Persuasive Presentations

Cross Cultural Communication in Presentations:

Real Challenges vs. Red Herrings.

Proficiency in cross cultural communication has become a necessity over the past number of years in the corporate world.


Or has it?


In this article I’d like to sort out the real challenges from the “red herrings” – and to discover where you can get a real return on altering your presentation preparation and style to take different cultures into account.


Irish Presenter US AudienceLet’s focus on one particular aspect of cross cultural communication – The Business Presentation. A couple of weeks back I was giving a “Mastering Persuasive Presentations” workshop - where we provide the experienced presenter with the techniques to get buy-in for their proposals, real sponsorship support etc. This is achieved by using a persuasive presentation model and non-verbal behaviour approaches that are designed to work across the majority of regional cultures.


Following the workshop, one of the participants wrote a nice thank you note - and then added in the following “constructive criticism”:
“Many people who are "Mastering Presentations" are making presentations to audiences outside of Ireland. I think making people more aware of the nuances of different audiences from Asia or the USA would help people get better prepared and would therefore be more persuasive in their dealings.”
He clearly felt that more focus should be placed on this aspect of presentations during such a workshop – and he does have a point. After all, he looks around one of his typical audiences and sees different facial features, hears different accents and languages – and wonders if he needs to adjust his presentation style to get the required buy-in - to get real results.


However – I am very wary about putting too much emphasis on regional cultural differences in such a setting. In my experience, such an emphasis is littered with “red herrings”. Let me explain further.


My Own Cross Cultural Presenting Experience.
Since 1986, I have presented and trained over 3500 people in 20 different countries. Experiences include:
  • Running workshops where all present have English as a second language (I’m Irish and always present in English)

  • Running workshops exclusively through a translator (for up to 2 weeks at a time).

  • Giving presentations over the phone to people in different countries – again through translation.

  • Seeing a hypnotist sending a whole room of Japanese speakers into a trance - and none of the audience understood English. The hynotist only used his voice tone and tempo!

  • Managing a team of 20 persons spread across the globe.
And many permutations of the above.


Was I aware of the difficulties and obstacles involved in presenting in each of these settings? Absolutely!

Did I look for assistance and insights into how to work with different cultures? Yes!

Did it make much of a difference? Not really!


Irish Presenter US AudienceWhat I really found was that when cultural differences created an obstacle – it was almost always a situation where the other party did not like the change that was being proposed and hid behind a “cultural difference” as to why they could not change in the suggested manner. I would hear things like “in France we do things differently” OR “that would not work for a German audience” OR “in Venezuela we use a different clock”.


And this was hard to argue against! It was like being a parent who is having a hard time with 2 babies – and then another parent comes along and says “That’s nothing – just wait until you have 3 babies like me!”


Hard to respond to that – at least using their rules.



Different Types of Cultures.
When we think of cultural differences – we often mean obvious things like differences in language as well as traditional beliefs and customs. However, when we look at a business setting – it’s useful to consider culture in more than one dimension.


Dimensions such as:
  1. Geographic Culture: Differences in beliefs, customs and behaviours depending on which country/tribe you come from.

  2. Corporate Culture: When you join a company for the first time – you often spend time figuring out “how things get done around here”. What are the unwritten rules? The acronyms? The shorthand?

  3. Professional Culture: Architects, accountants, solicitors, salespeople – many of which belong to professional associations – adhere to cultural norms that reach out beyond corporate and geographic boundaries. They have their own “language” and behavioural norms.


And my experience has led me to the following conclusion:

When we look at cultural difference purely on the basis of country and language - and pander only to this dimension of culture in our business dealings - we can obsess about nuances that make little difference when it comes to getting business done.



Irish Presenter US AudienceTake my friend who offered the earlier feedback. He was Irish, from a professional finance background and working in a large multinational technical company. His business challenge was to get his fellow finance professionals, all of whom who worked for the same company – but came from a variety of Asia/Pacific countries as well as the USA – to adopt a new policy.


So, in cultural dimension terms:
  • They were different in terms of regional culture – Ireland, USA, Japan, Singapore.

