How do you remove cross-cultural illiteracy?

Kriti,

I liked your question.

The first thing I do is to learn as much as I can about the other cultures I deal with (including their languages). I ask people from those cultures involved if what I think I have learned means the same to them. Sometimes, I have learned something the wrong way or I have interpreted that information out of context and instead of helping me understand other people it has created bigger differences with them. Therefore, I always double check with different people if what I am learning has some common sense to them generally speaking.

I use two steps to remove my Illiteracy:

My first step is by learning "as much information as possible" about them using Internet, books, etc.

My second step is to learn "as best as possible". I use some tools such as Emotional Intelligence and Neurolinguistic techniques to try to adapt to the different channels of communication that the other cultures use to try to connect with them using similar schemes. This is my process:

My first reaction about those cultures is to acknowledge that those cultures have many differences compared to mine. Those differences do exist.

Then I do a conscius effort to understand where those ideas are coming from and the support behind it.

During that process I try to make sure that I show respect to those differences

Finally, I try to adapt to the new environment where there is more than my ideas but also their ideas and the situations that surges from the coexistence of all those perspectives.  

Even though I have only lived in three countries (Mexico, US and Japan) I have learned a lot from those experiences. Actually, making comparisons between life styles in each country, cultural differences and perspectives has been an excellent exercise for me. In my job, I communicate with people in India, Korea, Japan, China, many countries in Europe, All over the US, Canada, Latin America and Australia.

At the end, it has been my experience that many people that I have known has a lot of trouble to connect with people from other countries because they fail to do their basic homework. They don't want to make conscious the basic differences in life styles and thinking and as a result, instead of enjoying they suffer their international experience.

I have seen numerous professionals always trying to imposse, recreate or transplant their way of thinking or their way of doing things as " the right way" and when they can't imposse it, they feel unsatisfied and frustrated. The cultural shock sometimes is enormous mostly because of the paradigms and prejudices that the some of the participants have from each other.

I think that if you apply some of those rules you could be able to successfully transition to an excellent communication with your colleagues if you are flexible and adapt to your cross cultural context and enjoy it...

Your thoughts?