The situation is critical. A corporate team sits gathered around a speakerphone, on an important conference call that pulls together partners from across the globe. Words are coming from the phone. They are in English, but make no sense. One brave participant asks for clarification on a key point. Her cry falls on deaf ears as the speaker rushes to the next topic. A colleague has her back, though, and asks another pointed question in hopes of understanding. The reply is a nonsensical jumble of jargon. Everyone’s speaking English—but no one is communicating. The project is in peril. It’s time to call in Dr. Culture—stat.
We’ve all been in an international conversation where we have felt ineffective, misunderstood or ignored. English may well be the international language of finance, but speaking the same language does not mean we will comprehend each other. That’s because communication is more than language—it’s “culture,” what I call the collective values, norms and beliefs that influence how we act, think and speak. Native English speakers are often unaware of how their own habits of speech and culture contribute to communication breakdown.
Failure to build self-awareness, however, and self-correct to improve your cross-cultural communication skills will come at a price—people you depend on may not understand you. And, frustrated with the effort it takes to communicate, they may give up and fall silent, blocking access to critical information and resources you need to deliver results.
For these reasons, this series of articles from the “Influence Across Boundaries” program would not be complete without a discussion of how to avoid this. Dr. Culture is the man for the job.
Paging Dr. Culture
Dr. Culture is a bit of a mad scientist. He has invented the Culture-o-Meter© that records and analyzes inter-cultural speech patterns and habits while simultaneously improving them. Not only does his patented Culture-o-Meter© provide a standard printout of one’s personal results, but there is an automatic reward and penalty response unit which prompts more effective behavior. Communicate effectively and you receive an “Appreciation & Approval” reward—an instantaneous and pleasant happiness sensation to the brain. Fail to meet Dr. Culture’s standards and you’ll receive the “Displeasure & Disapproval” penalty, which is a mild clench in the stomach, similar to the feeling we get when we realize we’ve misspoken in front of our grandmother.
The Culture-o-Meter© is widely used by the most successful global businesses. The improvements in cross-cultural communication and influence skills it has delivered have dramatically improved results while boosting team performance and personal engagement and satisfaction scores.
Here’s how it works: Before joining a conference call or attending a meeting, individuals undergo a series of diagnostic tests to help calibrate their speech. The gauges on the Culture-o-Meter© are displayed like an automobile dashboard in full view of Dr. Culture and the subject of the evaluation.
There Are 5 Gauges on the Culture-o-Meter© Dashboard:
1. Jargon-o-meter
Like a battery charge gauge on an automobile, the range on the Jargon-o-Meter runs from “weak” to “strong.” The “weak” end indicates use of language that excludes, strains and eventually drains the ability of others to comprehend and follow the conversation. You will see a yellow warning light when you use colloquialisms, acronyms, business jargon or technical terminology that only a member of the tightest in-group or subject-matter expert would recognize and understand. When you see the yellow warning light you are given time to immediately rephrase—what I call “simultaneous translation”—using terms the listener can understand.
Overuse of jargon or failure to adjust will send your gauge to the red. In the extreme, this exclusive language is the verbal equivalent of a secret handshake. This is rarely deliberate, but an unconscious privilege of speech among familiars. Nonetheless, continued use will result in a “Displeasure & Disapproval” clench to your stomach.
The “strong” or “fully charged” end of the spectrum indicates the use of “inclusive” language, indicating the speaker is able to address the greatest number of listeners and be understood. Success is rewarded with an instantaneous “Appreciation & Approval” reward.
2. Speedometer
Similar to the speedometer on an automobile, this gauge measures the speaker’s rate of speech. The range is from “too slow” to “too fast.” Unlike the commonly accepted range of 140-200 words per minute, the Culture-o-Meter© has a unique “ideal” center. This ideal, like a speed limit, varies based on the terrain—in this case, the common language and culture of the group.
Dr. Culture’s research shows that, for example, some business or regional cultures have a very brisk and crisp pace of speaking, thinking aloud and coming to conclusions. Rapid speech in these cultures may signal competence, intelligence or authority. However, in other business and regional cultures it is customary to employ a slower, more deliberate pace that allows time for pauses, internal private thoughts and reflection.
Speak “too slow” and you risk allowing the audience’s mind to wander. You may also appear to be patronizing your listener or uninformed. Speak “too fast” and your audience may be unable to keep up to absorb what you are saying. Both extremes will give you the “Displeasure & Disapproval” penalty. The optimum score is achieved when you find the ideal speed for each audience that results in increased comprehension and engagement. You are rewarded with “Appreciation & Approval.”
When Dr. Culture’s yellow warning light flashes, you can adjust your rate of speech by simply becoming aware of it and how it compares to other’s. Listen carefully to and try to emulate the speech rate of someone you know to be effective in being heard and understood while engaging the input of others. Also, remember to imagine sentence punctuation—the periods, commas, and question marks—and deliberately pause at each.
3. Diction-o-meter
Dr. Culture designed the Diction-o-Meter© to resemble the fuel level indicator on an automobile. It registers word articulation and tone modulation. The range is from “empty” to “full.” “Full” indicates the ideal, with the speaker using her own true, rich regional accent while still being totally comprehensible and expressive enough to engage the listener. “Empty,” on the other hand, indicates a flat, monotone, inarticulate or robotic delivery. Such delivery fails to interest the listener or to clarify the importance of the message.
