Intrenion

Intrenion Doctrine

The Culture Map (Erin Meyer)

Table of Contents

• Audio Discussion
• Episode 1
  • Practice 1: Adapt your communication style to the audience
  • Practice 2: Deliver negative feedback in a culturally appropriate way
  • Practice 3: Present ideas using the reasoning style people expect
  • Practice 4: Adjust your leadership style to local expectations
• Episode 2
  • Practice 5: Clarify how decisions will be made
  • Practice 6: Build trust in the way people value most
  • Practice 7: Express disagreement in a culturally acceptable way
  • Practice 8: Set explicit expectations about time and deadlines

Audio Discussion

TBD…

Episode 1

Practice 1: Adapt your communication style to the audience

Problem
People misunderstand each other when communication styles differ across cultures.

Action
Adjust how direct or indirect you communicate based on your audience’s cultural expectations.

Outcome
Your message is understood more accurately.

Chapter: Listening to the Air: Communicating Across Cultures

Practice 2: Deliver negative feedback in a culturally appropriate way

Problem
Feedback is rejected when it is delivered in an inappropriate way.

Action
Match the level of directness in your criticism to the cultural norms of the person receiving it.

Outcome
Feedback leads to improvement more effectively.

Chapter: The Many Faces of Polite: Evaluating Performance and Providing Negative Feedback

Practice 3: Present ideas using the reasoning style people expect

Problem
People resist ideas when arguments are structured in an unfamiliar way.

Action
Build your case using the type of reasoning that your audience finds most convincing.

Outcome
Your ideas gain greater acceptance.

Chapter: Why Versus How: The Art of Persuasion in a Multicultural World

Practice 4: Adjust your leadership style to local expectations

Problem
Leadership loses effectiveness when people expect a different relationship with authority.

Action
Show the level of hierarchy and formality that fits the cultural setting.

Outcome
People respond more positively to leadership.

Chapter: How Much Respect Do You Want?: Leadership, Hierarchy, and Power

Episode 2

Practice 5: Clarify how decisions will be made

Problem
Teams become frustrated when they expect different decision-making processes.

Action
Explain who will provide input and who will make the final decision.

Outcome
Decisions gain stronger support.

Chapter: Big D or Little d: Who Decides, and How?

Practice 6: Build trust in the way people value most

Problem
Trust develops slowly when people use different standards to judge reliability.

Action
Focus on personal relationships or on demonstrating competence in line with cultural expectations.

Outcome
Working relationships become stronger more quickly.

Chapter: The Head or the Heart: Two Types of Trust and How They Grow

Practice 7: Express disagreement in a culturally acceptable way

Problem
Conflict becomes unproductive when disagreement styles clash.

Action
Adjust how openly you challenge ideas to align with local norms around confrontation.

Outcome
Differences are resolved more effectively.

Chapter: The Needle, Not the Knife: Disagreeing Productively

Practice 8: Set explicit expectations about time and deadlines

Problem
Different views of punctuality and scheduling create confusion.

Action
Agree in advance on deadlines, meeting times, and acceptable delays.

Outcome
Work is coordinated more smoothly.

Chapter: How Late Is Late?: Scheduling and Cross-Cultural Perceptions of Time