00:00Transcriber: Cassie Molina
Reviewer: Emma Gon
00:11Let me ask you guys, a question.
00:13When you see this gesture,
what does it mean to you?
00:19This isnât a rhetorical question.
00:22To how many of you
does this mean great,
00:25keep going or something
positive to that effect?
00:31To how many of you
does it mean up yours?
00:35To how many of you does it
represent the number one?
00:42But what then does
this gesture really mean?
00:45Well, here's the thing.
00:48Like SchrĂśdingerâs cat,
it can mean all of those things
00:52and none of those things
at the same time.
00:55It all depends on
the world view of the observer.
01:00In our Western society,
the thumbs up gesture
01:03generally means something positive,
01:05I like it, great, keep going or
something along those lines.
01:10But several other cultures, especially
in West Africa and the Middle East,
01:15the same gesture has
extremely rude connotations.
01:18Itâs used the same way
the middle finger is here.
01:21It basically means up yours.
01:26And Germany, Hungary and several
other European countries,
01:30the gesture represents
the number one.
01:32While in Japan it represents
the number five.
01:37In ancient Rome
where the gesture originates,
01:40it was used to decide whether the
gladiator in the arena should live or die.
01:47What we can say is that
even such a seemingly simple
01:52and unambiguous hand gesture
is highly context dependent.
01:57And the same is true
for words and phrases
02:00which often have
vastly different meanings
02:02in different languages and cultures.
02:06This is something we need to be
acutely aware of as global citizens
02:10because it can lead to serious
miscommunication.
02:14Let me tell you a little story
to show you what I mean.
02:18When I was 18 years old,
after finishing college here in Nelson,
02:22I set off on my OE
[Overseas Experience],
02:24like so many of us do.
02:26I headed straight to Europe
and I traveled around France,
02:29Greece, Croatia, Italy, Germany.
02:32And what struck me was how easy
it was to get by with English.
02:37Seemingly, everywhere
I went, people spoke
02:40and understood English,
even if just a little.
02:44But it made it so much easier
to get by as a clueless teenager
02:48in foreign lands and foreign cultures.
02:52Or so I thought, until one day I had
02:54a very awkward encounter
which got me thinking.
02:58I just got a job at
a restaurant in Germany,
03:03after months and months
of hunting for work
03:05and I desperately wanted to make
a good impression on my colleagues.
03:09As we sat together over
a few drinks after work one day,
03:12a senior colleague told me
that sheâd just scored a promotion.
03:16She was visibly excited and
I was genuinely happy for her.
03:21I said to her, âGood for you!â
03:24But instead of a smile and
a thank you, she turned away
03:28and proceeded to give me
the cold shoulder for the next week.
03:34âWhy was she sharing
joyous news with me one moment
03:37and completely ignored me the next?
03:42As I vented my frustration
to a German friend of mine,
03:45she laughed and she told me
03:47that the German translation
of âGood for Youâ,
03:50âSchĂśn fĂźr dichâ is
a snarky and sarcastic remark,
03:55implying jealousy and begrudging
of another's success.
04:01Clearly thatâs not what I meant,
but those are the connotations
04:04my colleague associated
with my remark.
04:09So what was the problem?
04:12Well, it wasnât until many years later
that I studied geography,
04:16linguistics and translation at university
that I started to grasp the real issue.
04:23I realized that meaning gets
lost in translation
04:26because of cultural differences.
04:29This is the surprising paradox of
intercultural communication.
04:33We must communicate,
04:35even though we may be
speaking the same language.
04:39Even if two people are
both speaking English
04:42like my colleague
and I at the restaurant,
04:45the different cultural backgrounds
can lead to severe miscommunication.
04:52Think of it this way, language allows
us to encode and decode meaning.
04:59But to crack the code, we need
a shared set of pre-existing concepts.
05:05Now, many of these concepts
are passed down to us
05:08from our culture and
ultimately shape our worldview.
05:13And the lack of a shared worldview
05:15is what makes intercultural
communication so difficult.
05:22Let me illustrate what I mean.
05:24Here we have person A and person B.
05:27Their worldviews
have each been shaped
05:30by their cultural influences
on a broad societal level
05:34and by their personal lived
experiences on an individual level.
05:39And together,
these things give them each
05:41a distinct lens through
which they view life
05:44and through which they felt
to their communication.
05:48So when person A communicates,
05:51they encode their message into
verbal and nonverbal signals,
05:55which are then sent to person
B and filtered through
05:59the lens of person B where they are
recoded to reconstruct the message.
06:05But because of the filtering process,
06:08the message that arrives
can be highly distorted.
06:12And as this process
goes back and forth,
06:15the likelihood of invisible
misunderstandings mounts.
06:20And I call them invisible
because in many cases,
06:23one or both communication partners
06:26are unaware
that itâs even happening.
06:29Like in the following example.
06:32An American company
selling high-end tech products
06:36was looking to break into
the Chinese market.
06:39Talks and negotiations had been
going well with a potential buyer,
06:43and the Americans
considered it a done deal.
06:47To celebrate, they invited
the Chinese delegation out
06:51for dinner at a fine local restaurant.
06:54Now, as the Chinese delegation arrived,
06:56the head of the delegation was greeted
by a junior member of the US team.
