We all know that communication is pretty much everything in our day to day lives. We need to have clear communication in order to be successful, especially in business. Without communication, we don’t have anything. It is important, especially as a leader that we are conscious of who we are working with and in the context in which we are working (PSU, 2018). In order to effectively communicate, it is important that we are actively listening whether that be face to face or behind a screen because “listening is at the heart of all successful communications” (Moran, Abramson & Moran, 2014, p.39).

In my company we have a big communication issue, especially when it pertains to email. There have been several discussions over the course of the last year about how people are communicating via email. Throughout email communication, we must pay close attention to what we are writing because we need to make sure that people are going to fully understand the message that is being relayed. You want to keep it short and sweet but also to the point in a way that is professional. For example, today I was working on a project and when my installation manager came back with an install price for me, it was twenty-nine thousand dollars over budget. So, in the email I replied, “Hey, the budget is three hundred thousand, is there any way that we can get the price down?” He replied with “get a bigger grant.” There was nothing other than that statement. No further detail. No further explanation. When I first read it, I was ready to get mad. Was he joking? Was he trying to be funny? Was he being a jerk? Who knows, because a statement like that leaves room for interpretation and this is where communication gets lost. Our commentary says that “the sender, for instance, might not encode enough meaning into the idea being conveyed” (PSU,2018). In this example, my installation manager used few too many words and it left room for error in communication.

When you are in a face to face conversation you have the ability to help read body language and you are able to access what the other person may be feeling based on their facial expressions and the body language, they are giving to you. When you are behind a screen it is hard to gather the tone of someone’s voice or how they are trying to convey a message. Therefore, when writing emails it is so important to write them in a professional way with a good word choice, correct punctuation, and use of capitalization in the proper way. NOT LIKE THIS. These things which may seem small, can be so easily misinterpreted and often times, because we are not in front of the person we can’t tell that whether or not the person on the receiving end has misunderstood the message. Errors in communication can happen so easily, it is important for all of us to do our part and maintain professionalism through email even when we think it isn’t needed.

Like we read in our commentary, there is no one size fit all solution for tackling communication globally.  It is important for us to not only be conscious of what we are saying to our peers via email but it is especially important when we are working globally. As a leader, we need to be conscious of who we are working with and in the context in which we are working (PSU, 2018). Leaders need to have an understanding of  how to communicate with people globally via email and because of the lack of being able to pick up on verbal cues it becomes especially important to be clear, concise and professional when communicating electronically.

References

Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (9th ed.). Oxford: Routledge.

Pennsylvania State University (2018). Introduction to Leadership in a Global Context. Errors in Communication. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1942644/modules/items/24935382

 

 

One of the first commands we are given as children by our parents is “Listen to me.” As we grow, we get that same command – in its various forms – from teachers, family members, friends, bosses, and nearly every person with whom we interact. With this much experience, one would think that we knew how to execute this seemingly simple command. Our textbook notes that “we learn to listen and talk before we read and write” Afterall. (Moran, 2014) Unfortunately, many of us still find it difficult to listen. Our inability to listen properly may stem from our lack of understanding the types and forms of listening.

A popular topic for human resource managers during the last few years has been “active listening” in a corporate environment. A quick search on the internet will uncover numerous articles on this technique in publications from the Harvard Business Review and Forbes to resources offered by the Society of Human Resource Management and the American Marketing Association.

An article in the Harvard Business Review told the story of an up-and-coming vice president for a Fortune 500 company who, during his annual review, learned that he had a “listening deficit”. (Charan, 2014) To his surprise, coworkers and clients alike gave this unfortunate feedback. This problem was certainly putting a limit to rise in the company. The article says that “active listening and probing energizes groups […] and helps them arrive at new and better solutions.” (Charan, 2014)

Our book tells us that there are both positive and negative types of listening. Most people may know that active listening is a positive form where the listener works to demonstrate understanding. What many may not know are the techniques that can be used to accomplish understanding; these are paraphrasing, conducting perception checks, and summarizing. (Moran, 2014)

In addition, it may not be widely known that there are negative forms of listening. Negative forms are very interesting because they feel counter-intuitive. For example, polite listening is a negative form (how could anything “polite” be negative?). This type of listening only requires bare-minimum effort; just enough to offer a simple reply. Other forms of negative listening are defensive listening and offensive listening. These are most interesting in the current political climate.

Defensive listening is when a person listens for points that can be disputed in order to not disrupt his or her position. (Moran, 2014) An example of this is:

Person A: I think that NFL players kneeling during the American national anthem prior to football games have the right to do so under the First Amendment of the Constitution. Since I believe in the Constitution, I support the players’ rights to call attention to police brutality in this way.

Person B: If you truly supported the Constitution, you would support the men and women who died for this country and demand that the players stand to respect the anthem and the flag.

Person B did not meaningfully engage with the argument put forth by Person A. Instead, Person B insinuated that Person A does not support the country because he should not approve of people who disrespect the anthem and flag by kneeling.

