Opinion: When in Rome

It's fair to say that communicating across cultures often causes a lot of miscommunication and misunderstanding. It is also well documented that humour does not travel very well. If we look at for example how an English native speaker uses humour as a way of introduction - breaking the ice, to lighten up, to hide feelings - then the Japanese and Koreans will probably prefer to use the apology instead and the Chinese will probably prefer to introduce their team members first with appropriate status and respect taken into account. To a lot of Asian cultures, jokes are often seen as inappropriate in the business environment as it does not pay sufficient respect to the matter at hand. Jokes can be seen as unprofessional, childish and are often misunderstood.

"When in Rome...", basically means that when visiting a new place, you should try to do as the locals do. The culturally appropriate response would be to develop an understanding about the cultural nuances first, try to get your head and heart around what it is that makes the people tick. You might find that your copying their behaviour is not as effective as the 'Do's and Don'ts" books said. Once you have an idea about the cultural values, local customs, rules, etiquette and behaviour, check that you understand correctly what they mean before you start to use them. This might actually prove that you have really practiced what Cultural competence preaches: Using your head (knowledge and strategies), using your body (actions and behaviour) and using your heart (drive and motivation) appropriately to improve your business contacts and to enhance your communication with the new culture. Copying, mimicking or pretending to be a local might actually offend and send an inappropriate message.

While we are busy preparing ourselves by utilising culturally inappropriate behaviour as shown in movies ("Lost in Translation" was not actually that accurate or funny), and being misguided by simplistic do's and don'ts, we could be wasting valuable time. My advice would be, 'When in Rome ... , do as the culturally competent do". That is, come highly motivated, soundly informed, and well behaved. The head, body, and heart approach always makes the difference between an effective business relationship and an embarrassing or costly mistake.

* Joost Thissen is director of the Cultural Resources Centre ( This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it )