Question

Achieving intercultural proficiency can lead to many opportunities. One step in becoming effective at communicating in intercultural settings is to understand nonverbal communication.

For example, in some societies it is considered rude to:

a) point your finger

b) exchange business cards

c) nod ur head

There are several techniques you can use to achieve competence in intercultural communication.

Which of the following sentences avoids judgmentalism and exhibits descriptiveness?

a)The pie charts in your presentation displayed avenues for growth in the coming year.

b)That slide presentation you gave was really terrific.

c)As slide presentations go, yours was top-of-the-line.

Although most international business is conducted in English, levels of comprehension can vary. How can you enhance your oral communication skills in international environments?  Check all that apply.

a)Speak loudly.

b)Assign blame.

c)Observe eye messages.

d)Discourage feedback.

e)Smile when appropriate.

f)Listen without interrupting.

g)Check frequently for comprehension.

In an intercultural business world, you must strive to reach maximum clarity and comprehension in written as well as oral communication. Writing for an intercultural audience can be challenging, but many techniques exist for improving these skills.

Kate has written a letter to a potential customer in Denmark. Read the following selection, and then answer the question.

Thank you for giving my team the opportunity to present our proposal for the opening of eleven new stores in Copenhagen; we’d like to meet again to discuss the details further.

How would you improve this sentence so it is clearer? Check all that apply.

a)Include more ambiguity.

b)Cite numbers using figures instead of spelling them out.

c)Make the sentence shorter.

d)Make names of cities lowercase.

e)Add a comma after the first two words of the sentence.

f)Write out the contraction.

Answer 1

1. a) point your finger. Achieving intercultural proficiency can lead to many opportunities. One step in becoming effective at communicating in intercultural settings is to understand nonverbal communication.For example, in some societies it is considered rude to For example, in some societies it is considered rude to point your finger.

2. a)The pie charts in your presentation displayed avenues for growth in the coming year.

3. c)Observe eye messages.

e)Smile when appropriate.

f)Listen without interrupting.

g)Check frequently for comprehension.Some of the ways you can enhance comprehension are observing eye messages, checking frequently for comprehension, listening without interrupting, and smiling when appropriate.

4. In order to make your intercultural communication clear, use shorter sentences, write out your contractions, and use figures instead of written numbers.