Which of the following can help reduce misconceptions and misperceptions when interacting with someone from different culture?

Need examples of cultural misunderstandings in business?

Well, we are going to share real-life examples of cultural misunderstandings from our cross-cultural training work.

We have picked 3 examples that highlight the most common challenges people face when working across cultures.

If you are looking for high-profile examples of cultural misunderstandings, then you might also find these interesting:

DON'T MISS THE FREE SAMPLE OF OUR CULTURAL AWARENESS COURSE AT THE END!

1. “Sit Where you Like” (Chinese vs. American culture)

In this example, we have an American company selling high-end technical goods to a potential Chinese buyer.

[Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels]

Relations have been going well and the Chinese have been invited for a factory tour in anticipation of the contract between the two companies finally being signed.

The evening after the tour, the Americans host the Chinese delegation for a dinner at a local restaurant.

Upon entering the restaurant, the head of the Chinese delegation is greeted by a junior member of the US team. He asks where he should sit, to which he is told to, “sit where you like”.

The next day the Chinese delegation left the USA without signing any contract. Days later the US team received word that the Chinese felt humiliated and were reconsidering the business relationship.

So, what happened?

Well the cultural misunderstanding comes down to a few things. In Chinese culture, hierarchy is really important, whereas in American culture, it's more about equality and displays of hierarchy aren’t culturally comfortable.

So, when the head of the Chinese delegation was only greeted by a junior member of the team, rather than the most senior, he immediately felt a loss of face.

To add insult to injury he was then told to ‘sit anywhere’ – when, ideally, he should have been given the seat at the head of the table next to the most senior member of the US team. In Chinese culture, people tend to hide their feelings. For this reason, the team did not say anything at the time. 

The US team had to work hard to repair the damage. This cultural misunderstanding led to an 8-month delay in the signing of the contract.

2. “It’s fine” (Dutch vs. British Culture)

In this example, we have a Dutch national who has recently moved to the UK.

[Photo by Yelena Odintsova from Pexels]

This individual really struggles to understand the British. For example, when they prepare a report or a presentation and show it to their manager for feedback they are told, “it’s fine”.

However, after handing in the report or making the presentation they discover the manager is not pleased as things are missing.

They can’t understand why they are being told something is fine, to only find out later, it is not fine. This along with other communication challenges is really bothering the Dutch national.

So, what’s going on here?

Well, it’s all about how different cultures communicate. The Dutch are used to being open, frank and honest when giving opinions. If you say something is ‘fine’, then it’s fine.

In the UK however, the British communication culture is very different. You need to listen to much more than the words in the UK. People say one thing but mean another. Saying something is “fine” in the UK really means it is not fine – it’s the exact opposite.

Among Brits, they understand what ‘fine’ means – it means it’s 'not good enough' and that changes need to be made. The Dutch national however took the meaning literally – big mistake!

3. “I’m Just Joking!” (Australian vs. Thai Culture)

In this example, we have an Australian national who moved to work in Bangkok, Thailand.

[Photo by icon0.com from Pexels]

Within a very short time, the Thai nationals in the office were not very impressed with their new addition. Complaints were being made against him for inappropriate behaviour.

Most notably many of the Thais said he was rude to them. He was being given the cold shoulder by his Thai colleagues and not feeling welcome.

So, what went wrong?

In this example of a cultural misunderstanding, the Australian was trying to make friends through humour. He would make jokes about his Thai colleagues in front of other people. Now in Australia this is an acceptable way of making friends.

‘Banter’ between colleagues is normal and people will make jokes about one another as a means of showing friendliness.

In Thailand however, this simply does not translate. You don’t make jokes about people in front of others, especially work colleagues. As a result of his behaviour, all the Thais in the office thought that the Australian was extremely rude and insensitive; in fact, he was just trying to be friendly.

Cultural Misunderstandings and Values

As we see in all three examples of cultural misunderstandings, both sides have not understood that their culture, and their way of doing things, doesn’t work in the new culture.

Much of this comes down to values and how cultures are shaped by the values they prioritise.

For example, the Chinese value hierarchy whereas the Americans value equality. The Dutch value transparency whereas the Brits value subtlety and diplomacy.

The Thais value face, reputation and formality whereas the Australians value humour, friendship and a much more informal approach to business.

All cultures prioritise different values and a lot of the time when we see examples of cultural misunderstandings its usually a case of one culture looking at another culture through their own cultural lens.

Here's a free sample of the course video.

Main Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

At work we find ourselves working with increasingly multicultural teams so it is paramount we have an understanding of the cultural differences that exist among our coworkers. For instance, it is often assumed by mother tongue speakers that those non native speakers, who speak their language well, should also have a high understanding of their culture. Being a ‘fluent fool’ (speaking the language but knowing little about the culture) is often a cause for misunderstandings within multicultural teams. Learning how to use cross-cultural communication skills will greatly improve our success when doing international business and working with multicultural teams.

To become a true global citizen, one must abandon all notions of ‘otherness’ and instead embrace ‘togetherness’. – Suzy Kassem

Cross-Cultural Communication skills

Although we may have cultural & language differences there are some behavioural skills which can be applied across cultures. 

Know yourself

Know what response you would like from any communication. What do you want to achieve? Select the most appropriate from of communication to get the response you want. Understand your own communication style and how it might be perceived by other people.

Clarification

Clarifying what you think you may understand is critical for good cross-cultural communication. Paraphrase what you understood and ask for confirmation. Confirm when you have understood.

Listen

Learn to be a good listener. By listening you can show interest, look for what is not being said, focus on the main message and give yourself time to react.

Summarizing

By regularly confirming and summarizing what the other is saying you will have a better understanding of their intentions and opinions. You can then formulate a more informed response. 

Effective Questions

Use simple easy to understand questions. Open questions to expand an area and get more information. Closed questions to get more specific replies. Where possible avoid interrupting.

Avoid Ambiguity

Ambiguity can cause misunderstandings so, be explicit and say exactly what you mean.

Keep it Friendly

Be patient and give positive feedback. Use optimistic, constructive and positive language to keep the interaction as friendly as possible. Use humour if appropriate.

Feedback

Ask for feedback. When giving feedback: Base feedback on specific data. Do not evaluate, but describe. Instead of giving advice, share information. Try to discuss, not debate. Check your feedback was understood and not misinterpreted.

Language

Use easy to understand language. Chose your words carefully. Speak clearly and slow enough for them to understand. Avoid irony or humour. Remember the aim is to transmit your message effectively.

Non-verbal language

The use of gestures, movements, material things, time, and space can clarify or confuse an issue so, it is important we use our non-verbal language to mirror our verbal language and reinforce our message. By learning to interpret non-verbal language we can gain a better insight into what the person is not saying.

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