workplace skills
Walking in the Other Person's Moccasins: Appreciating Cultural Differences
Culture gaps, and how not to fall into them!
Changing demographics, moves towards inclusive education, ethnic diversity are all areas relevant to the modern workplace. Increasingly, people are being called on to communicate and work with people from many different cultures. Competent performance in dealing with members of another culture can be a useful social skill. All too often calamities can occur owing to a misunderstood word, gesture or culinary offering!
There is an urgency to develop an awareness of the needs of diverse range of customers. Rules about time, etiquette, gestures, humour differ from country to country! Your employees could be communicating with every one of several diverse and culturally mixed groups in one single day.
Objectives
At the conclusion, participants should be able to:
- Analyse how others may see their actions and behaviour
- Explain elements of indigenous culture: values, 'the rules,' ideologies
- Outline basic psychological factors in cross cultural differences
- Evaluate difficulties of verbal and non verbal communication
- Demonstrate techniques to handle situations in which individuals have dramatically different perspectives.
- Identify language and communication difficulties with a variety of individuals who have little English
Programme Outline
Participants can explore a variety of topics:
| The 'cultural onion': assumptions, values, norms and traits | Cultural Universals | The culturally proficient professional |
| Attitudes and behaviours | The things they get up to! / The things we do | Dimensions of Diversity |
| Cultural value orientations | Racism | Customer Care approaches for a culturally diverse workplace |
| Why do they say ‘yes’ when they mean ‘no’ and other communication issues | Cultural competency | Developing Understanding, Empathy and Acceptance |
