Intercontinental Communication Misunderstandings

This is the world of information and technologies, people are doing business all over the world, hence we need to communicate with people belonging to different continents. Every country has its own customs, cultures, rules, regulation, and standards of living. Similarly, there are some communication cultures, which sometimes create misunderstandings while people talking to each other’s overseas.??No matter if they are using the same language as English, but still, the native language cultures get mixed with the language, people use for communication overseas. I have observed a few such misunderstandings while talking to people belonging overseas, which I am going to share with you in this article.

Starting from India, we Indians have a habit of sounding like hmm……hmm….hmmmh while talking to each other. For us, this is just real-time feedback to other guys that means ‘I am listing, yes, I am listening, keep saying’.?It helps another person to send signals that I am listening to you and I have an interest in what you are telling, please keep talking. But this is very annoying for the people belonging to Europe and America. They often get confused and feel interrupted while they listen to this sound and finally, when they listen more, they think that the other person who is listening got my point 100% and I don’t need to tell anymore. For example, if someone belonging to the USA is explaining anything to an Indian guy and he needs an average of 10 sentences to explain the topic if he listens more hmmm…..hmmm…..hmmm from Indian guys. The USA guy might think that what I am telling is already understood by an Indian guy and I don’t need to talk more, USA guy might close his speech in just 5-6 sentences. So, not 100% of the information is transferred from one party to another party. At the later stage when conflicts occur, the USA guy will claim that he has transferred all the information and the Indian Guy has acknowledged this whole conversation, but the Indian guy will claim that he has followed the only instructions which he has received. Saying more Ok-Ok can create the same problem.

Similarly, the USA people often say?‘great’, ‘it’s great’?while they talk, for them, this means, ‘Yes it makes sense to me’?but for Indian people, it means what ‘I am telling is 100% accepted by another person’. So, Indian people might stop talking and explaining if he/she listens more word ‘great’?because he might think that I got a response from a USA guy and he is satisfied and happy with what I am telling.

Indian guys keep moving their heads up and down or left to right while listening, for them, this simply means ‘Yes I am listing and interested in your talks’?but for US guys this might be the signal that this person is agreed with me and he is acknowledging by moving his head.

The US people don’t have any expression (or might be very less) while they listening and they never make any sound while listening. They do this because they don’t want to interrupt people speaking, and want to focus most on what he is speaking. But for an Indian, if he doesn’t listen to anything or doesn’t see any facial expression he might think that his audience is not interested in what he is telling. Indian guy might lose his interest and could close the conversation early.

Such communication misunderstandings occur more if you are talking to a person like on the Phone or Skype where you actually don’t see another person. You might create a wrong impression in your mind about other people based on the sounds which you hear from the other party. The same is the case with the party at another end of the line, any extra sound made by you can mislead the person.

It’s better to use video conferencing while talking overseas because this helps for better communication by avoiding many communication misunderstandings. If you are a person who often use to talk to people overseas, then you might need to learn and observe these communication misunderstandings for effective and desired results. You should use professional and straightforward language in a plain tone and pitch so that no misunderstandings happen. Don’t assume the person you are taking is agreed with your thoughts, ask him manually, and then take his acknowledgement. Avoid making sounds like hmmm…..hmmmm……hmmmm or saying more great-great.

I have read a chapter in the book “The Professional?by?Subroto Bagchi” where the author is discussing similar problems. There can be many more intercontinental communication misunderstanding points, please share in comments if you have experienced any. :) :) :)