Intercultural awareness . . .
may sound more complicated than it actually is. Let‘s follow Tim and have a look at what it means. If you went backpacking around the world, you would find that people behave in very different ways: Let`s take a simple thing like greeting somebody.
In different cultures it can look like this . . .
like this . . .
or even this. Now the beautiful thing about our international Testo community is: you get to meet people from all over the world! It also means that you have to team up with them for global success in order to avoid misunderstandings and to work together effectively.
That can be tricky, because different cultures have different perspectives on things: When it comes to time for example… or to personal space . . .
Sometimes intercultural communication can be confusing, and even simple things like dining habits may need getting used to. So how do we gain intercultural awareness? By exchanging our different points of view and working on it together as one big community!
And these 10 bullet points will help us in intercultural situations: Be open to new encounters and curious for new experiences. Don`t be afraid. Be vigilant and observe, so you won‘t make a faux pas.
And, of course, respect foreign customs, rituals, and culture. Be patient And in case someone does not behave how you expect, don`t take it personally. Be kindhearted, share your own customs and culture with others and finally, share your intercultural experiences with colleagues and friends.
That`s the way to cultivate intercultural awareness at Testo.
