Discuss as many of these topics as you can.
Work with a partner and have a conversation. Keep the conversation going as long as possible.
Ending a conversation
Keeping a conversation going
Showing interest
Starting a conversation
Key expressions
Hi, I don’t think we’ve met.
Hello. It’s (Andriana), isn’t it?
Hello, I saw you…but I didn’t have a chance to speak to you. I’m…
Hello/Hi, I’m…( from/based in…)
Is this your first (company event)?
I thought I might see you (here).
How lovely to see you here.
How are things?
Really?
I see.
What a coincidence!
That’s amazing!
That sounds interesting.
Oh dear…
Oh, I am so sorry to hear that.
By the way…
Well,…
Apparently…
I’ve heard…-is that true?
In fact…
So…
Don’t you…?
See you later.
It’s been nice talking to you.
Look, I have to go. Catch you later.
You don’t mind if I go and get myself (a coffee)?
-hobbies - TV/cinema -work
-education -vacation -news
-sport -other people -family
-an interesting fact -food -an enjoyable excursion nearby
TEXT 1.2.International Teamwork
Slowly they entered the room in ones and twos, anxiously looking for familiar faces. Some took refuge in intense conversation to avoid the searching eyes of strangers. Others were preoccupied rearranging papers. The Scandinavians were the first to arrive, conspicuous in their plaid jackets and open-necked shirts. Exactly on the stroke of nine o'clock the Germans entered, debating with their Austrian colleagues. The US participants followed, introducing themselves to everyone they passed.Then two hesitant figures in dark, pin- stripe suits filled the doorway, their formal handshakes unmistakably betraying them as the British representatives. The seats around the circle of tables were almost filled and the buzz of polite conversation began falling off when the Italian participants, dressed in fine tailored suits, were the last to arrive. The group of managing and marketing directors from nine national subsidiaries of a large international company had gathered in a European capital city for a three-day meeting with a dual purpose.
Their primary task was to draw up a pan-European marketing strategy to exploit the EC's single market. The meeting was also seen as an opportunity for the executives to learn about working within a multicultural team, and to recognise how it differed from their team-working back home. I was one of two consultants assigned to facilitate the process and crystallise the learning.
As with many multicultural groups, the first difficulties emerged over language. The meeting was conducted in English, but not all the participants were equally fluent or confident about expressing themselves. Not surprisingly, native English speakers dominated the early discussions, until the facilitator asked others for their ideas.
This intervention, however, only exposed another cultural trait that impeded progress. Impatient with the time it took others to formulate their views, British and US participants frequently interrupted the long periods of silent contemplation with even more suggestions of their own. To construct1 coherent arguments in a non-native language takes time and requires concentration.
The use of only one language was the most obvious barrier to multicultural teamworking. As the first working session progressed, however, the comments made and ideas proposed revealed how unconscious cultural biases and corporate myths dominated the participants' thinking.
French executives argued for their proposal, since it was manifestly the most logical. No, said the Germans, their approach should be endorsed because it was technically superior and had a proven track record. No one gave serious consideration to the Danish proposaLThe ideas produced by the Italians were seen, as elegant and seductive, but impractical.
The members of this multicultural team, brought together for the first time, reacted like all human beings: In the absence of more reliable information, they made liberal use of preconceived stereotypes about the nations they did not know. Or where they had some experience, they generalised by using one past incident to predict the behaviour of that nationally.
Like 'groupthink', where all members of a team home in on one powerfully argued but possibly flawed idea, this multicultural team was taking refuge in simplistic stereotypes and over-generalisations. To address this obstacle to effective teamworking, time was taken to learn about the characteristic behaviour of the nations present. Each national group had to act as informants on their own culture, and heard how their cultural behaviour influenced the perceptions and attitudes of others.
This cathartic activity produced much laughter. The linear, time-conscious Northern Europeans discovered the mysteries of their Latin colleagues’ flexible approach to time and capacity to deal with several projects simultaneously. The Anglo-Saxons learned about alternatives to adversarial relationships in industry from the consensus-orientated Scandinavian managers.
Each group explored the emphasis it placed upon personal relationships in getting things done, cultural preferences for long-term outcomes and the importance attached to being liked, a theme that proved sensitive for many of the executives.
Many significant messages and difficult observations were delivered in jest and mimicry throughout the remainder of the meeting. But all the participants acknowledged the pain of learning, and the importance of more accurate perceptions in putting together a draft marketing strategy.
Yes, they agreed, it might need more work, but their future efforts would be less likely to be side-tracked by superficial differences of culture.