In March, FITT hosted an intensive training course for locally engaged Trade Commissioners (DFATD) from all around the world.
In the two separate training groups there were over 30 nationalities present, creating a unique challenge to instructors Ennio Vita-Finzi, CITP®|FIBP® and Ray Joyce, CITP®|FIBP®. How does one maintain consistency in training while getting the message across to such a diverse group of people? We know the monumental differences in the way that cultures around the world communicate.
The use of specific words, body language, tone, and even the pitch of your message could be interpreted very differently, depending on the native culture and nationality of the individual you are speaking to.
In addition to the cultural differences, Ray and Ennio had to prepare their groups to pass exams in 4 of the FITTskills courses in only a week.
Here’s what they had to say about their approaches to these challenges, and their experiences working with these unique groups of people.
1) The importance of starting on the right foot and finding common ground
Both instructors felt that with groups this diverse, the first item on the agenda should be finding some common ground to start from. Establishing mutual respect, though opinions and objectives may vary, was the first challenge.
Ennio:
My experience with the locally-engaged Trade Commissioners was very positive. I told the group that they were the “golden persons” for Canadian exporters. They have the personal insights, the language, certainly the cultural secrets of what makes their market “tick”, as well as the contacts and sector expertise.
Ray:
I started in my usual way by asking them to tell me who they were, where they were from, what they did and what their expectations for the week were. I tried to find something to use in what everybody told me, to make a connection with them and to try and figure out who the active people in the group would be.
It turned out I had about 15 different nationalities in the room, all with different cultural traits and styles of learning.
I had some participants who were used to the teacher being in charge. I had some who were very excitable and outspoken.
The rest were from a variety of cultures, and this meant that I had to think about all these things as I was deciding how to vary my presentation, in order to accommodate this.
Add to this the range of ages in the room, the male/female ratio, and level of experience from almost beginner to 20 plus years of experience, and I began to appreciate the challenge facing me.
Having this many different cultures in the room at once was a new experience.
Ennio:
I also shared many of my own personal experiences in the field and they shared back (and I told them that I was learning from them!). I told them that I had also been a Trade Commissioner abroad, and had done the same “local” work they did (because I often did not have any locally-engaged staff to back me up). In short, I tried to show an understanding of their situation to build relationships with each of them.
I think that one of the most important things I was able to do with the group was to ensure that we were ALL TOGETHER in this program….there was no “teaching down” to them, and no “this is the way”.
In my experience/opinion, the only way to teach, instruct, learn, encourage, motivate or pass on information is to find some common ground to work with.
I was glad to see my group working together, particularly in the negotiating exercise we did on the last day.
