[Osmf-talk] Commitment to open communication channels

[Michael Heißmeier]

Let me add my perspective as a German.

Mateusz Konieczny via osmf-talk, 2020-08-19 06:28:
> Part of that is kind of hard to avoid - my knowledge about cultural norms is
> limited,
> but AFAIK
>
> (1) in some cultures saying "no" to proposal means "you are stupid, worthless,
> and so below my status that I can openly reject your ideas" and to reject
> proposal you praise it weakly and not very effectively
>
> (2) in some cultures saying "no" to proposal means that you disagree with a
> proposal and praising proposal weakly means that you agree with it and support it
>
> As result discussion where (2) mode dominates will be considered offensive
> to people from (1) culture and it is kind of hard to fix that (assuming that
> such disconnect
> actually exists, see initial disclaimer).
>
> I have seen claims describing it as USA vs Germany conflict with USA being
> closer to (1)
> and Germany being closer to (2).
>
>

Germans, particularly those without experience with non-European cultures, will
not act close to (2) but exactly as (2). If you want a German to understand that
you do not agree with his suggestion then you better include the word 'no' in
your answer. Of course you can and should be polite by adding an explanation why
you disagree.

In my first encounter with Malaysians I had substantial trouble decrypting their
ways of saying 'no'. Just avoiding a clear answer to a question did not convey
that message to me.

On the other hand, do not expect Germans to say 'awesome', 'brilliant' or
'fantastic' in every second sentence. To us this sounds ridiculously exaggerated
to the extent as if someone were mocking at us (no longer to me fortunately, I
learnt that this is common in other parts of the world). If my boss says that my
work or proposal is good then that is the best I can expect. Simply because in
our eyes it can either be bad, fair or good.

As a remedy to all these problems I found some books dealing with intercultural
competence which enlarged my horizon considerably. I am sure someone can come up
with helpful websites as well. Prominently referencing some really useful
website (in clear, non-sarcastic language so that everyone irrespective of
cultural background will get the point) e.g. in a welcome message to subscribers
to a mailing list might help to avoid such problems.

Regards
Michael
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