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Cross-Cultural training is an essential skill for people who travel, communicate, and do business across cultures. We hold individual and company trainings to assist you in your business dealings around the world. We have operated from the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy and we are now operating in Israel.

Each region of the world, each country, each people group, is influenced by their history, traditions, religion, and other formative factors.

As a continually growing globalized world, we are more and more in contact with people of various backgrounds. Although we are using predominantly an international language this does not mean we are all on the same page.

There are specific styles of communication that have to do with more than language comprehension.

This is what a successful international business person needs to be aware of. What are these different styles, who uses them? How do we each view the importance of time, space, and relationship?

These are essential parts of our cross-cultural puzzle that can either make or break a business deal. Here at ICCM, we teach the competencies necessary to gain a better understanding of your international counterpart thus acquiring the ability to cross-culturally negotiate and develop productive relationships in your business endeavors.

A Career in Cultures.

I began my career as a cross-cultural communicator and trainer almost 30 years ago and after working cross-culturally for some time in various European countries a Northern European multinational telecommunications company asked me to work alongside their executives and employees in a newly opened office in an important city in the southern Mediterranean.

Thanks to my familiarity with both cultures, my task was to facilitate communication between the Nordic administrators and the Mediterranean executives and employees.

Northern European and Southern Mediterranean communication styles differ significantly: both are those of direct communicators, but there are many shades of communication styles that affect smooth business operations.

The core values of each culture are copiously contrasting, which affects ways of thinking and impacts the exchange of information and ideas.

Traditionally certain areas of the southern Mediterranean are culturally hierarchical, particularly in the workplace, whilst Nordic work culture is typically egalitarian.

It is of the utmost importance to understand whether superiors or colleagues come from a hierarchical or egalitarian culture, as this affects behavior and understanding and has a strong bearing on professional relationships.

 Some examples of communication disparities are in voice tone and volume.

People of Scandinavian cultures tend to avoid conflict or confrontation and refrain from raising their voices, whilst southern Mediterraneans may speak loudly to make themselves heard over one another.

However, this does not necessarily mean they are upset.  

You may find people talk over one another to make themselves heard, whilst people from Nordic cultures usually take turns in a discussion so that each person may speak without interruption. The conclusion of a concept is made clear by a silent pause, so it is seen as disrespectful to interrupt someone during a conversation and shows a lack of conversational discipline.

Such differences can cause misunderstandings and bad feelings that lead to an interruption of fluid business exchanges.   As eye contact and hand gestures have different meanings and carry diverse nuances, they can cause misinterpretation and misjudgment. My tasks were to coach and advise each group about the culture and expectations of the other and to mediate periodic disagreements between them. Learning is the key to understanding.  After some cultural competency training and mediation, each group is initially worked with separately and is led to start to identify the core values, customs, traditions, and work ethics along with symbols of their own culture. Then they are led in exercises and conversations to share and contrast cultural differences and similarities with the other culture in a relaxing, free, friendly environment. Interaction between cultures is encouraged and facilitated and further mentoring continues. Each side eventually came to an understanding of the other’s culture and they began to appreciate the differences. Friendships were developed and the work atmosphere was greatly improved.

Italian translation

La formazione interculturale è una capacità essenziale per le persone che viaggiono, comunicano e fanno affari attraverso le culture diverse.

Noi organizziamo corsi di formazione individuali e aziendali per assisterti nei tuoi rapporti d’affari in tutto il mondo. Ogni regione del mondo, ogni paese, ogni popolo è influenzato dalla propria storia, tradizione, religione e altri fattori formativi. In un mondo globalizzato in continua crescita, siamo sempre più in contatto con persone di diverse estrazioni. Sebbene parliamo prevalentamente una lingua internazionale, ciò non significa che tutti possiamo intenderci. Esistono stili di comunicazione specifici che hanno a che fare con qualcosa in più del linguaggio. Questo è ciò di cui una persona d’affari internazionali di successo deve essere consapevole. Quali sono questi diversi stili, chi li utilizza? In che modo ciascuno di noi considera l’importanza del tempo, dello spazio e delle relazione?   Queste sono parti essenziali del nostro puzzle interculturale che possono favorire o svantaggiare un accordo commerciale. Qui all’ICCM insegniamo le competenze necessarie per meglio comprendere la tua contropartita internazionale, acquisendo cosi la capacità di negoziare in modo interculturale e sviluppare relazioni produttive nelle tue attività commerciali.