Listening Exercise - What is Cultural diversity?
Harmony
Assume
Adaptable
Aware
Eye contact
Different
Insult
Patience
Gender
Respecting
Interacting
Behavior
‘Cultural Diversity is about how two people would be communicating and the way they would
communicate would be based on their cultural differences.
So, for instance, in some cultures they communicate by not giving (1) eye contact and that’s
considered as a sign of respect. In other cultures to give eye contact means you’re giving
attention so it’s just acknowledging that people do communicate in a (2) different way.’
What types of differences does this cover?
‘Cultural diversity covers a number of differences so when we’re talking about differences in
relation to (3) behavior, attitude, differences in relation to values, to beliefs, (4) gender
differences, status differences, so there are a number of differences that come under the
umbrella of cultural diversity.’
Do you have any tips on Cultural Diversity?
‘There are 4 tips that you could consider when you’re (5) interacting with somebody who is
from a different cultural background to you, so the first I would suggest is using your
observation skills, observe how they’re behaving, observe how they’re interacting with you,
observe their body language and, as far as possible, try and mirror and match the body
language. So, in some cultures people like to sit and lean forward when they’re interacting and
if you lean back you’re giving a message that you’re not interested which they would consider
as an (6) insult. So if you match how the other person is behaving then the rapport will be
building and then you can then move on to the common areas that are there for the point of
discussion. So, that’s tip number 1.’
‘The second tip is appreciate differences. Some cultures do behave very, very differently which
in other cultures would be considered as derogatory or insulting. So for instance, if you go to
India, time keeping is not so important there, people are fairly laid back and they are not as
bothered about time keeping. If you go to Switzerland, as an example, if you’re a minute late it’s
considered an insult. So, just be (7) aware that there are differences in what’s expected and
styles of communication. So, appreciate differences.
Another example I can give to you is in Northern Europe people would communicate by giving
facts, in Italy people would communicate by sharing a lot of emotions, in Japan people
communicate by building (8) harmony and in India people would communicate by asking about
families.’
‘Ok, so when you’re talking about differences in culture it’s about being
(9) adaptable, so if I was interacting with someone from Northern Europe I would think oh well
they’re just going to ask me about facts and figures rather than asking me about personal life
and I would then adapt myself to accommodate what their needs are’.
‘The third tip which is really important is don’t (10) assume that because that person represents
that country that he or she is going to behave like everybody else, it’s about respecting the
individual concerned so they would be behaving and interacting with you which is about their
personal values and beliefs so it’s about respecting the individual concerned.’
And the last tip is about (11) patience, fundamentally, I was interacting with somebody from
Southern India in English and when I said to him ‘How are you?’ a very simple question. In the
UK the response would be ‘I’m fine, how are you?’, whereas in some parts of the world they’ll
give you 20 sentences to explain how they are which in the UK that would be covered in 2
sentences, so cultural diversity is also about being patient, that their style of communicating
may take longer than you’re used to and it’s just about persevering through those patience.’
Can you summarize cultural diversity?
‘Yes, cultural diversity, fundamentally, is about acknowledging differences and it’s about (12)
respecting those differences their behavior, their values, their beliefs, is done in a different way
to you, it’s not meant in a disrespectful way, it’s just how different people behave in different
circumstances.’