Creating winning teams - in the UK and internationally

Intercultural skills

Alison coached a group of advertising executives from Publicis, Brazil

Our most popular intercultural courses in 2008

• Working in Intercultural Teams
• Intercultural Coaching Skills
• Intercultural Communication

Oxford Professional Consulting (OPC) offers eye-opening, informative and practical sessions to improve cultural awareness and build cross-cultural skills. You will work better internationally, whether in a team or alone.

Today many managers and executives manage and lead mixed-nationality teams, so excellent intercultural skills are essential.

Our seminars and workshops give important insights into different cultures. Being aware of different cultural values and using the right cultural approach will

• Break down barriers
• Reduce misunderstandings, and
• Build positive relationships

Communicating across cultures

When you give a presentation outside your own country are you always aware of what the audience's expectations might be? In the UK it is acceptable to play down your strengths and expertise, even owning that you are not very good at something, whereas in some cultures this would create a very bad impression of your value as an expert. In the US it is normal to tell people how good you are, even if you exaggerate your expertise. Does the social chat at the start of the meeting last for 2 minutes as in the UK, or should you be prepared to spend 10 or 15 minutes as In Brazil? When presenting to an international audience or in a meeting, it is important to be know both what is expected and what might be expected - then you can get ready to be flexible.

Argonaut online development

We use the online development tool ArgonautOnline both as a stand-alone tool and to complement our face-to-face intercultural skills workshops and seminars. This tool is available to companies and organisations on licence and can then be accessed by employees 24/7. Besides displaying regularly updated information on over 45 different nationalities, this tool develops the deeper intercultural skills of flexibility, openness and thinking beyond stereotypes, as well as improving practical skills such as how to negotiate with different cultures.

Using English as an international language

In addition, we show you how to use English efficiently as an international business tool. This valuable training in careful use of International English is designed to give a competitive edge to all professionals who work internationally or in mixed-nationality teams.

All our programmes are delivered in English and are open to participants of all nationalities - those who use English as a mother tongue and those who use it as a second language.