"There's a flip side to everything". In this short Ted Talk, Derek Sivers provides a great illustration of how we view the world from different cultural perspectives. Sometimes the lifestyle in other countries can feel strange, but is it really strange? In most cases, what we perceive as being weird, strange or bizarre about another culture is in fact totally normal from their point of view. So, we should remember to be open minded and see the differences between us as fascinating and fun, rather than strange or wrong. “It’s just different!” 

“The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Lamentably, our global society meets with far too many over-confident world travellers. People often launch themselves headlong into the global arena expecting those they meet to cater to their every whim. They may be diligent, hard-working, successful individuals and yet are blind to social cues and cultural subtleties. They do not listen to advice or counsel from seasoned consultants and feel things “are just fine” while missing out on a potentially superior international experience. If you are open to the fact that you may be even a little deluded in your intercultural mindset, explore the following myths:

"But this is the way we've always done it". Being aware of our own (unconcious) biases, recognising / identifying our "blind spots" and training ourselves to think differently is an essential part of intercultural learning and developing cultural competence...

We all have the tendency to look at other cultures through the lens of our own. While this is natural, it can lead to misunderstandings when communicating with and managing colleagues from around the world. When working across cultures, one important area where this frequently causes conflicts: deadlines...