Hofstede, the infamous grandfather of cross-cultural studies, said, "Studying culture without experiencing culture shock is like practising swimming without water." I think this guy tried to swim without water....Image Source: Gratisography Usually we think of culture...

Listening is one of the most underrated and undervalued skills. But when it comes to cross-cultural communication, it's absolutely critical. If you are having a moment of misunderstanding or miscommunication with someone else, the only...

Last week I read this article on Fluent in 3 Months about how the author communicated on a train in India when he didn't speak the language at all. It really reminded me of the...

WOW! Time to celebrate! 🎉 This post is my 100th post on Collaborative Bridges! Image Source: Luca Upper (Unsplash) That's 100 cross-cultural tips, thoughts, musings, articles and more. THANK YOU to everyone who reads my posts...

Image Source: Damien Kuhn (Unsplash) Australia Day (26 January) always causes a bit of controversy. We love our country, but we've also got some dark, awful moments in our history - and even in the...

When I explain cultural differences, often people see them as communication challenges. I want to turn that concept on its head and suggest we view them as opportunities. For example, if you are from a...

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...

Today I just wanted to share an awesome Ted Talk I came across. Ann Morgan thought she was "well read." But she looked at her bookshelf one day to realise she had only read US...

When I used to participate in a course that trained people in interpersonal skills, the first unit was always "Entering a Group for the First Time." It was about how we all have similar feelings...

"It's un-Australian." "If we let all these migrants in, what will happen to our way of life?" "We have to protect our culture." The above sentiments have been expressed many times in Australia and globally...