Offensive listening is even more sinister whereby a listener looks to “trap” the speaker using his own words. (Moran, 2014) A recent political example of this form is when New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo, in attempting to explain that America hasn’t always been a perfect nation, drew upon President Trump’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again” to unfortunately say “America was never that great”.  Although it was clear that the Governor didn’t mean that American isn’t great (just that America wasn’t all great), the opposition was eager to pick up on the slip and use that sound bite to damage Cuomo’s campaign. This negative form is actually a common practice in politics.

Since the act of communicating is circular – requiring participants to be both speakers and listeners, encoding and decoding, at several points in a conversation – it is imperative that people gain the basic skills to listen in order to have more meaningful relationship with family, friends, coworkers and even acquaintances. eHarmony, a dating website, has even felt it necessary to offer its members an article entitled “I’m Right, She’s Left. Are we Doomed?” where under a subtitle called Listen and Learn, it instructs couples to “genuinely listen to each other and to more fully understand where the other person is coming from”. (eHarmony, 2018) Perhaps people who can’t take this class will stumble on the dating site and get some advice on listening.

References

Charan, R. (2014, July 23). The Discipline of Listening. Retrieved September 14, 2018, from https://hbr.org/2012/06/the-discipline-of-listening

I’m Right, She’s Left. Are we Doomed? | eharmony Advice. (2018, March 05). Retrieved September 16, 2018, from https://www.eharmony.com/dating-advice/relationships/im-right-shes-left-are-we-doomed/

Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (9th ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.

Vazquez, M. (2018, August 16). NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo says America ‘was never that great’. Retrieved September 16, 2018, from https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/15/politics/andrew-cuomo-america-was-never-that-great/index.html

(image courtesy of Global Village Space)

Global communication in global business is essential to any organization. Nonverbal communication is also very important for effective communication. Many things that we do are nonverbal especially when something happens. For example, we clap when we appreciate something or we simply cross our arms when we are frustrated. According to Cherry (2018), “Every day, we respond to thousands on nonverbal cues and behaviors including postures, facial expression, eye gaze, gestures, and tone of voice”.

Nonverbal communication is something that I learned firsthand. When I was looking for a new job, I found a job that described what I was already doing and other duties that I wanted to learn. I knew that I could perform the job at a high level if I was just giving the chance. I decided to apply for the position and hoped that I got an interview. I got a call back and went to the interview eager to show that I was the perfect for the position.

As the interview started, my confidence must have taken over me because I felt that the interview was going great. I felt that the interview was going so well that I began to see myself more relaxed, I began to slouch in my chair as I answered all of the questions. I also find myself looking away and not making eye contact for some odd reason.

According to Mehrabian & Ferris (1967), “The results of the study indicate that the facial and vocal components do not interact and that the facial component has a stronger effect than the vocal component” (p. 251). A combination of my body language, facial and other expressions more than likely costed me the job. I was not offered the job.

As I learned from my previous nonverbal experience, on my next interview, I made sure to be very mindful of how my nonverbal communication were perceiving my character and personality. Cherry (2018) argues that, “Deliberate movements and signals are an important way to communicate meaning without words. Common gestures include waving, pointing, and using fingers to indicate numeric amounts. Other gestures are arbitrary and related to culture”. On my second interview, I made sure that I sat up straight and made eye contact the whole time. I was able to relax, but still maintain a professional demeanor. “Posture and movement can also convey a great deal on information” (Cherry, 2018).

Nonverbal communication is happening all the time, from the way that we stand to how and when we cross our legs. Manager and leaders must know and understand the importance of nonverbal communication. The more adept a manager is about effective communication the better equipped he or she will be when leading a team of followers.

 

References

Cherry, K. (2018, May 29). Types of nonverbal communication. Retrieved from Very Well Mind: https://www.verywellmind.com/types-of-nonverbal-communication-2795397

Mehrabian, A., & Ferris, S. R. (1967). Interference of attitudes from nonverbal communication in two channels. Journal of Consulting Pyschology, Vol. 31, No. 3, pg-248-252.

 

Global communication is changing

According to Moran, et al. (2011) most organizational leaders spend upwards of 70 to 90 percent of their time communicating with others, and only about 25 percent of their time alone.  One can only imagine though that trying to communicate across cultures and be effectively conveying a message intended can be challenging even for the best communicators.  Culturally based biases, assumptions, and messages that are often truncated to 280 characters can result in misunderstandings, misinterpretation, and confusion.

Apart from quick outgoing messages through social media, website blurbs or potent power point slides leaders must often navigate the processing of internal communication between employees, which can be just as difficult.

In order to facilitate effective global communication, leaders should:

Understand the culture and listen

Communication is a circular process of interaction.  If the message is not received properly, a proper response is not likely and misunderstandings can happen.  Spoken language as well as non-verbal communication, tone and intention/perception are all crucial parts of exchanging messages.  Different cultural backgrounds result in different levels of directness, politeness, eye contact and so on.  in addition, keeping communication simple and free of slang or jargon is a must while crossing cultural barriers.  Using common language and using terminology that resonates with everyone in the organization despite their background is a must (Everse, 2011).  Global leaders must, therefore, educate themselves on different cultural variables if their goal is to communicate effectively across continents and extract the diversity of thought that can give the desired edge.