  • They were the same in Corporate culture terms.

  • They were the same in Professional Culture terms.

They had a “shared language” because of shared corporate and professional culture. My coaching advice to my friend is to concentrate on this shared language in his persuasive approach. Concentrate on using the shared corporate culture language to demonstrate the need for change. Concentrate on using the shared professional culture language to demonstrate the need for change.


Even in a different situation - where you are giving a technical presentation (shared professional culture) to a group from a different company (different corporate culture) and country (different regional culture) – and the dreaded “that's not how it works in our country” is signalled – bring the conversation around to corporate culture – “So, which type of approach is more acceptable in your company for the challenges that it currently faces”.


If you do not take the above approach – you will chase many "red herrings", slip up on many cross-cultural banana skins – and spend a lot of time in frustration. But, still - sometimes - you may still need to address differences in Regional Cultures. When this is necessary, I have found it is useful to have a practical framework to examine real inter-cultural differences. I have found the "Cultural dimensions" of Geert Hofstede to be the most useful framework for exploring cultural differences in a business setting.


Let’s dig a little deeper.



Real Differences across Regional Cultures.
Geert Hofstede
“Culture is more often a source of conflict than of synergy. Cultural differences are a nuisance at best and often a disaster."
Prof. Geert Hofstede, Emeritus Professor, Maastricht University.


I think the above quotation puts cross-culture considerations into the right context. Get it WRONG in a business setting – and it can distract and annoy, or maybe even scupper a deal. However, get it RIGHT and you won’t really notice anything – things just work as they should!


I first came across the work of Geert Hofstede when preparing the dissertation for my masters degree. I was looking at practical ways of supporting self-directed learning in a network of international workplaces. His work caught my attention as he developed his model by carrying out quantative research in areas such as my own.


In the 1970s, Hofstede carried out a study to try and establish useful dimensions when looking at cross-cultural differences in business. In his study, he:
  • Concentrated on one multinational corporate culture (IBM)

  • Concentrated on one professional culture class – Technical Analysts

  • Gathered data from over 10,000 sales analysts in IBM in over 50 countries and regions - regional culture.

In other words – he isolated geographical culture by “fixing” the Corporate and Professional Culture variables.


Note: Much of the following data and charts have been obtained from www.geert-hofstede.com – see resources and references at the end of this article.



He came up with 4 different “cultural dimensions” that could be used to explain the differences between regional cultures. They are as follows (and I have given my own shorthand descriptions to each):
  • Power Distance: Acceptance of hierarchy and authority by all in that society.

  • Individualism: Degree to which a society endorses its members to do their own thing (as opposed to collectivism)

  • Masculinity: Presence of assertiveness and competiveness

  • Uncertainty avoidance: Tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity.
The dimension of "Long Term Orientation" (LTO) was developed later - but I have left it out for this illustration as this data is not available on all countries.

Now – things start to get interesting when you compare one country to another using any of the above dimensions. This is a key fact. Instead of looking at regional cultures in absolute terms (Japanese people are always x OR Irish people are always y) - it looks at them in comparative terms. If you are an Irish presenter - here are some things to watch out for when presenting to a Japanese audience.


Lets go back to my earlier example. My friend is Irish (and the host presenter). His audience comprises individuals from Ireland, the USA, Singapore and Japan.


Before we look at the following charts that I have extracted from www.geert-hofstede.com., I would like to offer the following disclaimer. Hofstede’s model is based on a large quantative sample. Please do not automatically assume all assertions to be true in all situations involving that national audience. When coaching my clients in presenting to other cultures, we use these charts only as a starting point for discussion and experimentation.


Situation 1: An Irish Presenter making a persuasive case to a Singapore Audience.

Irish Presenter Singapore Audience This chart suggests that there are many differences between Ireland and Singapore in a corporate communication setting. The following would warrant further discussion in a presentation coaching situation:
  • Power-Distance: This suggests that Singapore people place a lot of emphasis on authority and hierarchy. When presenting I may suggest to my Irish clients to first; respect the hierarchy in the room in a visible way and second; to establish and reinforce their authority early on. Finally, do not be shy about passing on edicts to such an audience. They are likely to be respected more than by an Irish audience.

