Cross-culture communication was the topic of discussion during the sixth annual Women Mean Business luncheon at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, April 1.
Guest speaker Tina Varughese kept the audience laughing as she encouraged the women in the room to embrace cultural differences and leverage those differences to improve productivity, performance and employee engagement in the workforce.
鈥淐ultural difference is no longer a nicety in business, it鈥檚 a necessity,鈥� said Varughese, who is a professional speaker from Calgary.
鈥淲ith such a diverse population, in order to be able to grow and innovate and become even more creative than we already are we need to embrace that cultural diversity.鈥�
During her presentation she argued that cross-culture communication is arguably one of the most important types of communication in the 21st century, especially when 20 per cent of Canada鈥檚 population is foreign-born.聽
To make her argument, she touched on some important topics such as understanding the different ways cultures shake hands.
For example, people in North America may look down on a 鈥渨eak鈥� or 鈥渓imp鈥� handshake, when in fact a loose handshake may be a cultural norm in another country or region.
She also talked about the importance of non-verbal communication, such as eye contact and gestures, which account for nearly 93 per cent of all communication.
The sold-out luncheon was organized by the Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce and included a three-course lunch.
Throughout the event, prizes were intermittently handed out to participants, including a pair of diamond earrings.
Paul Clarke [email protected]
