This document discusses cross-cultural communications and provides context and principles for improving cross-cultural performance. It notes that cross-cultural performance involves continuously improving one's awareness, empathy, attitude, mindset, and approach through experiences in multicultural environments. The document emphasizes developing a growth mindset and non-judgmental attitude to avoid "myopia syndrome" and better understand different cultural perspectives. It highlights listening with empathy and understanding context as important principles for cross-cultural communications.

1. Cross-Cultural Communications
(跨文化沟通)
March 7, 2017

2. www.linkedin.com/company/emecareer
These SLIDES have been repurposed from a 90-minute keynote presentation delivered to
a group of financial executives in Shanghai on March 7, 2017

3. What is Cross-Cultural Communications?
跨文化沟通
3

5. 5

6. 6

8. Introduction
GENE HSU 徐仁治
Founder / CEO / Entrepreneur / Event Host / Coach / Trainer
EME Career Consultants / EME Meetup Events / Cross-Cultural Performance Forum
Nationality USA (100% bilingual)
EME Meetup Events (5.4K+ members | 140+ events)
Instructor Hong Kong University | IBC (香港大學 | 創新型專業商管學院)
SISU MBA (上海外国语大学)
ECUST MBA (华东理工大学商学院)
Scheller College of Business at Georgia Tech (Atlanta, USA)
Hitachi-Celerant Consultant (Commercial Excellence, PMS, KAM in China)
APAC Sales Director (20+ member sales team)
Leadership positions held at Motorola, Philips
MBA, Certificate of International Management, BSME (USA)

9. Context For Me…
How well do you understand English?
A. Native English
B. Decent (马马虎虎)
C. None
How well do you understand Chinese?
A. Native Chinese
B. Decent (马马虎虎)
C. None

10. Cross-Cultural Interaction
10
Business and
cultural norms
跨文化商业规范
Customs, habits and
emotions
国际文化的习惯
My Values 我的价值观
• Attitude 心态
• Mindset 思维
• Approach 方法
My perceptions and
misperceptions
我的知觉和错觉
My Culture 我的文化
• Perceptions 看法
• Habits 习惯
• Mentality 思维定势
Perceptions 知觉 | Misperceptions 错觉

11. Academic Approach
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12. Consultative Approach
 Cultural considerations
◦ The negotiating environment
◦ Cultural and sub-cultural differences
◦ Ideological differences
◦ Foreign bureaucracy
◦ Foreign laws and governments
◦ Political instability and economic changes
 Factors influencing cross-cultural negotiations
◦ Negotiating goal and basic concept
◦ Protocol
◦ Verbal and non-verbal communications
◦ Risk-taking propensity (uncertainty avoidance)
◦ Concept of TIME
◦ Concept of CONTRACTS
◦ Power distance

13. Individual Approach
Self
Values
Cultural
EQ
• Experience
• Knowledge
• Understanding
• Self (EQ)
• Cultural (Context)
• Situation (Context)
• Others (Empathy)
• Attitude (心态)
• Mindset (思维)
• Approach (方法)
Soft
Skills
软技能
FRAMEWORK

14. 14
Counterproductive Attitude
• They should…
• This is how is should be...
• They need to learn…
• Why can’t they...
Productive Attitude
• Forget EGO
• Control EMOTIONS
• Focus on RESULTS
• Strive for HARMONY
Controllable vs. Uncontrollable

15. 15

16. Myopia Syndrome 自以为是
 “Known Knowns”
◦ Things you know you know
 “Known Unknowns”
◦ Things you know you don’t know
 “Unknown Unknowns”
◦ Things you don’t know you don’t know
 “False Known Knowns”
◦ Things that you think you know, but are wrong
16

17. 17

18. More Context About You…
Regarding Your EQ (情商)
A. I have a HIGH E.Q. (高)
B. I have a LOW E.Q. (低)
C. I don’t know my E.Q. (不知道)
Regarding Your Self-Awareness (自我意识)
A. I have S.A. (我有)
B. I don‘t have S.A. (我没有)
C. I don’t know and rarely think about S.A. (我没想过，也不知道)
Regarding Your Level of Empathy (同理心)
A. I have Empathy (我有同理心)
B. I have Empathy and Sympathy (我也有同情心)
C. I don’t know if I have Empathy (不是道我有没有)

19. New Definitions
Awareness “Ability to perceive how you are perceived by
others, the context of the situation/environment, and whether your
responses (self-) are driven by emotions or reasoning."
Empathy “Desire and capacity to understand the deep,
subconscious feelings, desires, and emotions of other people beyond
outer appearances."
Cross-Cultural Performance “Empowering yourself
towards greater success in multicultural environments through a
journey that continuously seeks to improve the foundational "soft
skills" of AWARENESS and EMPATHY."

