Culturally different people don’t just look or sound different; they think differently because they were taught to communicate and think differently by the school system that educated them. These differences often lead to misunderstandings and frustrations when meetings involve people who grew up in different parts of the world. These misunderstandings can have significantly negative consequences when it comes to health care decisions. Through a combination of insightful diagrams, powerful anecdotes, and eye-opening experiential exercises, this presentation helps participants get to the root cause of cross-cultural misunderstandings and provide concrete, practical suggestions that participants can implement immediately to minimize the frequency and magnitude of cross-cultural miscommunication they experience.

By attending this presentation, you will be able to:

• Identify and isolate the true root cause of cross-cultural misunderstandings when you experience them
• Change your approach to communication to minimize the frequency and magnitude of miscommunication
• Give people who are culturally different from you the benefit of the doubt by separating impact from intention
• Learn how to have your co-workers / teammates do an exercise that helps them appreciate the challenge of operating in a second language