Marry to Engage!

Connect more deeply across cultures

In global business, many strive to marry—or join together in an efficient, attractive or profitable arrangement—business and culture. Yet, in conversation among multinational groups— and multicultural groups in general— some do not recognize what may be the culturally-influenced conversational styles of their business partners. This article recognizes “interruption” and silence as two styles of conversational engagement that may not fall within the status quo of how conversations „should” take place. Understanding these styles for what they are presents opportunities to mutually connect more deeply across cultures.

Why Marry?

Interculturally competent global business supports increased profit and decreased liability. Creating unity between the ways in which conversation is carried out in international business settings and the ways that participating national cultures tend to engage in conversation is just one example of how we can put our global skills to use. While some question whether global business is a step toward a business monoculture, we must distinguish between globalizing business and globalizing culture. If our goal is to globalize our business—or extend business to other or all parts of the world— multicultural work groups are both the challenge and the solution to accomplishing sustained, global success.

Rules of Engagement

In 2009, in response to findings among anthropologists that there were significant cultural differences in turn-taking between cultures, the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics [i] in the Netherlands conducted experiments that resulted in empirical evidence about the phenomenon. The Institute’s research group found “striking universals” in turn-taking among cultures. Participants representing 10 different language groups [ii] took part in the study; researchers tested the patterns of how participants engaged in spontaneous, informal conversation. They concluded that “conversation is guided by two main rules: avoid speaking at the same time and avoid silence between turns” [iii]. If anything, wrote the research group, differences in turn-taking related to how much time—in milliseconds—was taken between turn-taking. While unconclusive, the research prompts consideration of a series of related implications.

Meanwhile…

In a conversation near you, silence and speaking at the same time as others (commonly judged as „interruption”) persist—and represent only two of the ways that culture can influence how we engage in conversation regularly or occasionally. As it relates to global business, there is not necessarily risk in this behavior if it is understood and managed as a culturally-based mode of engagement. Still, there is a clear stigma against these conversational styles. Not Exactly Rocket Science [iv], for example, is the title of one article that presented the Max Planck Institute research noted above as if it were „common sense”; described silence as simply „awkward”; and, asserted that speaking at the same time as others as plain “rude”. The following are brief lists of possible negative and positive interpretations of each conversational style.

Silence in Conversation

Speaking at the Same Time as Others

What are the implications of both sets of interpretations on your perceptions of others’— or your own— professional contributions?

When Two—or More—Become One

By pairing culturally-influenced conversational styles with the structure of conversations between multicultural groups, we make space for increased and mutual authenticity, engagement and understanding in intercultural communication. With a bit of creative adaptation, the following suggestions can be incorporated into both face-to-face and virtual conversations in order to join who we are with how we do business.

• State your positive intentions when participating silently or speaking at the same time as others
• When observing silence or synchronous speaking, simply and objectively describe your conversation partner’s behavior and invite clarification/ comment
• Suggest brief and occasional language-specific break-out sessions during longer discussions
• Invite text-based comments before or after scheduled conversations
• Provide space for conversation participants to write out ideas that may come to mind while others are speaking
• Incorporate drawing into the dialogue so that conversation partners may visualize their ideas
• Suggest brief and occasional „thinking breaks” in silence during longer discussions
• For scheduled conversations, follow a meeting agenda on which participants have shared input in advance
• Assign at least two meeting facilitators to periodically connect and summarize conversation points—especially in groups where multiple people speak at once and/or when those who are participating in their second, third, etc. language are present
• Respectfully acknowledge the person who begins speaking at the same time you’re speaking

What additional conversational styles do you most often notice in conversation among multinational or multicultural groups?

[ii] Languages included Danish, Italian, Dutch, Tzeltal (a Mayan language spoken in Mexico), ‡Ākhoe Hai‖om (a Khoe language of the Khoisan family spoken in Northern Namibia), English, Yélî-Dnye (a language of about 4,000 speakers used in Papua New Guinea), Japanese, Lao and Korean.[iii] Quote cited on Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics site and in the full research available via the Proceedings of the National Academy of Arts and Sciences of the United States of America.[iv] Example cited on Science Blogs.

Photo credit title picture: „Marriage“ by Jo Christian Oterhals; sourced via Flickr.

The above article was included in the Oct. 2014 intercultures e-newsletter.