When I was little, I invented my own foreign language that I would speak when nobody was around.
It was such a long time ago that I had almost forgotten how it sounded.
The other week when I was preparing for the “Brand New You World” Global Telesummit, it came back to me. I am glad I mentioned it in my presentation because one of the participants found it really intriguing.
I wanted to share this childhood memory because, sometimes, it is through little things that we discover our passion.
At the Telesummit, I spoke about my passion for understanding other cultures. And I explained why I believe the corporate world is in desperate need of cross-cultural skills.
As Thomas Friedman writes in his book ‘The world is flat’, the traditional economic and political structures of nation-states are disappearing. This can be incredibly disruptive to those traditional institutions that have been doing business for decades and are slow to make the transition.
To this phenomenon we have to add another destabilising factor: Web 2.0. Culture these days is not only about the culture of nations, it includes on-line cultures created by clusters of people, who use social media and come together in new groupings.
Bernadette Martin, who interviewed me during the Telesummit, asked what we need to do in order to develop a sensibility for other cultures. I answered by quoting an article published recently in a magazine I have the great pleasure of co-editing, IABC’s Communication World. Genevieve Hilton, senior vice president of Ketchum in Hong Kong, writes that what we need to develop is cultural proficiency: Cultural proficiency doesn’t mean memorising every cultural nuance of every market. It’s knowing when to listen, when to ask for help, and when finally to speak.
This is not only sound advice but also a convincing way of defining what our multicultural business world needs today.
I had a great time speaking at the Global Telesummit.
Many thanks to those of you who listened in. And thanks to Susan Guarneri for referring to XCulture as “a must-read on cross-cultural communication”.
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Hello Silvia,
I listen to your mp3 Crossing Worlds: How to Add International Flair to Your Personal Brand at the A Brand You World - 2007 Global Telesummit. By me being a Expat & completely bilingual in French & English. I could relate to what you were talking about and I enjoyed discovering who you are.
Thanks again,
Rachael Hampton
Thank you, Rachel. I am glad you enjoyed my presentation. I look forward to meeting you sometimes.