an interesting / difficult question.
  • Can we talk about that another time / later?

 Strategy 2: Try to change the subject

 Phrases:

  • Look at the time – I don’t want to be late for my meeting / lunch / train.
  • Actually I’d like to ask you a question about (something completely different) if you don’t mind…

 Strategy 3: Try to gently show that I’m uncomfortable with the question

 Phrases:

  • I don’t really know how to answer that.
  • I’m afraid it’s a long story.

Are you looking for cultural insights?

During the next few months, we’ll be publishing more articles on doing business in different countries. Do you have specific questions about how to deal with international colleagues or partners? Or, have you gained cultural insights through your work in different countries? Use the comments box below to let us know your thoughts.

Click for more information about our intercultural seminars or the IAP.

Giving Advice Across Cultures

Is giving advice the same in every culture?

Giving advice to someone is not as simple as just telling them what to do, especially in an intercultural situation where more sensitivity needs to be applied.  The problem is that if the advice you give is too direct it can come across as a command. What if you haven’t understood the situation correctly or completely, and your advice is no good? The person seeking your advice needs ‘an out’ – a way that they can reject your advice, or reformulate their request for advice without losing face – or causing you to lose face!

Below you can see some typical phrases for giving advice across cultures in the form of tips which can help you ensure nobody loses face. They offer your conversation partner plenty of flexibility to take your advice or not, as they see fit. If you are able to offer advice in an objective, neutral, sensitive and respectful way when people come to you, then the risk of accidentally damaging a good working relationship will be reduced.

Language for giving advice across cultures

 

Tip: Clarify the limits of the question
Phrase: If I were you, I’d make sure you understand the limits of the question.

Tip: Ask how your advice sounds
Phrase: Asking how your advice sounds might help.

Tip: Be confident not arrogant
Phrase: If you ask me, be confident but not arrogant when giving advice across cultures.

Tip: Beware of giving unsolicited advice
Phrase: Bear in mind the difference between solicited and unsolicited advice.

Tip: Give the recipient an “out”.
Phrase: You could try giving the recipient an “out.”

Tip: Ask for follow-up
Phrase: In your situation I would make sure to ask for follow-up.

3 Benefits of using suitable language when giving advice

By ensuring the language you use to frame your advice is culturally sensitive you can:

  1. address your conversation partner respectfully
  2. avoid damaging relationships
  3. help establish trust and open channels of communication

If you are interested in learning more about doing business across cultures check out our seminar details. And for more details on intercultural communication take a look at our selection of blog posts.

 

Intercultural Training: Internal vs External Control

As a second generation Northerner in the US, a lot of my family comes directly from the South.  My family, like many others, was part of the second Great Migration of African Americans from the South to the North in the 1930’s – 1950’s.  One of my favorite memories growing up was talking to a great, great aunt from Alabama.  She spoke what many would call Creole English and it took a while for me to be able to understand her. When I did, I was immersed in stories and idioms I had never heard before in my cultured, Northern upbringing.  When talking about plans for the future, my aunt would say, “If God is willing and the creek don’t rise.” I used to think it was just something she said without thinking about it until I came across Fons Trompenaars’ Seven Dimensions of Culture with the dimension of Internal vs External Control. 
eBook: The definitive checklist for qualifying training providers

Internal vs External Control

I know now that my aunt may have been acknowledging the potential impact of the unknown and uncontrollable on her plans. That acknowledgement was something new to me as a boy as I was used to hearing people simply say what they intended to do.  While some may say the acknowledgement of the unknown is implicit in all of our plans, I’m not so sure.  Cultures that value Internal Control tend to believe they can bend nature and the future to their will. An obstacle to what is desired doesn’t change the goal, only the way to achieve it.  Cultures that value External Control seek to live in harmony with the situation as it is rather than trying to fundamentally change reality. 

These two perspectives impact how we see many things including conflict.  For cultures valuing Internal Control, conflict is a natural part of fashioning situations as one wants them to be.  Understanding that there are different views of the future can lead to preparing for dealing with conflict, either directly or indirectly. For cultures valuing External Control, conflict is a sign of doing something wrong since conflict is the opposite of harmony. Doing something right can mean doing it without conflict.  This can have many implications in our general approach to saving face with others, how we approach and employ technology, and our willingness to change our ways of life in response to external forces.

