當跨文化工作時，理解沉默意味著什麼

文化差异並不總是顯而易見的。以沉默為例。在會議結束時，你可能會問是否有人有問題。但是，如果你的同事來自一種文化，在這種文化中，人們傾向於在公共場合不提問題，他們會保持安靜——但出於尊重，不是因為他們沒有問題要問。

這就是為什麼要多瞭解你的文化和同事之間的交流差异很重要：人們搖頭表示同意（就像他們在印度一樣）而不是點頭（像在中國一樣）嗎？

他們在公共場合聽從權威嗎？知道這些差异會幫助你理解你的同事們在說什麼或者不說什麼。

所以，你不必假設會議中的沉默意味著你的同事不需要澄清，你可以說，“許多剛接觸這個項目的人都有很多問題。你想知道的一些問題是什麼？“

When Working Across Cultures, Understand What Silence Means

Cultural differences aren’t always obvious. Take silence, for example. At the end of a meeting, you might ask whether anyone has a question. But if your colleagues come from a culture where people tend not to ask questions in a public setting, they will keep quiet — but out of respect, not because they don’t have something to ask.

That’s why it’s important to learn more about communication differences between your culture and your colleagues’: Do people shake their heads to mean yes (as they do in India) rather than nodding their heads (as in the China)?

Do they defer to authority in public? Knowing these kinds of differences will help you understand what your coworkers are really saying — or aren’t saying.

So instead of assuming that silence in the meeting means your colleagues don’t need clarification, you might say, “Many people new to projects like this one have a number of questions. What are some of the issues you want to know about?”