20. 代表个人的成长
”Soft Skills”
Development
EQ
情商
Leadership
领导力
Communications
沟通|言论
Negotiations
协商|谈判
People Skills
人际关系
Team Building
带团队
Soft Skills
软技能
Empathy (同理心) Awareness (自我意识)
Attitude (心态) Mindset (思维) Approach (方法)
Imagination (想象力)
Curiosity (好奇心)
Experience (经验)

21. Communication GAA Barriers
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Passion 激情
Trust 信任
Teamwork 团体精神
Goodwill 诚意
Alignment 一致性
Acceptance 接受度
Cultural Norms/Habits
(resistance)
Emotional/Irrational
(excuses)
Uncertainty
(fear)
Jealousy/Selfish
(antagonism)
Faith/Politics
(anger)

22. Communications FRAMEWORK
Self
Values
Cultural
EQ
• Experience
• Knowledge
• Understanding
• Self (EQ)
• Cultural (Context)
• Situation (Context)
• Others (Empathy)
• Attitude (心态)
• Mindset (思维)
• Approach (方法)
Foundationa
l “Soft” Skills

23. Context For Consideration …
What is your Perspective for making
decisions/choices (选择)?
A. I choose based on short-term advantages
(practical)
B. I choose based on a long-term view
(optimistic)
C. My choice depends (看情形)
Consistency!

24. Communications “Awareness”
 Communicating with “Confidence” will
attract many listeners
 Communicating with “Empathy” and
“Substance” attracts …
Believers!

25. “Listening-in-Context”
 If you don't care, it shows a lack of
respect
 If you don't even pretend to care, it is
insulting
 Awareness is knowing whether the other
person senses, believes, and feels
whether you care or not…

26. Application Examples
 Attendee QUESTIONS
• Post on Meetup Conversation
• Post on ETT WeChat Group
• PM to EME Marketing Team (WeChat, Meetup Message, Email)
• Post on EME Social Media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram)
 Zhihu.com QUESTIONS
• 问我问题
 Quora.com QUESTIONS
• Ask me Questions

27. Attendee QUESTION
What is the proper workplace distance to
maintain amongst co-workers? Should I
develop personal friendships with those
who report to me?
在职场该如何把握跟他人距离？尤其是
对待下属，可以跟他们做朋友吗？还是
应当保持适当距离？

28. My OPINION (Tradeoffs)

29. My OPINION
#1 - You must answer, what type of
manager or leader to you want to
be/become?
#2 - You must decide, what level of
consistency can you maintain?
#3 - You must know yourself, to determine
which tradeoffs favor your personality?
“you cannot simply adopt someone else's
approach and achieve the same results”

30. Zhihu (知乎) QUESTION
How do I control my emotions at the
moment of being infuriate by someone
(and I feel like arguing and fighting)?
怎样在被激怒（想要吵架）的这一个瞬
间，使自己的情绪稳定？

31. Background / Context
 Emotional Stability is based on
developing a higher EQ?
◦ CONTROL your emotions
◦ MANAGE your emotions
◦ PERCEIVE every attack, negative statement, or
belligerent response in a different, more
positive CONTEXT
 This means you have adjusted your
ATTITUDE!

32. My ANSWER (Mindset)
 You should consider (or imagine) the
motivation, background, and reputation
of your antagonist (context)?
o Motivation - Assume non-intent! Their culture, values, or
background causes them to be selfish, jealous, or deceitful.
o Background - Do not assign blame! No one can control their
background, the environment in which they were raised, or the
values they were taught.
o Reputation - Seize an opportunity! If someone is behaving
poorly, this person's reputation will be negatively impacted. This
is an opportunity to improve your own reputation (perception
management).

33. My ANSWER (Approach)
 The best place to PRACTICE is with a close
family member or spouse (wife)
• I imagine the most positive possibility for her
negative hurtful statements, and I SMILE
• I consider that she is emotional, and therefore, I
don't blame her hurtful words, and I SYMPATHIZE
• I focus on the harmony of our relationship, instead
of the argument of the moment, and I ACQUIESCE

34. Quora.com QUESTION
What principles should people note in
cross-cultural communications?

35. My OPINION (Principles)
#1 - ATTITUDE (心态)- Non-Judgmental, there’s no
right or wrong
#2 - MINDSET (思维)- Avoid myopic tendencies and
strive for greater cultural-awareness and self-awareness
#3 - APPROACH (方法)- Listen-In-Context, avoid
listening without empathy, patience, or understanding
A positive and healthy Attitude, Mindset, and
Approach is the foundation for improving cross-cultural
communications.

36. SAY (靠说的)DEMONSTRATE (显示的)
The Art of Persuasion (说服)
Believe (确信) Agree (同意)
• Compromise (妥协)
• Give FACE (给面子)
• Indifferent (无所谓)
• Long-term benefit
(长期好处)
• Positive Perception
(正面印象)
• Discretionary Support
(背后支持)
Disagree (不同意)

37. Your Individual Journey
Are you on the
right journey
(做对了选择吗?)
to reach your
destination
Do you know who
you (type of
person or leader)
aspire to be?
想成为什么样
的领导？
Do you know
who you are
(你是谁) and how
you are perceived
(别人对你的印象)
by others?

38. Your Individual Journey
Are you on the
right journey
(做对了选择吗?)
to reach your
destination
Do you know who
you (type of
person or leader)
aspire to be?
想成为什么样
的领导？
Do you know
who you are
(你是谁) and how
you are perceived
(别人对你的印象)
by others?
Enable you to do the things you already
know, consistently better, in multicultural
environments 在跨文化环境中，使你可
以实现已有的能力并保持出色的表现

39. Final Question!
Do you want to become a master of cross-
cultural performance?
A. YES
B. Definitely YES
C. Absolutely YES