In the business world

In business, the process of leading the market to a new product or technology versus responding to market needs is a key expression of the Internal vs External Control dilemma. Trompenaars suggests reconciliation may be found in anticipating market needs by being sensitive to the current needs of the market and what may influence the market in the future.  This may include marketing efforts, “If God is willing and the creek don’t rise.”

The focus on reconciliation is why Target Training integrates Trompenaars Hampden-Turner’s experience and research into our solutions.  Through reconciliation, clients will find better solutions to the intercultural  problems they face.  Target Training is a licensed supplier of  Trompenaars-Hampden-Turner’s  Intercultural Awareness Profile and Cultural Competence Online Products. Target Training provides intercultural training based on the Trompenaars’ Seven Dimension Model alone and as part of business communication skills training.

Achievement vs Ascription in Business

What is meant by achievement vs ascription?

I recently had a conversation when a German friend of mine described a family member as “My father’s sister”.  Thinking she was momentarily missing the word “Aunt”, I offered the correction only to be corrected myself.  She told me she knew the word “Aunt” but the women she was referring to had no relationship with her and had not earned the title.  In my family the titles of “aunt” and “uncle” aren’t a matter of merit but birth and I had difficulty imagining it being any other way, but through my intercultural training experience I was able to make better sense of it.

Writing emails that people read: Free eBook download hbspt.cta.load(455190, ‘aaa71860-e705-4a7e-b8e5-ab6e16849d2e’, {});

Achievement vs Ascription

In Fons Trompenaars’ cultural dilemma of achievement vs ascription, achievement and ascription are on opposite ends of a continuum.  Ascription is the cultural tendency of assigning social status on the basis of birth.  We can see this in monarchies, caste systems, and traditions where societal roles and jobs are passed down by birth.
A society with the cultural tendency of achievement values a more merit based assignment of social status where members earn their positions based on their decisions, relationships, hard work, or lack thereof.
For my German friend, the family status of “Aunt” or “Uncle” needed to be achieved where in my family, those titles were ascribed by birth.  Now in my family, non-family members earned the title of “aunt” without being related by blood due to their relationships with my parents or grandparents.  This “play aunt” achieved her family status through the strength of and length of the relationship.

Impact on business

The “So what?” to this cultural dilemma can be important when we consider the importance of respect and how it is given or earned.  Ascribed status isn’t always obvious.  The brother of the company president may be a line manager yet he may have far more importance in the organization than his position title may imply.  Treating him in a manner with less respect than expected could lead to problems. Additionally, decisions may be made on the basis of maintaining social stability (ascription) rather than enhancing social mobility (achievement).  High achievers may feel stuck in a system that honors ascription, like workers in a family business who know, no matter what, the son of the owner will be the next president.
Many organizations honor both ascription and achievement by offering benefits tied to length of service and benefits, such as performance bonuses and commissions, tied to productivity.  This is a reconciliation that honors elders while honoring the achievements of anyone in the organization, including the elders.
Learning to recognize and reconcile cultural differences gives business people more options for gaining better results.


The focus on reconciliation is why Target Training integrates Trompenaars Hampden-Turner’s experience and research into our solutions.  Through reconciliation, clients will find better solutions to the intercultural  problems they face.  Target Training is a licensed supplier of  Trompenaars-Hampden-Turner’s  Intercultural Awareness Profile and Cultural Competence Online Products. Target Training provides intercultural training based on the Trompenaars’ Seven Dimension Model alone and as part of business communication skills training. Click to learn more about Ascription vs Achievement and other topics in our intercultural seminars.

Intercultural Training: Rethinking the Do’s and Dont’s

Intercultural training seems to be more popular than ever. But there is more than one way to define intercultural training.

From my perspective, there are two main areas of intercultural training. The one I see the most, and the one most people seem to ask for, is training about how to act and how not to act in a given country. Simply put, people want a list of “Do”s and “Don’t”s.

For example:
“Should I give my host a present in Iran?” or
“Do they kiss or shake hands when they meet in Mozambique?”

This sort of advice can be useful if you are in a hurry and you want to be aware of the tricky situations. But, does it really help you to do business in the country? And, do you need a list for every country?
Think for a moment of your own culture. Can you really tell someone how they should act when they come to your country? Do all of the people in your country act the same, react the same, talk, walk or dress the same? Of course they don’t.

Looking at Intercultural Training a Different Way

So, yes, lists of how to behave can help you if you are in a hurry and that is all you have. But, there must be more to intercultural training.

