Communicating Across Cultures

If you are a manager anywhere in the world, you are almost certainly dealing with people of nationalities and cultures different from your own. In multinational business environments, communicating effectively with people who have languages, customs, and expectations different from yours is a necessary skill. If you are a manager anywhere in the world, you are almost certainly facing this kind of multicultural situation. This guidebook explains how to become aware of cultural differences, how to recognize when cultural differences pose a leadership challenge, and how to adapt your communication style to enhance your effectiveness as a manager.

This series of guidebooks draws on the practical knowledge that the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) has generated, since its inception in 1970, through its research and educational activity conducted in partnership with hundreds of thousands of managers and executives. Much of this knowledge is shared-in a way that is distinct from the typical university department, professional association, or consultancy. CCL is not simply a collection of individual experts, although the individual credentials of its staff are impressive; rather it is a community, with its members holding certain principles in common and working together to understand and generate practical responses to today's leadership and organizational challenges.
The purpose of the series is to provide managers with specific advice on how to complete a developmental task or solve a leadership challenge. In doing that, the series carries out CCL's mission to advance the understanding, practice, and development of leadership for the benefit of society worldwide.


Don W. Prince is open enrollment manager for CCL’s Brussels, Belgium, campus. He has worked for some time and very closely with CCL’s Global Initiatives group and travels extensively, having conducted business or training in sixteen countries around the world. Before joining CCL, he worked in the travel industry; served as a chaplain on four university campuses; and for nine years was an adjunct faculty member at Texas Tech University, Stephen F. Austin State University, and Baylor School of Nursing. He holds degrees from the University of North Texas and Southwestern Seminary.


Michael H. Hoppe is a senior program and research associate at CCL. He brings to his work a rich and varied background in cross-cultural leadership development. In his research, he concentrates on effective leadership in a multicultural environment. Before joining CCL, he lived and worked extensively in Germany and Greece, and served as assistant director of the Salzburg Seminar in American and International Studies in Salzburg, Austria. He holds a Ph.D. in organizational development and institutional studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

7 When Being Yourself Isn’t Enough


8 Anticipate and Adapt to Cultural Differences


14 Listen and Watch for Cultural Differences


19 Speaking and Writing Across Cultures


22 What’s in a Name


24 Using Humor Appropriately


25 Communicate Respect for Other Cultures


27 Expanding Horizons


28 Suggested Readings


29 Background


30 Key Point Summary