If you're aiming for a career that crosses cultures, it's essential to build both intercultural awareness and the right attitude – and these two go hand in hand with your personal motivation.

Awareness means being conscious of how culture shapes the way people behave and communicate. It’s about noticing cultural influences and understanding their impact on interactions. Attitude, on the other hand, is your mindset once you're aware of those cultural differences. It's about being open and willing to engage with people from diverse backgrounds.

Having an open attitude is crucial for working well across cultures, but it’s not enough on its own. Without awareness, even the most positive attitude may fall short. Truly effective intercultural engagement requires both: the mindset to embrace diversity and the awareness to recognize the subtle cultural dynamics at play. Key traits like empathy, curiosity, openness, and flexibility are all part of developing this intercultural skill set.

The resources on this page help you develop your sensitivity towards factors influencing interactions and learn more about core attitudes.

When we talk about culture in an international context, we often focus on national identities, such as German, Brazilian, or Japanese culture. While national culture does play an important role, this narrow view overlooks the fact that each of us belongs to multiple cultural groups at the same time.

Culture isn't limited to nationality, it also includes aspects like profession, ethnicity, religion, gender, age, social class, language, and even personal interests. For example, a university student might simultaneously be part of academic culture, youth culture, and regional or linguistic cultures. These layers interact and influence how we see the world and how we communicate with others.

To gain a deeper understanding of these complexities, watch Arjan Verdooren explain how cultural diversity goes far beyond national borders. His insights highlight why it's important to take a multi-dimensional approach to culture – especially if you’re preparing for a cross-cultural career where flexibility and nuanced understanding are key.

Ask yourself: What are the main sources of your cultural programming? In other words, which groups or communities have shaped the way you think, behave, and communicate? These might include your family, school, religion, nationality, profession, friend groups, or social media communities.

1. List the cultural groups or collectives you've been part of.
2. For each one, write down the key rules, norms, and values you learned from that group.
3. Reflect: How do these aspects of your programming influence your behaviour on the job?

While this exercise helps you become more aware of how your own cultural background influences your perceptions and interactions with others, it is also worthwhile to consider how much you know about the cultural programming of your co-workers.

Source: Adapted from Lee Gardenswartz and Anita Rowe: Managing Diversity, 2010.

Copyright: This resource was created by the Una.Futura Consortium and is licensed under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license.

Human communication is incredibly nuanced. Every conversation involves a constant flow of information - both spoken and unspoken - and with that comes the ever-present risk of misunderstandings. One major factor that shapes how we communicate is culture.

Different cultures have distinct preferences when it comes to expressing ideas and emotions. A key distinction lies between direct and indirect communication styles. People from more direct communication cultures tend to say exactly what they mean, i.e., they place most of the information in their words, making their intentions clear and explicit. In contrast, those from indirect communication cultures often communicate in more subtle ways. Their messages are less about what is said and more about how it's said, relying heavily on tone, context, and non-verbal cues to convey meaning.

These differences are closely related to what’s known as low-context and high-context communication. In low-context cultures (typically associated with direct styles), communication is straightforward, and the listener isn’t expected to “read between the lines.” Meanwhile, in high-context cultures, much of the meaning is found in the surrounding context rather than the words themselves. Consequentially, listeners are expected to infer meaning based on shared understanding, relationships, and social cues.

Now imagine what happens when someone from a low-context culture interacts with someone from a high-context culture. One might find the other too vague or too blunt, leading to confusion, frustration, or even conflict. Recognizing these differences is essential for effective cross-cultural communication.

To explore these ideas further and see real-world examples, watch the video below on low-context vs. high-context communication. It will give you valuable insights into how these styles work and why they matter in intercultural settings.

Think about your own communication preferences:

• Do you tend to be more direct or indirect when you communicate?
• Can you recall a situation where someone’s different communication style led to a misunderstanding or misinterpretation?
• How did you respond, and what did you learn from that experience?

Copyright: This resource was created by the Una.Futura Consortium and is licensed under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license.

Developing intercultural attitudes is the foundation of intercultural learning. Click through the following presentation to explore the three core attitudes – respect, openness and curiosity – that underpin intercultural competence and discover how each one supports your growth:

Presentation | The three attitudes of intercultural competence

Source: This resource has been created by the TICKET Consortium as part of the TICKET Training Programme and is licensed under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license.

As you watch this short video, actively practice the three key attitudes: respect, openness, and curiosity & discovery.

Reflection:

• How does each attitude help you notice and question your own assumptions?
• In what ways might they reduce the influence of those assumptions on your communication?
• Which attitude do you find most natural, and which will you practice developing next?

Copyright: This resource was created by the Una.Futura Consortium and is licensed under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license.