Communication Archives

How to Be Good at Small Talk: The 3 Principles

Do you want to know how to be good at small talk? Should you wait for somebody to approach you or should you start the conversation? In her book The Fine Art of Small Talk, author Debra Fine says that anyone can master small talk if they practice the principles. Whether you like it or not, it’s impossible to avoid small talk because it’s present in many aspects of life, so you might as well get better at it. Here are Fine’s tips for how to improve your small talk skills.

How to Build Trust in a Cognitive Culture

What is cognitive trust? How do cognitive cultures approach professional relationships? Erin Meyer, the author of The Culture Map, describes cognitive trust as trust that develops based on behaviors (as opposed to personal feelings). Cognitive cultures strictly delineate their personal and professional relationships. In this article, we’ll look at how members of cognitive cultures build trust and present some tips you can use to build trust in a cognitive culture.

Communicating With High- and Low-Context Cultures

Do you often communicate with people from other cultures as part of your job? What differences have you noticed between different cultures’ communication styles? Learning how to communicate effectively is essential for good business. But contrary to popular belief, the techniques for good communication vary depending on the place you’re in. Cultural communication expert Erin Meyer places cultures on a communication spectrum and defines the two extremes as “high-context” and “low-context.” In this article, we’ll look at the difference between high- and low-context cultures and present some strategies for working well with people whose communication styles differ from yours.

The Fine Art of Small Talk: Review, Context, & Approach

Is Debra Fine’s book The Fine Art of Small Talk worth reading? What did the critics have to say after the book’s release? According to Debra Fine, small talk is a skill well worth developing because our careers, romantic prospects, and social lives depend on connecting with other people. It’s difficult to succeed socially without small talk because it establishes the emotional tone of our interactions and helps us gauge how deeply we’d like to connect with each other. Here is our full The Fine Art of Small Talk review including a discussion about the book’s context, approach, and organization.

Conflict and Culture: How Different Cultures Disagree

How do different cultures approach conflict? Does the culture you come from tend to express disagreement openly or tacitly? Conflict and disagreement are necessary realities in the business world. But the rules for appropriate disagreement vary across cultures. In discussing conflict and culture, cultural communication expert Erin Meyer divides disagreement styles into two extremes: “confrontational” and “avoids confrontation.” In this article, we’ll look at why it can be so hard to determine where a culture falls on the disagreement spectrum and present some strategies you can use to ensure that disagreements don’t harm your business relationships.

How to Make Someone Feel Special on a First Date

Want to know how to make someone feel special on a date? How should you act on a first date? Many people go on a first date with high expectations and hopes of making a deep connection with someone. However, establishing a deep connection with someone will take time. In the beginning, it’s best to let go of expectations and just focus on one another. Here are some tips for going on a first date.

Erin Meyer: The Culture Map Framework

How do you measure cultural differences? In what key ways do the world’s cultures differ? In an increasingly globalized world, understanding different cultures is an essential business skill. However, there are few systematic methods for analyzing and dealing with specific cultural differences. To address this gap, cultural communication expert Erin Meyer developed an eight-dimension framework for mapping cultural differences. In this article, we’ll look at Erin Meyer’s culture map comprised of the eight axes of cultural difference.

What Is the Purpose of Small Talk?

Why is small talk so important? Are there benefits to mastering small talk? The need for small talk comes up more than many of us would like—at work, with neighbors, on dates, and even with family members. So, whether you like it or not, you should learn to get better at the art of small talk. In this article, we’ll explore the purpose of small talk generally and in business relationships.

Erin Meyer: Culture and Trust-Building

How do different cultures build trust? What are the implications of a culture’s trust-building style for business relationships? Different cultures build trust in different ways. Without a clear understanding of how a particular culture builds trust, you are prone to misunderstanding the nature of your relationship with your business partners. In other words, you might think that you have a more or less significant relationship than you actually do. In this article, we’ll look at the two ways in which different cultures build trust, according to cultural communication expert Erin Meyer.

Cultural Decision-Making: Consensus vs. Individual

How do different cultures approach decision-making? Why is it important to understand a culture’s preferred decision-making style? Different cultures make decisions in very different ways. The different styles of decision-making can be a major source of conflict because each culture expects their own decision-making style to be followed, so they don’t know how to react when decisions are made in a different way. In this article, we’ll look at the two broad categories of cultural decision-making, according to cultural communication expert Erin Meyer. We’ll also present some strategies to use when decision-making across cultures.