JoyofCommunication

Some colleagues based in the Philippines working for a UK-based company, felt uncomfortable at first to greet their colleagues by their first name.

Instead of saying Sir or Madam or Team Leader Yasmin for example, they had to use my first name which was the same for the Director as in the UK, we are less hierarchical/formal than the Filipino culture in general.

It took some time for them to get used to addressing colleagues and superiors by their first name.

These colleagues did not have any intercultural training before working for a UK company, nor did the UK teams working with Filipino-based staff.

I delivered cultural awareness and communication sessions initially for global teams based in the UK and this testimonial is from Terry, the Customer Service Manager.

When employing staff globally, how do you support them in cultural awareness and communication to help them adapt?

The Joy of Communication 🧡

Earlier this morning, two men came to my house to collect a sofa I had donated. As the front door of my house is at the side of the property, it is difficult to move furniture in and out. I advised the men of this and told them it is much easier to go through my back door and that I would meet them at the back of my house. 🚪

So far so good …

They went off and I went to the back of my house and I saw them reverse into the area of where I said I would meet them and then suddenly they drove off! I followed them but they left my road completely and I was in the middle of the road wondering where they had gone with only part of my sofa in their van! 🤔

I then returned to my house to call them and after a few minutes, they reappeared, they had assumed that the back of my house was somewhere else and drove off without clarifying where it was and did not give me the time to specify. 🚚

Eventually they manoeuvred the sofa out of the back door and into their van, although they had to lift it much further, as their van was at the front of my house instead of towards the back where it would have been closer and easier. 🏋‍♂️

What could have been a quick and easy exchange was made more difficult and longer due to a lack of communication and assumptions made.

Does this sound familiar?

Do you work in global teams where effective and inclusive communication across cultures could be enhanced to ensure success for your projects and customer service delivery?



🧡 I am Yasmin from Joy of Communication and I help global teams and global customer service teams communicate more effectively and inclusively across cultures.

Attended an event to celebrate Birkbeck, University of London's 200th anniversary in Cambridge this week! Great place to study, very accessible for all ages and backgrounds! Loved going to London after work each week and studying for a Post-Graduate Certificate in Intercultural Communication!
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A shot of the amazing Flamenco show we went to recently. Fantastic Flamenco guitar, two amazing singers, one stunning dancer and even a violinist! Spanish culture in your home town by Daniel Martinez Flamenco Company.

Had this delicious plate of food whilst in Spain recently! (Apologies to those of you who don't eat fish).

I love eating my favourite Spanish dishes as I used to live in Spain but also trying new ones. Although there were certainly a few English only restaurants if you were so inclined!

What are your thoughts on only eating the local cuisine when you travel to another country!

I have used a poster similar to this in my Intercultural Awareness and Communication workshops. I am a natural smiler 😉, it's automatic when I see people I know, people I don't know, anyone I have eye contact with.

However, I know that it doesn't come natural or easy to all of us.

What this quote does mean to me is that even if we don't speak the same language, we can show friendliness, empathy, use our body language to communicate in a positive way when we don't have the words in another language to express ourselves.

What does it mean to you?

I am Yasmin from Joy of Communication and I help global teams and global customer service teams communicate more effectively and inclusively across cultures.

At a 'School of Life' event this week, we had to confess something that we would normally feel reluctant to admit to another person!

Lots of interesting conversations and as always, we discovered that we all have challenges and insecurities in one way or another even if on the outside it appears that we don't.

We are all different but we also share a lot of similarities regardless of our cultural background and it was a joy to communicate with new people!

❓ So the question is, would you find it easier to share your vulnerability with those you know well or a stranger?

If you assume that what you like to do or how you like to do it is the same for your global colleagues and customers, this could lead to miscommunication and misunderstandings.