How to telephone/skype effectively
• Be prepared, know what you want to achieve, have a pen and paper at hand.
• Speak clearly.
• Do not speak too fast or too slow.
• Smile – people can ‘hear’ you smile.
• Use your first and last names to introduce yourself.
• Be confident and positive, genuinely interested and enthusiastic
How to have an effective meeting
• Set clear objectives: is a meeting a brainstorm session, informative or decision making, etc.
• Prepare an agenda, distribute it in advance to all the participants and stick to the agenda.
• Assure the meeting is chaired.
• Arrange the location in advance and inform all the participants.
• Ensure that appropriate supporting information is circulated in time to be useful.
• Make sure you are not disturbed (no cell phones).
• Be on time.
• Be prepared.
• Stay focused.
• Assure participation of all participants, avoid dominance.
• Assure accurate recording of meeting’s minutes/notes.
• Take a break for meetings extending 1,5 hours.
• Having an efficient meeting is teamwork.
• Ask questions, there is nothing foolish about it.
• Make sure the meeting has appropriate opening and closing.
• Always end meetings on time and attempt to end on a positive note.
• At the end of the meeting summarize the outcomes, review actions and assignments, and set up the next meeting if necessary.
• •Assure the minutes of the meeting are distributed to all the attendants not later than
in the two following days.
( ”Let us give you a hand in communicating effectively” ABB Lunmus Global B.V, The Hague, The Netherlands)
Intercultural communication
Communication between people from different cultural groups is one of the most complex areas of human communication.
Culture are defined as the lifestyle of a group, and includes the values, beliefs, ways of behaving and communicating of that group. Culture is aquired or learnt – no one is born with a particular culture.
Some people eat grasshoppers, while others by insecticides to destroy them. Some people adorn their entire bodies with paint and decoration, while others spend a fortune painting just their faces. Some people speak English and others, Finnish. What is the reason for these differences? The answer is that peoples thoughts, feelings, beliefs, behaviour and goals are all moulded by what their culture consider appropriate.
Intercultural communication refers to communication between people who belong to different cultures who thus have different values, beliefs, behaviours and ways to communicating. Because shared or common meaning is essential for communnication to occur successfully, people from different cultures need to establish some common ground and cultivate an open, positive attitude towards one another.
The importance of cultivating a sensitivity towards different rules and expectations of people from other cultural groups cannot be overemphasised. The culturally aware person will benefit not only from improved communication but also from bonds formed with people from a wide range of backgrounds
Openness to the differences existing among people is a vital ingredient for successful intercultural communication. An awareness of different values, attitudes and beliefs, must be cultivated. Empathy by putting oneself in the other person´s shoes enables a communicator to see the world from another perspective. Active listening and recognition that each person has an important role to play in the interaction are important in all communication, but especially so when people from different cultures communicate.