Читать книгу Communication For International Business - Rus Slater - Страница 12

OK, that is ironic; to start a section warning of the danger of generalizations with a generalization. This book contains plenty of generalizations; it talks about people from specific countries as if they were stereotypes. It talks about media of communication as if everyone used them in exactly the same way. Clearly that is dangerous … so beware these generalizations.

When we accept any generalization as a ‘rule’ we are bound to make a massive mistake somewhere down the line. This relates to generalizations about people:

▪ Not all people of a particular race behave in exactly the same way; they will have been exposed to a greater or lesser degree to people from different cultures. They will base their opinions on different life experiences. They will have read and followed different ‘thought-leaders’.

▪ No one person from any particular race or culture can be deemed to speak for their entire nation, regardless of their position in their national hierarchy. Neither will they know what everyone else in their native country thinks about any given topic.

▪ It can be deeply insulting to make assumptions based on national stereotyping; so don’t.

▪ Beware also generalizations regarding generations; not everyone under the age of 25 is on Facebook. And some people over 50 are.

Beware generalizations about methods of communicating:

▪ Not all international phone carriers charge the same rates.

▪ Calls from Country A to Country B may be charged at a different rate to calls from Country B to Country A.

▪ VOIP may work brilliantly between two specific areas, but may be appallingly ineffective between two other specific areas.

▪ Some people are brilliant at running virtual meetings using conference call or VOIP, other people are absolutely useless (trust me, I’ve ‘attended’ some fantastic international remote meetings and some complete wastes of time!).

▪ Sometimes a phone conversation is the best way to communicate and sometimes an email is actually much, much better.

▪ International call routing now means that a call can show on your phone as originating in London, but the caller may be in Lahore.

When communicating internationally it is really important to engage your brain before operating your mouth.