Upon completing this chapter, you will be able to describe the major issues in cross-cultural communication and prepare yourself to communicate with international partners. To reach these goals, you should be able to:

1. Explain why communicating clearly across cultures is important to business.
2. Describe three major factors that influence a country or region’s culture.
3. Describe cultural differences regarding body positions and movements and use this knowledge effectively in communicating.
4. Describe the impact of culture on views and practices concerning human relations and use this knowledge effectively in communicating.
5. Explain the language equivalency problem and techniques for minimizing its effects.
6. Describe what one can do to enhance one’s cross-cultural communication skills.