Note: Another version of this article, Cross-Cultural Understanding for Effective Communication, previously appeared in the April 2024 issue of the WINS newsletter.
Listening or Speaking?
As the Greek philosopher Epictetus said nearly 2000 years ago, "We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak." The point is to encourage us into listening actively, yet today it feels as though we are using that listening time simply to find opportunities to refute arguments or even attack the other person.
Before transitioning into cross-cultural competency facilitation and coaching, I was an English language instructor and IELTS examiner. As an IELTS examiner, it was my job to analyze the candidates’ English capabilities and score them on how strong their English abilities were. Communicative ability was important, but there was also a focus on their use of lexis and grammar.
In other words, for the most part I was listening for the faults in the structure rather than the merit of the content of what they were saying.
It feels like much discourse today has become that way: listen for faults and things you don't agree with so you can use them to attack. There is little to no attempt to even try to understand the other side.
Now more than ever, open communication and understanding are necessary in Canada's workplaces and academic environments. Not only is it possible to empathize with the position of another without agreeing, it is also essential in effective collaboration and problem-solving.
The OSEE Framework
One process to help you pay attention and empathize is the OSEE Framework, developed by interculturalist Darla K. Deardorff. Based on the scientific method, it gives a practical process for avoiding assumptions. Here is the breakdown:
- O—observe (and listen to) what is happening
- S—state objectively what is happening
- E—explore different explanations for what is happening
- E—evaluate which explanation(s) is the most likely one(s)
By following and practicing these steps, it's possible to avoid assumptions and consider other possibilities, keeping an open mind rather than falling into the trap of listening for what our unconscious bias wants to hear.
The Kenji Story
Let me give an example from my own life experiences. This happened when I was living and working as an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) instructor in Japan at a private language school nearly 20 years ago.
One day, I was teaching a lesson on preparing for the TOEIC English test, which was quite popular in Japan at the time. Getting good results on the test could lead to overseas placements and other opportunities in many corporations.
The primary focus of the lesson was about multiple-choice questions. In Japanese culture, there is a tendency towards risk avoidance. The thinking goes that one doesn't want to risk choosing the wrong answer and end up looking foolish, so it's not uncommon to leave multiple choice questions unanswered.
However, there were no penalties for choosing a wrong answer in the TOEIC test, so the learning point of the lesson was to always choose an answer, even if you had no idea what the correct option was. Over the course of the lesson, we covered explanations and completed several exercises reinforcing this key idea.
One of the students, Kenji, was a businessman. He seemed intent on what I was saying, so I focused my attention on him. He nodded at every explanation with a smile and appeared to do well in the exercises.
Finally, it came time to do the practice test. The students would demonstrate the central idea of leaving no question unanswered. I gave the instructions and asked Kenji, “Do you understand what to do?” He nodded and said “yes” so I thought he was prepared.
However, once the practice test was finished, it turned out Kenji still left several questions unanswered.
Applying the OSEE Framework
I will tell you in a moment how I reacted that day, but let's take a moment to use the OSEE tool to analyze this situation.
- Observe: Let's consider reading the above description as an observation.
- State: Doing this as objectively as possible, I will state the actions like this:
- Kenji said "yes" and smiled when I asked him if he understood my instructions.
- He didn't follow the instructions.
- Explore: We want to consider multiple explanations here rather than choosing our first reaction. I invite you to consider a few of your own first (and they could very well be better than mine.) Once you have done that, please look at the explanations which I have come up with:
- He might have thought he understood the instructions.
- He may have been deliberately ignoring my instructions.
- He could have been too embarrassed to tell me he didn't understand.
- It's possible he believed telling me he didn't understand would cause trouble for me.
- Evaluate: There are different avenues you can take here. In the moment you may only be able to draw on your own knowledge, but ideally, it's good to consider other sources.
- Ask for clarification from the others involved in the situation
- Speak to colleagues who are also part of the culture
- Check other sources on the internet (multiple sources are better than just one)
The Aftermath
Unfortunately, at that point in time I was not aware of the OSEE tool and had little experience working across cultures. Having grown up in Canada where I was taught that you are supposed to speak up and ask questions if you don't understand, I couldn't comprehend Kenji's reaction. In the moment, I reacted emotionally and let out my frustrations on Kenji. As a result, he never came back to my lessons.
I still regret my reaction that day, but I did eventually apply the OSEE tool in an unknowing manner. As I continued to teach, I found that whenever I asked, "Do you understand?" my students would almost inevitably answer "yes", even when it was clear they didn't understand.
Realizing that there was something going on that I didn't understand, I spoke to my Japanese colleagues about this, and it came to light that the root cause was collectivism and group harmony.
In Japanese culture, the thinking was that if one student starts asking questions because they don't understand something, it is an insult to the teacher's ability. Furthermore, it also wastes the time of the other students who understand what to do and get on with it. A student who speaks up in this situation would be considered selfish, placing their own needs ahead of the group's. Better to pretend you understand and hopefully figure it out along the way.
Let us be clear that I am not pushing a stereotype here. There are of course Japanese who are quite individualistic, just as there are Canadians who are more concerned about group harmony. However, we cannot ignore cultural tendencies that have been reinforced by history, geography, and social development.
In fact, we must be aware that our own opinions on what is "correct" behaviour in different situations are influenced by our cultural upbringing. This is a key factor in cross-cultural competency and developing empathy, which affects how well we can connect with others on an equal footing. Then we can adjust our approach.
Revisiting the OSEE Framework
Going back to the OSEE framework, I had now evaluated different explanations and came out with the one that was the most likely. I now had two points to consider:
- To be an effective teacher, I had to confirm my students' understanding of given tasks.
- Asking them "Do you understand?" was a waste of time.
There were multiple avenues I could take and did. One was to let my students know that it was all right for them to ask questions because it was a normal part of Canadian culture. While there is some merit to this in terms of exposing them to another culture, there was no way I could expect them to change so quickly. It would also be questionable to try forcing them to conform to my way of doing things, especially as I was a guest in their country.
Ultimately, I decided it was my responsibility to adapt my approach to them. To that end, I changed the questions I asked.
Making a Change
After giving instructions in beginner-level classes, I would ask the students as a group a series of yes-no questions. For example, "Are you going to answer every question?" followed by "Are you going to choose an answer even if you don't know the correct answer?" For higher-level classes, I would ask the group to explain the task to me. If the answers didn't match my expectations, I knew to adjust my approach with further examples or explanations.
In this way, I was the authority figure asking for answers from the group, rather than putting pressure on them to ask questions individually. This helped preserve group harmony and allowed me to do my job.
In our daily lives, we can apply the OSEE tool to listen more attentively, avoid drawing rushed conclusions, and find ways to have meaningful dialogues.