Effective communication between people from different cultures may be very challenging. Even when people talk the same language but come from different cultures misunderstandings can arise. When the languages are different, and translation has to be used to communicate, the potential for misunderstandings increases.
But it is not just about the speaking and language, very important component of communication is also non- verbal communication. Major communication issues in verbal and nonverbal communication could be- eye to eye contact, if person talks straight away about the problem or just around the issue, personal space- how close people stand to each other, displaying emotions, use of gestures and handshakes. All of these differences may lead to communication problems. International managers have to be aware of those problems, when working with people from different culture. For example two business people in England may be standing 3 feet apart, but in Greece they would be standing almost nose to nose. …
