Business Case
Benefits of acquiring a foreign language and building cross-culture skills
In summary, organisations increase the power and efficiency of their networks and the influence they exert in their choosen spheres; individuals working for them enhance their communication skills as listed below and hence their value to their employer.
The global pace of change is increasing and complexity soaring. Exchanging information efficiently and persuading business partners and colleagues across cultural and language differences is no longer a luxury. Not being able to do so amounts to a serious handicap and costs heavily in terms of misunderstanding, delays and missed opportunities for organisations.
Key abilities, once the preserve of a diplomatic elite, are fast becoming a 'must' to any executive aspiring to higher trans-cultural communication performance.
Intercultural and foreign language engagement rely on and nurture generic outstanding communication abilities. In order to contribute to corporate objectives through their networks, executives with an international interface need to focus on, develop and hardwire the following underpinning skills:
- Nurturing action-focused, make-it-happen skills such as:
- Stepping outside one’s comfort zone
- Being aware of other’s dis/comfort zone
- Understanding from experience the challenge of communicating in a foreign language
- Adjusting to non-native speakers of one’s own language
- Engaging proactively in another person's reality and language
- Building rapport and nurturing empathy
- Increasing sensitivity to non verbal cues
- Bonding through mirroring competencies
- Enhancing listening skills
- Integrating a diverse communication style
- Increasing working memory
- Developing a learning environment
- Managing self in peak-performance zone
- Nurturing self-discipline and learning resilience
