1. 1st LESSON
Communicating: not just speaking but also listening, reading and writing, expressing yourself, building relationships, etc.
Across: from one to another, like a bridge across a river
Cultures: nationalities, regional cultures, organisational cultures, etc

2. 1st LESSON
Tell me a range of situations where you might need to communicate across cultures.

3. 1st LESSON Receiving clients from abroad
Visiting potential overseas suppliers
Working in international teams
Presenting, negotiating, socialising after work

4. 1st LESSON What different types of culture are mentioned in point 1?
Your own culture;
The target culture;
National, regional and corporate cultures

5. 1st LESSON
What’s the meaning of “adapting your style of communication”, in your opinion?
For example, speaking more slowly, listening more, being more patient, etc.

6. 1st LESSON What does culture mean?
Much more than just national cultures
Company cultures, departmental cultures within a company, gender cultures (i.e. male and female cultures), etc.

7. 1st PICTURE: What does the first picture show?
A female sailor on a large ship, possibly an aircraft carrier
How can the culture be there?
Male dominated, rule-focused and hierarchical (Sailors have to be very well-disciplined)

8. 2nd PICTURE What does the second picture show? A nurse in a hospital.
How can the culture be there?
Rather hierarchical, people-focused

9. 3rd PICTURE What does the third picture show? A group of traders
How can the culture be there
They work alone or in small teams, but their work leaves little time for relationship building.

10. TOP-DOWN/BOTTOM-UP
Top-down and bottom-up describe decision-making processes
Top-down organisations: decisions are made by senior managers, who tell their subordinates what to do
Bottom-up organisations: even junior levels have the power to make decisions, and their managers are seen as facilitators rather than leaders

11. - ORIENTED –FOCUSED -DRIVEN
No important difference: quality-oriented, quality-focused or quality- driven
-Oriented suggests a direction: where is the company going?
-Focused suggests prioritisation: the company pays attention to some things (e.g. quality) more than others (e.g. price). A company may be focused on positive things (e.g. customer service) or potentially dangerous things (e.g. risk)
-Driven suggests motivation, or the driving force behind the company: why does the company exist?