| "Never ascribe to malice that which can adequately be | | | | by the receiver. |
| explained by incompetence" | | | | Furthermore, for as much as there is such a thing as |
| Attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte, this epigram holds | | | | one way communication, it is no doubt desirable to |
| true today in many cross cultural interactions. We can, | | | | focus on a more constructive form of information |
| in fact, generally assume that intercultural | | | | transfer involving an exchange and progression of |
| misunderstandings are the result of cultural myopia | | | | ideas as a two way process. |
| rather than the lack of good intentions. | | | | Communication is no simple endeavor. As George |
| The antidote is called cross cultural competence, i.e. the | | | | Bernhard Shaw once put it, |
| ability to communicate effectively with people from | | | | "The single biggest problem in communication is the |
| cultures different from our own. This is not a quick buy | | | | illusion that it has taken place" |
| off the shelf kind of remedy but rather a process in | | | | We notice how difficult it is to convey and interpret |
| which we can identify at least 3 components or | | | | messages as they were originally intended. This holds |
| stages: | | | | particularly true when communicating across cultures in |
| - AWARENESS of our own cultural conditioning, | | | | as much culture directly impacts the way we send |
| cultural biases, blind spots and hot buttons | | | | and receive information. |
| - KNOWLEDGE about other cultural systems and | | | | Bearing this in mind, when engaging in communication |
| most importantly about how our own culture is viewed | | | | with someone from a culture different from our own, |
| by members of other cultural groups | | | | we should assume our counterpart's good intentions, |
| - SKILLS acquired through cross cultural training | | | | practice empathy and trust our intuition. At the same |
| workshops, real life interactions and experience.Much | | | | time, conscious of the common mental pathway of |
| like learning to play a musical instrument or a sport, | | | | increasing abstraction (known as the ladder of |
| cross cultural competence can only be achieved | | | | inference) that so often leads us to take wrong |
| through continued practice. | | | | actions on the basis of false conclusions we've drawn, |
| In the end, our goal is to achieve effective intercultural | | | | we need to constantly remind ourselves to avoid |
| communication while developing and maintaining | | | | assumptions and suspend judgment. |
| successful relationships. And effective communication | | | | Enjoy the adventure. Cultural competence fosters |
| means nothing less than for the original message, | | | | understanding, mutual growth and gain, while bestowing |
| intended, encoded and sent by the transmitter, to | | | | us with the incommensurable pleasure of expanding |
| coincide with the message decoded and interpreted | | | | our horizons. |