Conference Dimensions

For the past 8 weeks, Shane and I have been working with five of the interns in Cleveland on a project exploring Geert Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Theory. Without giving away too many spoilers ahead of our group presentation, the dimensions are essentially a means for analyzing cross-cultural communication and can be used to establish how given countries can grow and improve their understanding of international business-conduct. From day one, the project has been so interesting and so many of the things that we have come across in our research have opened my mind to aspects of corporate culture that I had never even considered before.

While the project itself has been challenging at times, for me the hardest part of the whole thing has to be the conference calls. In fact, if like me you're a little technologically challenged, an international conference call might just be your worst nightmare. As we have learnt through our Dwellworks MAGIC training, so much of how we learn to interpret and navigate a situation is based on what we gain from our visual impressions. In a conference call scenario, however, the visual element of a conversation is completely eliminated meaning that you have to rely solely on a person's voice to form an impression of a situation.

Before we started working on our presentation, I was convinced that I'd manage to get myself a pretty easy ride by only ever having to contribute to the meetings via phone. However, I cannot begin to tell you how intimated I was at first to be sitting in an empty conference room in the UK, going through my work to a room full of people that I couldn't see in the US. I can only imagine how weird it must be for the interns in the Cleveland office to have to try and talk to Shane and I as though we're actually in the room with them! Everyone has been so accommodating and it's gotten a little easier as the weeks have gone by, but the calls have really made me realise how many things I take for granted during a normal conversation.Something as simple as actually knowing when its okay to speak, for example, becomes ridiculously difficult to judge and I constantly find myself talking over other people. I'm also guilty of talking with my mic off quite a lot of the time, which was something that we unfortunately experienced during our mock presentation this week! I might have to have a few practice runs with the phone before the actual presentation, because it would be just my luck for that to happen again...

The calls also make me a little conscious of my British accent, because it sounds so harsh next to the soft pronunciation of the Cleveland and Canadian accents, but this is something that I try not to think about too much!

Ultimately, however, it's all good practice- if not a little logistically challenging.Working for an international company, these calls would be an essential part of daily life, allowing the business to stay connected to those members based outside their head-offices. I can't say that I'm a pro yet, but I am getting a little less nervous as the weeks go by. I don't really think there's any way to make the calls easier, other than just to try to speak as though you're also in the room. It's reassuring to think that the people on the receiving end probably find the situation just as weird as you do. I've also learnt some really cool stuff about lots of cool places that I've never been to, so all in all it's be a tremendously positive experience!

Sophie Moore
Destination Services
Truro, Dwellworks UK