When you meet someone from overseas, here are 3 quick questions you can ask them to improve your cross-cultural awareness (and build a collaborative bridge with them!):

1) What do you like about {country} so far?

You’ll be amazed and what others can notice about your own culture that you haven’t picked up on. I once had an American visitor tell me that they liked how relaxed Australia’s clothing style is, and how there is no pressure to wear brands or certain labels. I would never have thought about this difference – but I am so glad I know it now, so I can now appreciate this about my culture too!

Photo Source: Steven Lewis

2) Is there anything you’ve encountered that you don’t like? 

This can give you great insight into things in your culture that others might find hard to adapt to. You might even be able to suggest ways in which they could see things differently, or steps to take if they find it hard when they come up against that item again.

3) What do you miss about {their home country}? 

When people are far from home, they quickly discover there are things they took for granted that are not available to them now. Of course, everyone will say their mum’s cooking 🙂 But if you take the conversation a little deeper, you might just increase your knowledge of their culture.

There you go – 3 simple cross-cultural questions that will help you make a connection with someone, build a collaborative bridge and foster opportunities to broaden both your horizons.