Intercultural Awareness

Why Intercultural Awareness courses?  When working with overseas colleagues have you ever been frustrated that they work differently to you? That their priorities in the workplace are sometimes different to yours? That they appear to be sending mixed messages—and that their body language is often confusing?

The role of Intercultural Awareness: These different attitudes and behaviours are more than likely conditioned by culture—values, assumptions and perceptions that are instilled early on in life and are expressed in the way we behave and interact. These cultural influences are so deep that we act upon them instinctively—in everything we do, from the way we stand and talk, to the way we deal with superiors, conflict and decision-making. As these differences are so deep and intuitive, they can often lead to substantial misunderstanding and breakdowns in communication. Nowhere is this more detrimental than in an international workplace, where misunderstandings, based on culture, can make or break a important business deal, an international merger or any other type of cross-cultural working.

Communicaid’s Intercultural Awareness courses aim to raise your intercultural awareness and enable you to communicate effectively across cultures. Designed in close collaboration with you and your organisation, our Intercultural Awareness courses will develop your own cultural awareness and enable you to work more effectively with counterparts from other cultures.

Benefits

Communicaid’s Intercultural Awareness courses will provide you with:

- In-depth cultural awareness and understanding of the impact of cultural differences

- The necessary foundation and tools to become culturally competent

- A better understanding of the cultural challenges facing multicultural workplaces

- The opportunity to enhance cultural sensitivity and competence

- Practical tools to reduce cross-cultural misunderstanding and encourage positive cross-cultural

  working relationships

Who should attend

A Communicaid Intercultural Awareness course will be of benefit to you if:

- Your organisation is growing its business beyond national borders

- You and your staff are increasingly working with colleagues in other countries

- Your staff is becoming more culturally diverse

- You are involved in multinational projects and programmes

Course content

All our Intercultural Awareness courses are designed to meet the specific needs of our clients depending on their specific requirements and existing skills set. An Intercultural Awareness course typically includes:

- What is intercultural awareness?

- Cultural values and attitudes (time, space, group dynamics, authority, tasks, relationships)

- Communication styles

- Intercultural management skills

- Working together across cultures

- Developing cultural awareness

- Language issues

- Tips and strategies for specific countries

Approach

Intercultural Awareness courses are available seven days a week, 365 days a year, either at one of our training centres in London, Paris, Frankfurt and New York or at your offices in any location worldwide.  We usually recommend a one or two day course but can also offer a more flexible format to suit your schedule.

Suitably tailored Intercultural Awareness course materials will be used throughout your Intercultural Awareness courses course and your trainer will provide a balance of structured input and discussion of case studies and scenarios relevant to your own particular context.

The most appropriate training format, content and approach for your Intercultural Awareness courses course will be discussed during your diagnostic consultancy (please click here to read more about our approach).

Intercultural Awareness courses trainer

Your Intercultural Awareness course trainer will be assigned to you following the results of your diagnostic consultancy according to your objectives and areas of focus.  Detailed below is a sample profile.

AMB

AMB combines her own first-hand experience of living and working in numerous different cultures with academic studies and extensive work experience in the field of Intercultural Awareness courses. She has personally relocated across cultures several times since childhood and has an empathetic appreciation for those living and working across cultures.

German by birth, AMB completed her secondary education in London and Brussels, and then returned to the UK to undertake her first degree.  After graduating, she worked at the European Commission in Brussels, then spent seven years in Washington, DC, editing the European Commission’s EUROPE magazine.  On her return to the UK, AMB worked as a freelance consultant, maintaining her links with the European Commission providing liaison, translation and cultural awareness services.   More recently, AMB worked as European Officer for Brighton and Hove City Council for two years, before returning to full-time education to pursue her Masters.  She graduated from the University of Luton at the end of 2003 completing her dissertation on the role of culture in international mergers.

AMB has delivered a substantial amount of Intercultural Awareness courses since joining Communicaid at the beginning of 2004 working with a number of key clients including Gillette, Adidas, Colt Telecom and GSK.  She has recently relocated to France and delivers training in both the UK and France.