7+Cross-Cultural+Skills+for+Businesses+to+Master+Social+Media

=== 7 Cross-Cultural Skills for Businesses to Master Social Media – Where Cross-Cultural and Social Media Skills Meet **by Cindy King** === Cultural awareness means accepting not knowing everything. We may have wrong assumptions and not know it. Even if things do not make sense right now, there is a good reason behind them.
 * 1) ** ** Accept the Unknown **

** 2) ** ** Make No Pre-Judgments ** Prejudice or pre-judgments are a huge barrier to get to know and understand different cultures. There is always a good explanation for why people do things differently; we should not make any decision until we have a full understanding.

Curiosity is the tool that helps you dig deep enough to gain the cultural insights you need to get a clear picture. A part of curiosity is finding the right questions to ask. This is the same for social media. I hear many people who say they want to get into social media, but they are stuck with the wrong questions.

** 3) ** ** Develop Empathy ** We need to put ourselves in another person’s shoes before we can understand them. This is a fundamental people skill. It is always present in cross-cultural communication. Good social media players have strong empathy skills. Positive-minded people go far on social media.

** 4) Question All Assumptions ** Cultural differences make it easy to get things wrong. We make assumptions based on our own reality. This is natural. The trouble is that other people have other realities. Situations where two “rights” do not make a “wrong” often come up. In other words, people are just not connecting on the right level for real dialog.

Cultural differences make it easy to get things wrong. We make assumptions based on our own reality. This is natural. The trouble is that other people have other realities. Situations where two “rights” do not make a “wrong” often come up. In other words, people are just not connecting on the right level for real dialog.

** 5) Learn To Live Without All The Answers ** Cultural competency, in another culture, is a long process. In the beginning, you cannot help it; you will compare the different culture with what you find as normal. As you move along the path of understanding this foreign culture, you discover the reasons behind the differences, and learn to see things through different lenses or perspectives. In fact, you may realize at some stage that you will never fully be able to understand this different culture no matter how long or how hard you try. It’s okay to live without having all the answers. Adapt when you learn more. Be comfortable with changing your attitudes, thoughts, direction and change in general.

No one knows for certain what social networking will be like in the future. Businesses have to learn to exist without knowing the future, create solid communication strategies that are not based on tactics or channels, be willing to change or adapt these communication strategies and adapt all investment for change.

** 6) Embrace Diversity ** You simply cannot survive in international business if you do not embrace diversity. Cultural differences pop up to challenge you all the time. You can only thrive in an international environment when you accept these differences which it may not mean accepting other people’s values.

In social media you get to know people up close. And we are all different. If you are not in the right mindset of embracing different people, these differences can irritate you on a personal level and create barriers to connect with people.

** 7) Understand Yourself First ** The first 6 points above are outward-looking people skills. You can use these people skills successfully having a deep understanding of yourself. You need to look inward and learn more about yourself before you can develop strong cross-cultural and international skills.

The most successful international professionals are the ones with the clearest understanding of their own values, cultural baggage and general self-awareness. You need this self knowledge to not fear the differences or let any personal issues get in the way of connecting to people with different cultures. When you know exactly where your personal limits are, the personal boundaries you have and the value you put on your personal baggage, then it is very easy to communicate strategically with others.

Social media brings you into contact with people on a more personal level than in an office or a store. It is easy to respond as a person, on a personal level and in many ways you need to, to make the connection on social media. But problems crop up when you bring in your personal baggage or do not know where your personal boundaries are. The result is fear, paralysis and inappropriate attitudes.

The confusing thing is that we all have different personal baggage and different personal boundaries. They are different to the personal baggage and personal boundaries of other people. You need to operate on social media within clear personal boundaries. This inward-looking personal aspect also has an impact on a business level. Businesses need to provide clear guidelines that employees can understand and adopt on social media.

Now, imagine the specific skill sets needed by businesses to connect with their particular market and it is easy to see why businesses need to spend time to develop the right social media strategy to work for their business. You need to know yourself well and you also need to know your company’s profile in a social media environment. Businesses that are successful with social media have both the right people and the right business approach and both are adapted to their markets.

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