The second type of intercultural training, and the one that I prefer, is about intercultural awareness. Using models such as Trompenaars Hampden-Turner’s seven dimensions of culture or Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory, you can learn how to interpret behavior and adapt your own behavior accordingly.

Once you know what to look for, you can become better at observing a culture and working out why they behave the way they do. You can then do a much better job of working out what you should do and why you should do it.

One advantage of looking at the dimensions of culture is that you can apply these to any culture. You are no longer dependent on having a list for a specific country, so you can then apply the dimensions to any culture.

Getting Results in Business

Additionally, once you understand more about why people act a certain way, you can start to think about how you should act when performing different tasks, e.g. presenting your product, selling your service, negotiating or arguing.

For example, a list of intercultural tips might tell you that in a certain culture people come to meetings in twos or threes but never alone. But, when you look at why they do this, it might be because they value communitarianism over individualism. This information can really help you to do business with these people.

So, when you are looking for intercultural training, remember to look for intercultural awareness. This will help you understand why people act in certain ways which will let you make your own decisions about how you should act. Let us know in the comments section below about your experiences.

Doing Business Internationally: What JFK Can Teach Us

June 26th marks the 50th anniversary of American President John F. Kennedy’s ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’ speech in West Berlin.  Kennedy’s historically significant address came after the Soviet backed East Berlin had erected a wall to prevent ease of movement.  Although delivered on a German platform the speech was intended for the world’s stage.  So why are we still talking about this speech?  And better yet, what can this speech teach us about doing international business in a global company?

Kennedy successfully draws in his audience and creates connection with the West Berliners by uttering a few words in German.  Kennedy connected with his listeners by delivering a simple yet passionate message.  With his distinctive Bostonian accent, he is able to relate to the crowd by employing the language of his host country.  Although some believe his declarative is really a cry about his similarity to jelly donuts, he left the podium with cheering crowds.  Hence Kennedy provides an excellent model of what the visitor in a foreign country should thoughtfully replicate.

Quick Tips on doing business internationally:

  1. Learn a few words in the language of your host country.  When meeting with global business partners, an attempt at the local language can establish more rapport and trust than people care to realize.  A simple greeting and ‘thank you’ can go a long way.
  2. Know the name of your partner’s nationality.  Yes, you are communicating with colleagues and customers in English. Therefore, you should know that people from Prague are Czech, people from Amsterdam are Dutch and people from Athens are Greek.  And of course, citizens from Berlin are Berliners.
  3. Be aware of the local political, social, economic climate of the place you are visiting.  You might just be in the country for a few days doing business, but your business partner lives there and is impacted and influenced by their local landscape.  However this is not carte blanche to act like an expert and give advice because every language has a word for someone who is a Klugscheißer.

Moreover compelling communication is not about your agenda, your priorities or your end game.  It is about understanding the needs and concerns of your partner, appreciating their point of view and adding value and meaning to the relationship.

So, have you had your jelly donut moment yet?  Let us know, or if you have any other tips on doing business internationally in the comments are below.

Intercultural Training: Sequential and Synchronic Views of Time

The question seems simple enough—“Are we on time?” but that seemingly simple question can unlock different ways of viewing time and the commitments associated with our view of time.   My experience with intercultural training has made me think about, and look at, that question a bit differently.

“On time” in Ghana

It reminds me of the story about a German businessman traveling in Ghana.  He set a meeting with his Ghanaian counterpart for 1 p.m. Since “on time” for the German businessman meant arriving early enough for the meeting to begin at 1 p.m., he made sure he arrived at the Ghanaian’s office 10 minutes early to account for things that could go wrong.  After his arrival, he was greeted by the secretary of his Ghanaian counterpart and told to take a seat. 1 p.m. came and went and his Ghanaian counterpart wasn’t there. 1:10 p.m. came and went, and his counterpart wasn’t there. 1:20 p.m. came and went and his counterpart still wasn’t there. At this point the German businessman asked the secretary if everything was OK.  Had there been an accident preventing the arrival of his counterpart? The secretary simply smiled and said she was sure everything was OK and that the Ghanaian businessman should be along any minute now. The German businessman returned to his seat and continued to wait, becoming angrier as each moment passed. As the clock struck 1:45 p.m. the Ghanaian businessman entered his office in no particular hurry, chatted with his secretary and invited the then angry German businessman into his office.  After closing the door, the German businessman could not contain himself any long and he said, “I don’t know what kind of outfit you’re running here but we clearly said we would meet at 1:00 p.m.  According to my watch, it is now 1:55 p.m.!” The Ghanaian took a seat behind his desk and said “My good man, you have the watch but I have the time.”
eBook: The definitive checklist for qualifying training providers

Sequential v. Synchronic views of time

The story above is an illustration of two different ways of seeing time, sequentially and synchronically.  According to Fons Trompenaars Seven Dimensions of Culture, cultures with a preference for a sequential approach to time tend to treat time as a commodity.  Time is something to be saved, spent or wasted.  Time is used to bring order and set limits, like the counselor who says your time is up even if you are in the middle of revealing a deep insight.

