- 7 Ways to Embrace the Digital Nomad Lifestyle - February 2, 2024
- Tying the Knot and Changing Coasts: A Life Update - January 9, 2024
- How to develop digital content that generates leads for your business in Dubai? - March 24, 2023
Communication is at the heart of human interaction. Humans developed languages centuries ago so that communication could be made more effective. What we lacked back then was the need to infuse a global approach to our communication skills.
With the advent of the internet and the digitalisation of communication, we have been able to instantly communicate with people across the globe. Today it costs us nothing more than the data we use to communicate to anyone, anywhere in the world! From instant emails to instant video calls, the journey of global communication through digital channels has been quick. Within a decade or two at max, we have been able to remove so many barriers that once existed. We can now interact with anyone across the globe from the comfort of our home; without burning a hole in our pocket!
But with this emerges a new challenge – communicating our thoughts and ideas effectively with anyone across the globe. Now, this is not a challenge that we can overcome with a ‘one size fits all’ kind of solution. It needs a deeper understanding of people and cultures in different parts of the world. To develop relevant soft skills and improve the effectiveness of your communication skills requires time and effort.
But why do we need to develop effective global communication skills?
To find an answer to that, I had an insightful conversation with an expert panel that consisted of subject matter experts. You can watch that conversation here:
To know a bit about these communication experts, here’s a short bio for each one of them:
- Dan Bullock is a language and communications specialist/trainer at the United Nations Secretariat, training diplomats and global UN staff. He also serves as faculty teaching business communication, linguistics, and public relations within the Division of Programs in Business at New York University’s School of Professional Studies. Dan was the director of corporate communications at a leading NYC public relations firm, and his corporate clients have included TD Bank and Pfizer. He contributes to Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, HuffPost, Business.com, and Thrive Global, where he writes about the intersection of global business communication, intercultural communication, and professional development.
- Raúl Sánchez is an award-winning clinical assistant professor and the corporate program coordinator at New York University’s School of Professional Studies. He has designed and delivered corporate training for Deloitte and the United Nations and been a writing consultant for Barnes & Noble Press and PBS. Raúl was awarded the NYU School of Professional Studies Teaching Excellence Award and specialises in linguistics and business communication. He contributes to Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, HuffPost, Business.com, openDemocracy, and Thrive Global, where he writes about the intersection of global business communication, leadership, and intercultural communication.
- Rod Sánchez is an award-winning visual communication designer, artist, and filmmaker. He is a lead user experience/user interface designer at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and has designed and illustrated book covers for Penguin Random House and Scholastic. Rod has directed and designed campaigns for Disney, Nickelodeon, and Baruch College–CUNY and received design awards from the New England Book Show and the Create Awards. Rod’s artwork has been exhibited internationally, displayed on billboards in New York City, and published in HuffPost, El País, the Guardian, Thrive Global, and Time Out New York.
Together, these three came up with a recently released book titled – How to Communicate Effectively with Anyone, Anywhere. During our conversation, they share that the book reveals a new approach to global communication inspired by their successful seminars at NYU and the United Nations. These seminars were delivered over the years to professionals and corporate executives from Google, Bloomberg, and more.
The book’s core content features psychological hacks and intercultural strategies for developing a “global mindset” across key performance areas (e.g., public speaking, negotiation, effective emailing) needed for success in today’s international marketplace. The book also features self-discovery exercises and key illustrations with select visuals that “come to life” using the augmented reality smartphone technology for, ultimately, becoming a global communicator.
While all of this was being established during our conversation, I was also actively looking for the answer to the question I first mentioned here – But why do we need to develop effective global communication skills?
Here are the key reasons I could extract that make this soft skill an essential one to develop.
- We are now in a globalised era. We can communicate with people across with globe with today more ease than ever before.
- We can shape a better future for ourselves when we can work together; that can only happen if we are able to communicate effectively with each other.
- From boardrooms to classrooms, all have become more diverse in terms of ethnicity than they ever were.
- On an individual level, the more you decide to broaden your horizons, the more you are likely to learn new things and grow. To broaden your horizons you need to know how to interact and communicate effectively with people across the world.
- Effective global communication skills can help us share our thoughts and ideas with people worldwide and promote growth, understanding and harmony.
- A shared vision to build a better world can be achieved if there’s no room left for any miscommunications and misunderstandings.
- Learning to communicate effectively across different cultures will help you develop a well-rounded personality; along with providing a coherent outlook towards the world.