How Can We Overcome Cultural Communication Barriers in Global Training? Seeking Your Insights

Addressing Cultural Communication Barriers in Global Training

While I was talking to a professional in the readiness development service, specifically one who conducts Global Training, the individual mentioned certain challenges, particularly cultural communication barriers. Even though English is a universal language for training, the preference for the native language is often a priority. How can we address these cultural communication barriers, and what strategies could be used to overcome such barriers and understand the customers very well?

Awaiting your inputs...

Regards

Hi Shruthi,

Your post is not clear. What do you mean by Cultural Communication? Which native language(s) are you referring to? When you say customers, whom are you referring to? If a professional imparts training globally (as per your post), then what's the role of native language in that?

English is certainly the most popular business language as far as communication is concerned at the international level. However, it is not adequate by itself. There are cultural influences (having no bearing on English or any other language) that one has to understand to do successful business.

Cultural Misunderstandings in Advertising

A concocted anecdote is often referred to about a popular soft drink with international standing. It is said to have taken place in Arabia. There are three slides in an advertisement with pictures and no language written to explain the same. A man is lying down in a hot desert and he is offered the soft drink. The second picture (to its right) shows the man drinking the soft drink. The third one (the next right) shows the man in a happy mood with arms raised and full of energy. The advertisement failed to give any positive impact.

The intended message is clear if you read from left to right. However, in Arabia, they read from right to left. As you ponder, you can imagine what a bad message the same pictures convey, as you see them from right to left.

Understanding Local Cultural Influences

Like this, one has to understand local cultural influences of nodding the head, shaking hands, talking with ladies, etc. A study of body language will help to mitigate the difficulties to a large extent.

Regards,
V. Raghunathan

Certainly, English has become a language of communication at the global level. However, the local culture and language of the people attending the training play a significant role in facilitating the best communication and understanding. This is particularly relevant to the advanced understanding of English.

Key Strategies for Effective Training Communication

1) A trainer must possess knowledge of the local language, not just at a proficient level, but also be able to express themselves relatively well, incorporating some local words to enhance the training atmosphere.

2) A trainer should be familiar with cultural festivals and their significance. During the training, these festivals should be acknowledged for promoting cooperation and unity among humanity. Additionally, providing delicious foods during these occasions can further engage participants and lead to the success of the training program.

3) Challenging sessions should initially be conducted in the local language, gradually transitioning to the global language to ensure a positive response from participants.

4) While the native language may not be a top priority, utilizing it effectively is crucial for the success of the training program. It serves as the initial connection.

5) A trainer should establish relationships with local individuals within the organization to enhance the training experience. Learning from the successes and achievements of local people can also be beneficial for providing examples during training sessions.

Best of luck...

What the professional said is correct. One faces challenges while communicating in other countries. When I had been to Nigeria, I had this problem. We Indians speak a little faster, whereas Africans are slower. Indians emphasize the clarity of each word. Sometimes, I was unable to understand what they spoke.

Sometimes, Europeans do not understand what we speak. When we watch BBC news, their English is far clearer. In contrast, I found natives of the UK have a far stronger accent, making it difficult to comprehend at times.

What I have written is only about the language. There are a few other differences when dealing with nationals from Middle Eastern countries.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Addressing Cultural Communication Barriers in Global Training

Hello Shruti, it is true that with globalization, diversity poses a challenge to HR professionals, particularly to training professionals. An audience with a rainbow of cultures presents a tough challenge for a trainer. I am not a training expert, but I can visualize some problems. For instance, I once found it difficult to understand a European couple who did not know English. They were seeking guidance to a famous sightseeing place, and I could guide them properly only because I understood the name of the location they mentioned. By using words like "cab" and some nearby landmark buildings, and finally explaining to the cab driver in Hindi where the couple wanted to go, I managed to help them. However, you cannot deliver training like that.

If your problem is how to communicate with an audience in their native language other than English, I believe the best solution is to employ a trainer who can speak both the native language of the audience and English. This way, they can translate the training content from English into the native language, ensuring that the original meaning and context are not lost in translation. Employing a translator to translate English communication into the native language simultaneously before the audience will diminish the training's effect and the audience's interest.

Strategies for Communicating in English to a Diverse Audience

However, if you have no other option but to communicate in English to a linguistically diverse audience, you need to:

• Study and understand the nuances of communication of the people from that particular culture, including how they greet each other.

• Learn how to express key English phrases in the native language along with their meanings.

• Understand what kind of body language can express certain concepts in the native language, as trainers use it to explain processes and concepts. The same body language may mean different things in different cultures.

• Conduct more research about the communication styles of that particular culture to ensure that the training does not end in a damp squib.

Regards,
B. Saikumar

Addressing Cultural Communication Challenges in Global Training

In the post, due to confidentiality matters, I couldn't reveal everything. There is a challenge in the workplace that we need to handle, so here it goes: in the context of cultural communication, it is in reference to global training. When individuals conduct global training over calls, there is a gap in communication. How could we overcome it?

Native language is in reference to the language spoken by people across the globe in any region where the training is conducted. Customers, as I meant, are clients. Sorry for not being very clear...

Regards

It seems like a challenging situation if the training is conducted over calls. If I were the trainer, I would actually include a section (right at the beginning of the session) on cross-cultural sensitization. It could be something very simple but effective—like a story about how trainers were training over calls and there was a communication gap. You could actually derive the story from a situation that your trainers have actually encountered. Keeping things real always adds to the effectiveness of a training session.

The story could be followed by questions such as:

1. What would you do if you were being trained by a trainer from another culture and the trainer said something that offends you or doesn't make sense?

2. What do you think trainers should do if they get offended by something you say or are unable to understand your point of view?

If delivered sensitively, this could be the ice-breaker.

It would allow the trainers and the trainees to be on the same page and also enable them to evolve a method of communicating should either side detect some lapse in communication.

Hope this helps.

Regards