On the other hand, those cultures which tend to see time synchronically see time more holistically and interconnected. Time doesn’t drive the task.  If I am meeting with my manager and the meeting goes longer than expected, I probably won’t stand up at the appointed hour and leave! If he decides it is a better use of my time to meet with him than to do the other things I planned to do, then I would shift and cancel other commitments. Synchronic cultures tend to value priorities more than a predetermined time limit. They will do what is right to do at the moment, not follow a strict schedule.

What can we do when different cultural perspectives of being “on time” clash? Typically one view can accommodate the other. I can bring a book or work with me to appointments in case someone is late or add time to the appointment in anticipation of the other being late. On the other hand, I could clear time before an important meeting, account for what could go wrong and leave in plenty of time to be there at the appointed hour.  If I’m early, so be it.

Reconciliation is something different than simply tolerating and accommodating the tendencies of others. In reconciliation we can negotiate with each other to find a way that works for both of us.  Being aware of our different tendencies and caring about our relationships leads to solutions beyond compromise.  For example if I am more synchronic and you are more sequential, instead of you needing to bring a book with you to our meeting, I’ll commit to a longer time together and provide you with a meaningful activity before we meet. If we need less time, you will have saved time and if I am delayed you still can do something worthwhile and productive before we begin. No time is “wasted” and you will have my undivided attention during our meeting until our goals are met.

The focus on reconciliation is why Target Training integrates Trompenaars Hampden-Turner’s experience and research into our solutions.  Through reconciliation, clients will find better solutions to the intercultural  problems they face.  Target Training is a licensed supplier of  Trompenaars-Hampden-Turner’s  Intercultural Awareness Profile and Cultural Competence Online Products. Target Training provides intercultural training based on the Trompenaars’ Seven Dimension Model alone and as part of business communication skills training.

 

Target Talks: Sebastian Turnbull on the importance of training and international business communication

Target Talks is a series of interviews with key Target Training GmbH employees, designed to put them on the spot about a topic that really matters to all of us: the importance of training.  This week, we talk to Sebastian Turnbull, Training Materials Specialist.

Before we get down to talking about your views on the importance of training, tell us a little about yourself (experience and qualifications).

ST: Well, when I was studying at University, I didn’t know that languages would play such an important part in my life, but then I did my Teaching Certificate and became fascinated by how people learn.  I also saw that training can make a real difference in people’s lives.  After that, I worked a further 2 years in London, studied for my Postgraduate Diploma and then went to France to teach Business English; it was there that I became uncertain about the security of the language teaching profession and, due to a general lack of opportunities, I returned to the UK and retrained as a lawyer.  It soon became clear to me, though, that my heart was still in language training and, on applying to Target, I found a company that offered me the professional environment and career opportunities I was looking for.

Why is language and communications training still so important for managers and employees in the business world today?

ST: Communication is extremely important in all areas, and people just don’t think about it often enough on an everyday level.  We don’t always listen well; we are not always understood in the way we want to be understood and in a way that gets results.  And this is in our native language!  International business communication is doubly important and doubly difficult in an multinational, multilingual workplace; people have to set aside time to reflect on how they communicate and how they can make it more effective.

How is this reflected in the training materials you author and develop?

ST: A lot depends on the language level. Obviously, the lower language level materials focus more on the nuts and bolts of the language and, as your level goes up, the why and how of communicating gets increasingly important.  Even at a basic level, though, including activities for participants on, for example, how to structure a telephone call is vital in helping them to get their message across.

Tell us about a current materials-development project that you’re involved in.

ST: I am currently working on an epic project: modularizing Target’s language and international business communications skills seminars!  The idea behind it is to pool Target’s extensive know-how and make it directly available to our clients and staff.  I am working on a series of Target seminars at all levels across many topics (e.g. Working with Virtual Teams, Presenting, Negotiating and Meetings) which will be available on a ‘Plug ‘n’ Play’ basis or used as a base from which to tailor client-specific training.

