Most of us don’t enjoy having difficult conversations. When we have a difficult conversation with someone from a different culture, however, our task becomes harder.
Getting down to business vs. relationship building: In some countries like the U.S., people view conversations as an opportunity to exchange information. Participants expect each other to get down to business fairly quickly. However, in countries such as Mexico, conversations are first and foremost an opportunity to enhance the relationship.
Direct vs. indirect communication: In countries like Germany, it is a sign of respect and professionalism to speak clearly and leave no room for misinterpretation. By contrast, in countries like Japan, people prefer to communicate indirectly, especially when it comes to a sensitive topic.
Low vs. high context: In countries like Canada, the message of a conversation is primarily contained within the exact words that are spoken. In other countries, like South Korea, they read between the lines in the words that are spoken and pay very close attention to the emotional side of the message.
Informality vs. formality: In some countries, such as Australia, where people are generally casual and laid back, they might interpret an overtly formal setting as a sign that the situation was worse than they’d thought. Yet in other countries, like Poland, meeting in a formal office with some observance of protocol would be expected.
Disponível em: https://hbr.org. Acesso em: 9 nov. 2018 (adaptado).
A função primordial do texto anterior é