[neilv]

Unfortunately, technical communication can also bump into cross-cultural challenges.

When reading up on international business communication, to prep for one of my roles, one of the writers gave an example of a statement an engineer might make: that widget X will work in time. But you're supposed to know from context, at the times they repeatedly said that, that what they really meant is it definitely won't work in time.

Some differences of culture/communication that I recall hearing can happen:

* that it's bad to say "no" in some contexts (e.g., it's disrespectful, or a sense that the other would rather you say "yes" but not follow through than to say "no");

* that a person should do exactly the task they were told to do without second-guessing nor feedback;

* that one shouldn't contradict their superior;

* that one can't mention a mistake of someone else;

* that admitting a mistake one made would cause embarrassment or a loss of face to the person hearing it;

* how important trust is, and how it's established.

Engineers talking with each other about tech aren't necessarily immune to this.

Of course these are just possibilities for misunderstanding to be aware of, as people from different cultures find common ground to communicate. (In many ways, I've been very impressed with how well many colleagues and partners around the globe have performed. I've also been humbled by how many people not in the US meet US-born people like me well more than halfway -- in language, and in cultural faux pas tolerance, etc. I've also seen more consistently friendly behavior/mindset in some overseas company locations than we'd normally find in a US company location.)

Also, I'm sure that there are lots of US-isms that are baffling to others (even if they learned it through training or US media), and I'd bet I'm oblivious to many of them, having grown up with them as "normal".

[cultureswitch]

To me the most blatant US-ism is how feedback is biased all the way to positivity to a ridiculous degree. I've learned to understand that if someone from the US says that X is anything less than amazing, then they probably think it's shit.

What's funny about it is that in an environment where everyone is aware of this, the apparent intended effect of sugar-coating doesn't work at all. You'll just hurt people by saying their stuff is okay.