  • Individualism: This suggests that a Singapore audience (when compared with an Irish one) – are more tuned into the “greater good”. Again, arguments to such an audience can amply refer to the benefits of the proposal for the greater good.

  • Masculinity: Let’s skip over the one as they are somewhat similar.

  • Uncertainty avoidance: This is one that might come as a surprise to an Irish presenter. It suggests an extreme openness to a new approach – as long as it comes from authority! Also, my Irish presenter needs to be very careful that what he has heard as agreement – may only be the audience being polite – but they still have to make their minds up.



Situation 2: An Irish Presenter making a persuasive case to a US Audience.

Irish Presenter US Audience This is one I’m going to deal with quickly. I think 2 points are worth mentioning:
  • The charts are quite similar for Irish and US audiences – and of course, we are often “fooled” by sharing a common language. My friend, who is presenting to a mixed audience – needs to be careful of addressing the US people in the audience TOO much as he may see them as people who share a similar world view.

  • On Power-distance: I have seen quite a few Irish (and UK) employees “come a cropper” when mixing socially in corporate circles with US bosses. Sometimes the looser “egalitarian” behaviour of the Irish employee is deemed inappropriate by the US boss – and this is communicated in later work reviews!



Situation 3: An Irish Presenter making a persuasive case to a Japanese Audience.

Irish Presenter Japan Audience This chart suggests that (like Singapore) there are many differences between Ireland and Japan in a corporate communication setting. The following would warrant further discussion in a presentation coaching situation:
  • Power-Distance: As for Singapore audiences, this suggests that Japanese people place more emphasis on authority and hierarchy than Irish. When presenting, I may suggest to my Irish clients to first; respect the hierarchy in the room in a visible way and second; to establish and reinforce their authority early on.

  • Individualism: Again, this suggests that a Japanese audience (when compared with an Irish one) – are more tuned into the “greater good”. Again, arguments to such an audience should refer to the benefits of the proposal for the greater good.

  • Masculinity: If you have the authority – use it assertively! This goes for both male and female. However – I will point out (for female presenters) that in my first exposure to the Japanese subsidiaries of US companies I noticed that women were NOT included on the official organisation chart. That was in 1990. Things do move on – of course!

  • Uncertainty Avoidance: Here we find a big difference between the Irish and Japanese. For my Irish presenter – I suggest that he ensures his presentation illustrates where the proposed solution has worked before. Ensure that you include lifetime costs, risk assessments etc. Do not expect an agreement until these have been put forward – and ample examination of what can go wrong. And when agreement comes – it stays!

The analysis above is for illustration purpose only. My aim is to show how I use these charts with coaching clients in a useful manner – but ONLY after we get into the specific outcomes required from a specific presentation to a specific audience.



Summary.
My contention is as follows:

If you need to present to a multinational audience on a regular basis – and are concerned that you need more awareness of cultural differences in communication and behaviour – first make sure that you are taking full advantage of the SHARED languages of Corporate Culture and Professional Culture BEFORE you dive into the nuances of regional cultural differences.


If you DO wish to proceed with your regional culture investigations – then a robust model such as Gert Hofsteede's "cultural dimensions" model offers a useful approach to isolating the communication areas that require specific tuning up.


To find out more about using the above approach in coaching – please feel free to contact myself for more information.


Also – I’d be delighted to welcome you to our weekly “Business Presentation Tip” – feel free to sign up here.

References and Further Reading

Workshop: The Mastering Persuasive Presentations workshop from The Coaching Partnership

Workshop: The Presenting Without Borders workshop from The Coaching Partnership

Book: Cultures and Organizations: Software for the Mind, Third Edition: By Geert Hofstede

Book: Exploring Culture: Exercises, Stories and Synthetic Cultures: Geert Hofstede

Website: www.geert-hofstede.com: A great site that allows you to generate your own culture dimension comparison charts.



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