Things are not always as they seem or as we expect them to be. A PR campaign, for example,can be ruined if it has a meaning to our audience that we never intended to give.
As Launa Spenser mentioned in her article, what is obvious to one person is not, necessarily, so obvious to another and things can sometimes follow an unexpected path. Let's relate a PR presentation to the image on the right. Although we may expect the presentation to have a particular interpretation for our audience, sometimes "hidden" meanings can cause averse results, especially due to cultural differences. We might intended to make our cross-cultural audience feel confident and secure for working in our organization. The way we presented that, however, might be totally inappropriate and cause feelings of insecurity. Unexpectedly, our presentation turns out to be a mess, exactly the same way the banana on the right, out of the blue, turns out to be a cucumber. Therefore, taking into account the diversity of cultures should be in the best interests of an organization to avoid such unpleasant surprises.
The most abstract take on the assignment; I'd be very upset if I was munching on a banana and it showed its true colours of a dirty great big cucumber :)
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with that when there is communication between different cultures there are communication gabs as well. I have experienced lots of "cultural shocks" while I was studying in France. I think itsn't easy for anyone to understand the way another culture works, the way other people behave, talk, communicate, think, adressing messages. When I was in Italy I lived with 3 Italians and 1 Slovenian... and I'm Cypriot!!! the cultural choc was not just inevitable...even for everyday things...things we take for granted...yeah...just as you said what is obvious for one is not obvious for the others...you are totally right...but that's probably the most interesting thing!!! the challenge of approaching other cultures to see the other side(s) of the coin!!! but as you said when you communicate with people from other culures and backgrounds you have to respect the fundamnetal values of their cultures (such as religious values and beleifs)in order to be able to work and cooperate with them...for example If you use humour as a tactic should pay attention and make sure that his/her jokes don't harm or undermine other culuters and you should keeep in mind that the other is just different neither better, nor worse than you...
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