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Cultural Differences

Barriers

Language

Misinterpretation

Same words different meaning

Etiquette and social habits

Body language

Barrier Reducing

Learn the basics or have someone interpreter the language.

Don’t use complicated words keep it simple.

Use a different word which has the same meaning.

In some cultures shaking hands is not the way to greet them

People in different cultures may have different body language

Barrier Reduce :

Language; When it comes down to language in cultural differences there is really not allot you can do because it is almost impossible for someone to learn a new language over night, but what you can do is make sure you know the basic and important words like hello, thank you, good morning, goodbye, and so on. Even though it’s not a lot to offer but the other person will appreciate the fact that you made the effort to learn something rather than showing a negative attitude towards it.

Misinterpretation; This is one of the things which are really hard to avoid even with a good interpreter because there are some words which don’t have the same power in a different language and even if that word is used in a sentence with the correct intensions it may still sound strange. But the easiest way to avoid this is to use simple words so that it makes it easier for the other person to understand what you are trying to interoperate.

Same words different meaning; There will be a time where you will find yourself in a scenario where two words which sound the same but have different meaning. To make sure that you don’t end up using these words, you can simply use simple words and this will do the trick and also if you can get an interpreter of that language to find out whether it will sound right when it’s translated.

Etiquette and social habits; This is a barrier which commonly occurs in different cultures because people in different cultures have different ways of greeting each other. This barrier is not that big of a deal because you can easily over come it by learning and remembering how to greet someone in their cultural way. It is also important to remember people in different cultures will have different social habits and it is really hard to understand them all but as long as you show an understanding towards it then it won’t be a major problem.

Body language; To overcome the barrier of body language you have to make sure that your body language is positive and not defensive. This means that no crossing your arms when stood up, hands out of pockets and no crossing your legs when sat down because all of these signs indicate defensive body language. The last thing which is really important is that in some cultures eye contact to an elderly is considered disrespectful so you have to be careful when making an eye contact and how you do it.

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Lack of concentration

Barriers

Makes it harder for the speaker to get their point across

Important information is missed

Your words don’t make sense to the listener

Discouragement from the listener's body language

Barrier reducing

Ask questions and especially at the start

Repeat the important information

Keep it simple don’t complicate things

Use a bit of humour to enlighten the audience

Barrier reduce:

Getting your point across; When the audience is not paying attention it is very hard for you as the presenter to get your point across. There are several ways which can be used to reduce this barrier. But I think that by asking one or two member of the audience a question can work, because it’s like warning the other audience members that the presenter may ask them a question and if they don’t know the answer then they will feel embarrassed. You can also ask questions at the end to make sure that they understood what you were trying to say to them.

Important information missed; If the audience is lacking concentration then for them to pick up important information can be difficult because no matter how interesting the information is some of them will miss it. The way that you can over come this barrier is by repeating the important information which you are trying to get across the audience. You can also quiz them on the information to really make sure that they got what you are trying to say.

Your words don’t make sense to the listener; In a situation where the audience is not in the mood for listening to anything then it can be harder for them to understand what the presenter is trying to say, even if the audience is paying attention. In this situation you can use simple words which will make it easier for the audience to understand and explain things in a simple manner rather than using technical terms to describe things.

Negative body language from the listeners; This can really spell “The End” for your confidence when delivering a presentation because if the audience starts to show negative body language then you are more likely to make a mistake. To over come this barrier you can try to humour the audience by telling them a funny story which relates to the point or a reference that you are making.

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Spelling

Barrier

Two words spelt similarly

Confusing the reader

Barrier reducing

Review what you write

Make sure the person understood what you have written

Barrier reducing;

Two words spelt similarly; This is a common mistake which can happen when writing, but this doesn’t mean that it can be ignored because there can be time where this can cause some problems like loss of product orders, reduced profits and wrong item orders. To reduce this barrier you can review what you have written your self, you can get someone ells to review it or you can use an online spell checker. Over all you have to make sure that you take a second look before sending an important document.

Confusing the reader; Spelling not only looks unprofessional but it also can confuse the reader and that can be a little frustrating for the reader because either he or she will have to figure it out on their own or waste time asking the person who wrote it again. To reduce this barrier you can use a spell check, review what you have written and the most effective way to reduce this barrier is by making sure that the other person understands what you have written.

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