Managing cultural differences and communication style in consulting firm

Question

I am a Chinese currently working at an Australian consulting firm. I'd like to understand a bit more about the cultural difference in order to adjust my communication style.

In Australian culture, is it common to say “thanks” and “sorry” often? I feel that being “apologetic” is a common practice in Asia to be “polite”, and I am aware that in Western culture it doesn't work this way. On the other hand, what I'm not so sure is being “thankful”. As I am a new joiner, I tend to say a lot of “thanks” to every small helps a lot. Does this sound Weird?

Lastly, I've heard that “smiling too much” in front of clients (especially during first meeting) would make you look childish and not so professional. It's better to demonstrate being professional before being client friendly. Any thoughts on this?

Answer 1

Hi there,

I love this question, probably because I currently live in Australia and it's my favorite country :) I'm also coaching a number of Chinese candidates in Australia - trust me, you are not alone with this struggle!

First of all, you can say “ta” instead of thanks :)

Second, I would agree that being overly apologetic here can become annoying, so to speak. Try to avoid apologizing too much!

Ultimately, Australian culture is highly rooted in sarcasm, humour, directness, but also lightness. It's an incredibly difficult culture for an Asian immigrant to fully integrate into, especially since the humour is so different.

That said, there is immense respect here for rule following (see Novak Djokavic as exhibit A), integrity, honesty, and “the commons” which is something East Asians have in spades (who tend to integrate well here).

In terms of meetings, I wouldn't worry too much. You shouldn't sit there smiling, of course, but don't feel like you can't smile/laugh when a joke has been made!

By the way, CultureAtlas is a fantastic resource for understanding any culture - take a look!

Answer 2

Hey,

Ian gave a great answer. In addition, try and learn social styles to adapt your interaction with the client/colleague depending on their style- check out this thread for plenty of tips: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-to-create-chemistry-with-the-interviewer-8271