Cross-cultural communication has become essential to communicate with multi-cultural people. The following guidelines will help global managers to communicate effectively across cultures:
Improving feedback system: One of the most important ways of improving the effectiveness of cross-cultural communication is to open up feedback systems. People in the organization should develop multiple feedback systems such as through face to face meetings, telephone conversations, e-mail, reports, etc.
Providing language training: Besides improving feedback systems, another way to make communication more effective is through language training. When the organizational participants are diverse in respect of language, they will fail to communicate effectively with each other. In such a situation, employees should learn a common language to ensure successful oral and written communication.
Using familiar words: Even when people can understand a common language, simple and familiar words should be used.
Providing cultural training: It is very difficult to communicate effectively with someone from another culture unlearns at least one party has some understandings of the other’s culture. Therefore, multinational companies can arrange cultural training program for their employees.
Increasing flexibility and cooperation: Participants of cross-cultural communication need to be flexible to understand each other. They must cooperate with each other and must have the tendency to overlook unintentional mistakes of other parties.
Making less use of nonverbal cues: When culturally diverse people communicate, they should avoid as many non-verbal cues as possible. Because different cultures may give different meanings to a single non-verbal cue. This will help to avoid misunderstanding and wrong interpretation.