To communicate effectively we need to already have some areas of commonness between us. Culture is one of those areas. When facilitating virtual teams or in local cross-cultural contexts, I sometimes underestimate the differences between cultures. It’s easy to auto-pilot into my culture’s way of doing things. And, that’s not always a good thing.
Culture and Commercials
Through the Twitter serendipity connections engine, I came across a Japanese car commercial, promoting the 2014 Mercedes GLA car. It’s definitely “different”, from my perspective. Here’s the 30 second clip:
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Would this commercial connect with a Western audience?
This next video clip is for the same Mercedes GLA product; except marketed for an American audience:
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Two very different commercials. Each are nifty. Each target a specific audience, and set of cultural preferences. Somehow, I can’t imagine the Japanese version winning over well-healed Americans considering the Mercedes brand. And, I suspect there’s a parallel doubt, going the other direction.
How might those cultural differences play out in our communications, in a conversation, meeting or team, involving American (or Canadian) and Japenese personnel? And, especially in a virtual context; e.g., high-context communications in a low-context virtual world.
Robin Williams on Sesame Street on Conflict (and Culture?)
A few years back, Robin Williams (we’ll miss you), with the help of the Two-Headed Monstor, did a Sesame Street 2-minute skit explaining “conflict”. It’s entertaining, and instructive. I’ve used the piece numerous times, including in cross-cultural conflict management workshops I do for a local inter-cultural association. Cross-species(?) cultural conflict. 🙂 Here’s that clip:
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A few examples of message and medium, working together. And, communicating with your audience, in their culture.
Have you ever underestimated your commitment to ‘their’ culture?
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