Thankfully, Dr. Culture has included another yellow caution light that reminds the speaker to check in with the listeners to ensure they are comprehending.
One of my favorite managers, Bob, has a beautifully rich Irish brogue. He also habitually speaks at a very brisk pace and with caustic wit and biting humor. The faster he speaks, the more pronounced his accent and garbled his words, and he can become completely incomprehensible to anyone unfamiliar with the cadence and pronunciations of his accent. If Bob becomes impatient, his tone grows strong and fierce and he’s even harder to understand. His listeners feel his urgency to do something, but do not always know what to do or why. The result is confusion, a sense of exclusion, withholding of information, resistance and loss of momentum.
The costs of confusion and failure to share information were high enough for Bob to engage Dr. Culture and use his Culture-o-Meter© to adjust his style. As a result of this analysis, Bob now deliberately thinks about his diction on international calls. He now says each sound in every word. At first, this hyper-self conscious diction was extremely awkward for Bob and his compatriots teased him. But his multi-lingual team recognized and appreciated his efforts and rewarded him with better input and action. Results.
4. Context-o-meter
This gauge is very sophisticated and a unique invention of Dr. Culture. The Context-o-Meter is calibrated to analyze situational variables that will influence the speaker’s effectiveness. Specifically, Dr Culture wants his speaker to know if her delivery strategy is appropriate based on situational cues such as the self-interests of the audience, organizational direction, political climate, discussion objectives and, yes, culture.
The Context-o-Meter ranges between “too indirect” and “too direct” and is calibrated to the corporate context or regional culture. Dr. Culture knows that “high context” cultures are those that value relational sensitivity. A strong foundation of respect and social sensitivity must be laid before substantive discussion can take place. In these cultures, direct corrective feedback to an individual in the presence of others would be totally inappropriate.
The difficulty, however, is not becoming too indirect. If a speaker is too indirect, she may become imprecise, ramble and fail to get to the heart of the matter. This may be due to extreme sensitivity to the political climate or fear of punishment or failure. Whatever the rationale, the audience is lost and confused; “Displeasure & Disapproval” abound.
In a “low context” setting or culture, directness, candor and a forthright “cut-to-the-chase” approach may be valued. The transaction is of greatest importance, not how it is conducted. Again, the difficulty comes when a speaker is “too direct.” If the speaker disregards any sensitivity to the relationships, status, image or reputation of his audience, he may fail to win the open mind of the listener. A yellow warning light on the Context-o-Meter lets the speaker know if he needs to become more direct, or to pull back to be more sensitive to the position of others. In the end, the speaker balances getting to the heart of the matter while still being aware of the parameters or boundaries that can exist in any context.
5. Adapt-o-meter
This gauge indicates the climate of the conversation and, like a tachometer on an automobile, helps the speaker know when to adapt and shift gears. Using a scale of 1-6, conversational “revolutions” per minute are measured. The higher the number, the faster you are moving through material and concepts and the greater the strain on your audience. But if the revolutions drop too low, the engine (your conversation) with sputter and stall out. On a more personal level, both of these situations will register a “Displeasure & Displeasure” gut clench from the Culture-o-Meter®. Finding and creating the optimum climate of pressure is critical to the cross-cultural influencer. It is the motor that runs the vehicle.
Like the driver of a standard-shift automobile, the speaker must watch this gauge carefully and listen for any sounds of strain in the engine of his audience to know when to shift up or down. The speaker pauses and asks; checking in regularly to confirm the audience is accurately understanding the intended message and urgency.
It’s important to know that the Adapt-o-meter an all-encompassing gauge. Correcting the overall climate of your conversation may require adjustments to your rate of speaking, use of jargon, diction and sensitivity to context. Knowing which one of these to correct and how is the trick. In order to adapt quickly and find the “sweet spot” of optimum international communication, you will have to utilize all the skills Dr. Culture and his Culture-o-Meter® have given you.
Of course Dr. Culture is a fictional character, but imagine if he and his machine did exist and could calibrate every participant in a meeting or conference call. People would understand what is said. Time would not be wasted in unnecessary confusion, misunderstandings and fear of public humiliation.
We can make this happen in reality. There are so many small but effective adjustments that result in better communications—and ultimately influence—across cultural boundaries. All we need to begin working towards this is self-awareness of the problems and sufficient motivation to pursue the payoffs of solving them. Once you have those in place, hook yourself up to my fantasy dashboard and enjoy the rewards of speaking cross-culturally.
Saving Face Before It’s Lost
Dr. Culture knows that much time and effort can be spent managing “face”—that is, ensuring no one is humiliated or disrespected in a public forum. This concept is directly related to communication habits and cultural climates. He asks his clients to imagine that each participant in the meeting has critical information and needs to feel included and safe in order to share it. If they feel intimidated or fear ridicule or shame they may feel devalued and their important information may be withheld if, however, they feel included and important, their fear of losing “face” declines and they open up to fully share their resources.