How has your legal background helped your training?

ST: I have a lot of experience in courtroom work, and that has given me a valuable insight into how people communicate and how that communication can affect outcomes.  My legal experience has also proved extremely valuable in language training for particular specialist areas (e.g. banking, accounting, HR and obviously legal).

Many thanks to Sebastian for taking part in our Target Talks series.  Now, over to our readers: which questions do you have for Target Training about training?

 

Intercultural Training: Universalism, Particularism and the Road to Kumasi

Even with all my experience traveling and leading intercultural training, I still come across some situations that surprise me a bit.  On my first trip to Ghana I hired a driver to take me from Accra to Kumasi.  I met the driver in the morning and before we got underway he said we needed to go to the market.  I wasn’t in much of a hurry so I agreed.  When we arrived he asked for 10,000 Cedis (about a $1.50 US at the time) to pick up supplies.  He quickly purchased a bunch of bananas, some paper products and a few small items and off we went.  I wondered why but didn’t really think much about it.

The mystery was solved when we arrived at our first police check point.  When we arrived, the driver stopped the car, got the large bunch of bananas out of the back and disappeared in the police officer’s hut.  He came out a few minutes later with a grin and off we went.  It was the same procedure when we arrived at the next check point and the next.  The driver got a “gift” out of the back of the car, presented to the police officer in private and off we went.

Universalism v. Particularism

Fons Trompenaars, wrote about this in his universalism/particularism dilemma. Fons is an internationally recognized intercultural communications expert, leader of Trompenaars Hampden-Turner and developer of the seven cultural dilemmas model.  In universalism, the rules of a group outweigh the interests of individuals in the group. That includes rules against police officers accepting “gifts” in exchange for permission to pass a check point.  In particularism, the individual circumstances can be more important than the rules of the group.  So for a poorly paid police officer to request assistance from a relatively rich foreigner to supplement his income is a logical and acceptable thing to do.

Role in International Business

The universalism v. particularism dilemma plays a powerful role in international business.  The concept of corruption can sometimes be seen as a universalist judgment of particularistic behavior. On the other hand, Universalist rule followers can be labeled as inhumane, inflexible bureaucrats who value following rules more than the consequences people endure.  This can be seen in the Universalist West in the primacy of the contract over long-term personal relationships. The handshake contract can still be valuable in other more Particularist parts of the world where an extensive and deep personal relationship provides security for the deal rather than a set of laws and a court system.

The culturally competent Ghanaian driver knew two things quite clearly: Americans tended to tolerate but dislike what we saw as “bribes” to the police. Some of the Ghanaian police at the check points felt within their right to request what for the average American tourist was a trivial amount of money to facilitate our onward journey, similar to paying a toll.  The driver built relationships with the police along the way of his often traveled road.  He found out what the police officers needed in their remote outposts and delivered it to them in exchange for not having to pass on to his passengers the request for money from the police. He integrated the needs of the police with the rules by not putting them in a position to break them. It felt better for me to buy a bunch of bananas in advance of the trip than to be forced to hand over cash at a check point. Besides, he gave me a great example of reconciliation in action.

 

The focus on reconciliation is why Target Training integrates Trompenaars Hampden-Turner’s experience and research into our solutions.  Through reconciliation, clients will find better solutions to the intercultural  problems they face.  Target Training is a licensed supplier of  Trompenaars-Hampden-Turner’s  Intercultural Awareness Profile and Cultural Competence Online Products. Target Training provides intercultural training based on the Trompenaars’ Seven Dimension Model alone and as part of business communication skills training.

 

Intercultural Training: Individualism, Communitarianism and the Toilet Brush

Living and working in an intercultural world and leading intercultural training means I have the chance to notice differences. One of the things I’ve noticed in traveling between Germany and the US may strike you as odd but I think it helps make a point.  When I visit the public WC in a German airport I notice that each stall has a toilet brush but in the US airports I’ve visited, there isn’t one.  Why is that?  Fons Trompenaars’ cultural dilemma concepts of Individualism and Communitarianism from his Seven Dimensions of Culture may shed some light on the subject.

In the business world

In business, a cultural tendency toward individualism means that the community exists to serve the needs of the individuals in it.  If a community or group no longer serves the needs of an individual, it is more than understandable for an individual to leave and find a new group that will.

