Observation of team behavior: Intercultural and Interpersonal communication

In today’s multi-cultural society, we constantly find ourselves interacting with people of different nationality, age, gender, and not forgetting, different cultural backgrounds. This is especially the case here in Singapore where we pride ourselves in being a cosmopolitan, and multi-racial society. However, more often than not, differences bring about communication barriers which might lead to conflicts. Hence, this post that I am about to write is to discuss ways to avoid these conflicts, and work effectively with teammates of different cultures and backgrounds.

To begin, I would like to mention some observations that i have made while being with teammates of various cultural backgrounds.

As an Asian myself, i would say that we are generally rather reserved in our words and actions, not wanting to stand out of the crowd and risk embarrassing ourselves. In contrast to that, Caucasians are usually more outspoken, and expressive. I wouldn’t judge and say which is better, but when dealing with someone of a different culture, it is better to ask when you are unsure of something, instead of hoping that what you do does not offend the other person. By asking and learning, we can avoid making a fool of ourselves and even worse, resulting in a conflict.

Next, i would like to say that there are no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ cultures. A culture that is different from our own, does not mean that it is incorrect. We have to accept that people of different cultures have different upbringing, and as a result, may act and think differently. For example, for Americans, direct eye contact is a gesture of saying that we are paying attention to the speaker. But for a Japanese, direct eye contact generally makes them feel uncomfortable. As such, we have to be receptive, and adaptive, so as to make the other party feel comfortable.

Lastly, I will now discuss how is it like to be on the receiving end. When someone does an action that comes off as rude or inappropriate, our natural reaction would be to get angry. But before we get all angsty, we should take a step back and reevaluate the situation. Is the person of different cultural background? Did the person deliberately do or say it to offend me? Or is the person simply oblivious to the fact that he is offending me? When dealing with a person of different cultural background, we should always try to be forgiving, taking into account that the other party might not know that he or she has stepped over the line.

To conclude, i would say that interacting with people of different cultural background may seem intimidating to some. But if the appropriate steps are taken, not only can we avoid awkward moments, we may also be able to learn and appreciate other cultures.