Avoid groupthink errors

Decisions made in groups should not be attributed to only one individual, but rather to a collectively made decision of the alternatives at hand.  This situation invites a few positive aspects of decisions made by groups-such as brainstorming new ideas, sense of organizational belonging and ownership, or combining of perspectives.  On the other hand,  group decision making is also a prime ground for pressuring members to unanimity and self-censorship as well as vulnerable to a phenomenon of groupthink -or inability to critically evaluate individual contributions.  Rather than new information or ideas coming to light, the already available information is frequently discussed ad nauseam.

To avoid the traps that group decision making can present, employees should be encouraged to submit their ideas before reading abstracts of others.  Providing a clear agenda of the topics for discussion and including everyone’s individual contribution before bunching up ideas is another way of bringing new information to surface.

Continue face-to-face interaction 

Despite the impact the digital exchange of information has on our communication, it cannot often convey the tone of voice or body language that make communication complete.  Though video application based meetings make global communication much easier and are definitely more cost effective than face-to-face meetings, they also present some challenges.  Time of such meetings is often limited and void of casual exchange or small talk.  It can put a significant amount of pressure on participants.  Face-to-face meeting on the other hand, while can be more complex in planning and execution, as well as often much more costly, can bring a lot more background information into the picture.  Casual interaction over lunch between meeting sessions or group dinner can build important report between partners and leaders.  It is important that leaders maneuver through organizational dynamics and choose the appropriate mean of communication to cultivate trust and to enhance innovation.

References

Evers, G. (2011). Eight communication traps that foil innovation. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from: https://hbr.org/2011/01/eight-communication-traps-that

Moran, R., Abramson, N., & Moran, S. (2011). Managing Cultural Differences (Ninth Edition). New York, New York: Butterworth-Heinemann

Everyday I am face to face, or ear to ear rather, with clients recovering from disaster. I am an emergency care representative for a non profit that offers help to people after a disaster. Data entry and recording information might seem like it should be an easy thing to do, but the clientele that calls is often in a state of trauma, shock, panic, and possibly disbelief that a fire has just destroyed all their belongings. Within all this is my job to gather and record very exact information to people that may have a hard time explaining about what just occurred. Add to that language barriers, people who aren’t able to articulate due to poor language skills, and those who are simply distraught, it’s not easy. Trying to extrapolate information under those difficult circumstances, which is why learning to use skills that communicate with an international or multicultural audience is essential.

I have to tap into a number of skills to communicate with clients, that relate to intercultural leadership communication. Emotional intelligence, patience, knowing when to push for more information, knowing when to just let people “talk”. It’s a gentle style of negotiating, to get clients to give me more details and make them feel like I am present in their hardship and not desensitized to their trauma. “How to negotiate with anyone, anywhere in the world” notes linguistic abilities, patience, listening, using language that is simple and accessible, and preparation as qualities that relate to the competency of a negotiators skills. Subtleties that show that although the main idea is to achieve a business agreement or common ground, but also that you are adept at communication and respect and accept the constraints of a conversation that occurs from people that are of a different culture than you.

Many times I have to employ a translator to communicate with a client. When this occurs I try to use simple language as noted in “how to negotiate with anyone, anywhere in the world” as to not complicate the conversation with American idioms only common to me. Although we are on the phone, I use cues for when to know to interject and when to continue. Since communication is surely multi level and used on many platforms, it would be remiss telephone communication skills.

Some days what I do is hard. Listening and trying to hear people through an emergency isn’t what I’d imagine I’d be doing. Some days I leave feeling like I could have done a better job, some days I am overwhelmed with hearing trauma. Overall I know the need to hear these clients is greater than my feelings. The paramount importance is the effort we put into trying to understand others who need to be heard. Being kind and understanding is a skill that surpasses any culture.

Moran, R., Abramson, N., & Moran, S. (2011). Managing Cultural Differences (Ninth Edition). New York, New York: Butterworth-Heinemann

Acuff, F. L. (1993). How to negotiate anything with anyone anywhere around the world. New York: American Management Association.

 

 

 

 

References:

Glass, J. (2015). Artful Thinkers. Impacting Your Global Communication Strategy. Retrieved from: http://www.artfulthinkers.com/impacting-your-global-communications-strategy

Leadership Made Simple.  (2012). Leading Change.  The importance of Communication skills in a Global Market.  Retrieved from: http://leadershipmadesimple.com/the-importance-of-communication-skills-in-a-global-market/

Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (Ninth ed.). New York: Routledge.

Norris, Ashley.  (2017). WOLFESTONE. An Assessment of the UK’s Relationship with Foreign Languages.  Retrieved from: http://www.wolfestone.co.uk/blog/an-assessment-of-the-uks-relationship-with-foreign-languages/

Penn State University. (2018). Olead 410: Leadership in a global context. Lesson 04: Global Communication. Retrieved from: https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1916378/modules/items/23640528