A cultural tendency toward communitarianism is the opposite.  Communitarianism holds that the needs of the individual are not as important as the needs of the group.  Individuals are expected to sacrifice on behalf of the well being of the group.  The amount of sacrifice expected varies from culture to culture.

As with each of Trompenaars’ seven dimensions, we are talking about the relative value tendencies of groups, not behavior differences of individuals. Naturally, there are people in more communitarian cultures who value individualism and vice-versa. But what does this have to do with toilet brushes in airport WC stalls?

The toilet brush

My sense is the toilet brushes in German public WC stalls come from two things, low water toilets and the feeling of responsibility to the “next guy”.  A small expectation to clean could be based on the need to conserve water for the society and that the next guy has a right to expect a clean toilet bowl before use.  I know it’s not much of an inconvenience to take a few seconds to clean a toilet bowl in a public WC, yet in the airports I’ve visited in the US, I’m not expect to do it at all, hence no toilet brush.

Comparatively, the US culture tends to value individualism far more than the German culture though both cultures value individualism compared to the world average.   But what’s the “So what?” to it all.  If I need to influence someone from a more individualistic culture I may begin by noting the personal benefits and advantages of the new behavior or idea I bring up.  If, on the other hand, I need to influence someone from a more communitarian culture, it would make sense to begin with the benefits of the new behavior or idea to the group.  In a business with both cultural tendencies present, it may make sense to design policies and communication that appeal to both tendencies.

Reconciling the differences offers businesses a chance to turn working across cultures into a corporate advantage rather than a cost of doing business.  Please share your experiences on the topic in the comments area below.

The focus on reconciliation is why Target Training integrates Trompenaars Hampden-Turner’s experience and research into our solutions.  Through reconciliation, clients will find better solutions to the intercultural  problems they face.  Target Training is a licensed supplier of  Trompenaars-Hampden-Turner’s  Intercultural Awareness Profile and Cultural Competence Online Products. Target Training provides intercultural training based on the Trompenaars’ Seven Dimension Model alone and as part of business communication skills training.

 

Intercultural Challenges Q and A

Sometimes we are faced with difficult intercultural challenges at the workplace or in our personal lives.  Here is a good example of a common question asked within the intercultural arena:

Q:

Why do Americans have such short attention spans? When Americans ask questions and I begin to answer with the necessary context they need to understand my point, the Americans “turn-off” or change the subject.  I find it quite rude, but I guess that’s just how Americans are.

– A French Executive working for a German Multinational Company

A:

In the example above, one potential cultural explanation is based on Trompenaars’ Dilemma of Specific v. Diffuse.  Specific cultures tend to be to-the-point, singular in focus, and “efficient.” Diffuse cultures tend to value context, inter-relationships, and aesthetics.   Americans tend to be more “specific” culturally than the French. So when an American asks a question, he tends to want a direct answer first. Some call it Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF). If an American wants more context, he’ll ask for it after hearing the answer.

An example of a typical intercultural challenge

American: Should I visit the Eiffel Tower while I’m in Paris?

French: Well the Eiffel Tower is largely regarded as an architectural wonder.  It was meant to be a temporary structure for the 1889 International Exhibition in Paris that was held to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the French Revolution. It has two restaurants and you can use stairs or an elevator to get to the lower two levels.  You’ll need to take an elevator to get to the top. It’s one of the most visited sites in the world with a great view of Paris.  The lines can be long so the best time to arrive is before the Tower opens.  Many Americans I’ve met say it’s something you just have to do, though the view from the Arc de Triomphe is quite nice and one doesn’t need to wait in line so long.

American: Thanks… (though he probably stopped paying attention after the first sentence)

An alternative to deal with the American’s specific tendencies

American: Should I visit the Eiffel Tower while I’m in Paris?

French: Yes, it’s quite nice, if you have the time.

American: Does it take a lot of time?

French: Yes, the lines can be long, but if you go before it opens the lines are shorter. Do you know there is another great view of Paris?

American: No, where?

French: The Arc de Triomphe has a great view and the lines are usually short.

American: The Arc de Triomphe… (with a questioning look)

French: Yes, it’s very famous. I’m sure you’ve seen pictures of it from WWII in the liberation of Paris.

American: Oh yes!  Thank you for tip!

 

If you want to learn more about Trompenaar’s Seven Dimensions, you can catch his explanation of them on YouTube by clicking here.  Also, for more intercultural challenges examples, check out Trompenaars blog here.