07:02The Chinese delegate asked
the American where he should sit,
07:05to which he was told,
sit where you like.
07:09Now, the next day,
the Chinese delegation
07:12left the US without
signing the contract.
07:15And days later,
the American team received word
07:19that the Chinese had felt humiliated
07:22and were reconsidering
the business relationship.
07:28Well, it was another cultural
misunderstanding.
07:31You see, in Chinese culture,
hierarchy is really important,
07:36whereas in American culture,
07:38displays of hierarchy arenât
really culturally comfortable.
07:41So when the head of the Chinese
delegation was only greeted
07:45by a junior member of the US team
rather than the most senior,
07:49he immediately felt a loss of face.
07:52Then, to add insult to injury,
07:54he was told to sit anywhere,
07:56when ideally he should have been given
a seat at the head of the table
08:00next to the most senior
member of the US team.
08:05This cultural misunderstanding
led to an eight months delay
08:08in the signing of the contract
08:10and almost cost
them the business deal.
08:14So how can we prevent these kinds
of invisible misunderstandings
08:18and intercultural communication?
08:22Well, it all starts with our ability
to see the world through different eyes,
08:27to shift our perspectives,
to overcome our bias,
08:32and to recognize that we need
a shared basis of understanding
08:35to crack the code of
meaningful communication.
08:41With this in mind, letâs take a look
08:43at what person A and person B
could do to better communicate.
08:47What we can see here is
their communication toolbox,
08:50and that they each have two
main communication tools,
08:53the verbal and the nonverbal.
08:56These are the two ways
in which we can encode and decode
09:00or send and receive messages
and communication.
09:03And we can adapt these to suit
09:05the needs of our conversation partner.
09:08These are our controllables.
09:12Verbal communication is
our language, Itâs what we say.
09:16And it works its magic
only to the extent
09:18that it is shared by
the speaker and the listener.
09:23Have you ever read
something highly technical
09:25and had no idea
what it was on about?
09:28Or try to understand the terms
and conditions of a contract?
09:32Or had someone tell you a story
09:34where you found yourself
with a myriad of questions,
09:37because you obviously lack
09:38some kind of vital background
information to make sense of it all?
09:43Thatâs the power of language.
09:45It can be used to confuse or to connect.
09:49And itâs up to each of us
to adapt our language to suit
09:52the needs of our conversation partner.
09:56But we also need to consider
our nonverbal communication.
10:00A lot more falls into this category
than first meets the eye,
10:04and the potential for
misunderstandings is huge.
10:09Letâs take body language
as an example.
10:12Is it acceptable to point at someone?
10:16What are the implications
of bad posture?
10:21How much eye or body
contact is appropriate?
10:26Do certain gestures mean the same
thing in your culture as in theirs?
10:30Or are you being
unintentionally rude, dismissive,
10:33or even suggestive
without realizing it?
10:37What about personal space?
10:39How close should you stand
to the other person?
10:43Public, social and personal spaces vary
considerably in different cultures.
10:49Well, letâs think again about
the different attitudes
10:51towards power and hierarchy.
10:54Remember the story of the Chinese
and the American business people
10:58and how their different attitudes
towards displays of superiority
11:01almost cost them
a good working relationship.
11:05Emphasizing someone's superiority
can be a sign of respect
11:09or make them feel
deeply uncomfortable.
11:12It all depends on their worldview.
11:16The list goes on and on.
11:18Basically, anything that
you consider normal behavior
11:22is likely to be anything but normal
in a different country or culture.
11:28Because what makes up
a personâs normal
11:30boils down to the unique combination
11:32of the social norms
and values of their society,
11:36their personal lived experiences
and their entire cultural background.
11:42So I invite you to consider
how each of these things differ
11:45and how the combination
of them differs
11:47to each and every person you talk to.
11:50I encourage you
to adapt your language,
11:53to suit the context and to suit
11:55the needs of your conversation partner.
11:58This could mean
using simpler language.
12:01It could mean avoiding jargon
12:03and steering clear of
potentially confusing idioms
12:06they may not understand.
12:08You could also paraphrase,
repeat or tell a story.
12:12After all, the power
of stories is universal.
12:17And you can always ask
clarifying questions, too.
12:22Often if we approach a situation
with curiosity and an open mind,
12:28we find ourselves blown away
by the multifaceted diversity
12:31that makes up the human race.
12:35Itâs up to each of us to recognize
12:38our own often subconscious
lens of cultural norms and biases,
12:42to realise that we all have them,
12:45and to understand how they affect
12:47our personal preconceptions
and our communication.
12:52If we all learn to make better use
of our communication toolkit,
12:56we can avoid misunderstandings.
12:59We can avoid making
people feel left out
13:02or even offended by
our unintentional ignorance.
13:06That way, we can all take
responsibility for positive change.
13:12Ultimately,
more effective communication
13:16leads to more productive collaboration
and better relationships
13:19between countries,
organizations and individuals.
13:25And It is not just
talking to or at each other,
13:27we can actually end up
on the same page.
13:32If we can all learn to see the world
through each other's eyes,
13:36we will be less likely
to discriminate and marginalize,
13:40less likely to focus on
what sets us apart
13:44and more interested in
what we can learn from each other.
13:48In a nutshell, we can be
better global citizens.
