Cross-Cultural Communication and Cultural Intelligence for International Teams – Amsterdam, 18–22 Jan 2027

Programme overview

Technical depth: Practitioner · Practical mode: Role-play

Introduction

International teams bring together people who give feedback, disagree, make decisions and treat deadlines in different ways. Left unmanaged, these differences surface as missed signals, silent team members, stalled decisions and conflict that is blamed on personalities. This Core Concept course equips managers to read cultural patterns in communication and adjust their own approach without stereotyping colleagues. Participants apply recognised cultural frameworks to realistic team situations, rehearse difficult conversations through role-play and leave with a Team Communication Charter for an international team they lead or work in.

Course Objectives

• Diagnose communication friction in an international team using recognised cultural frameworks
• Interpret unfamiliar behaviour without premature judgement and check assumptions before acting
• Adapt feedback, persuasion and meeting practices to colleagues from different communication cultures
• Write and speak in clear international English that non-native speakers can act on
• Resolve cross-cultural disagreements while protecting trust and face
• Produce a Team Communication Charter that sets shared norms for channels, feedback and decisions

Target Audience

• Team leads and managers of teams spread across several countries or nationalities
• Project and programme managers coordinating international partners and contractors
• Managers of shared service, operations and technical teams with multinational staff
• HR and learning managers supporting international assignments and multicultural workforces
• Account and partnership managers working with overseas clients and joint-venture teams

Course Outline

Day 1: Culture and Communication Foundations

• Cultural Iceberg Model: Visible Behaviour and Underlying Values
• Hall's High-Context and Low-Context Communication
• Bennett's Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) Stages
• Cultural Intelligence Self-Assessment Using the Four-Factor CQ Model
• Team Communication Friction Audit Using a Critical Incident Log

Day 2: Cultural Frameworks and Models

• Hofstede's Six Dimensions of National Culture
• Meyer Culture Map: Eight Scales from Communicating to Scheduling
• Trompenaars' Seven Dimensions of Culture
• GLOBE Study Cultural and Leadership Dimensions
• Lewis Model: Linear-Active, Multi-Active and Reactive Cultures

Day 3: Communicating Effectively in International Teams

• Describe-Interpret-Evaluate (DIE) Method for Reading Unfamiliar Behaviour
• Feedback Across Cultures: Upgraders, Downgraders and the Culture Map Evaluating Scale
• International English Using ISO 24495-1 Plain Language Principles
• Multicultural Meeting Design: Turn-Taking, Silence and Decision Protocols
• Virtual Team Norms Across Time Zones, Languages and Channels

Day 4: Conflict, Trust and Difficult Situations

• Cross-Cultural Conflict Styles Using the Thomas-Kilmann Instrument
• Cognitive and Affective Trust Building Across Cultures
• Stereotyping Risk and the Limits of National Culture Models
• Inclusive Team Practices Aligned to ISO 30415 Diversity and Inclusion Guidance
• Face-Saving and Indirect Escalation Techniques for Sensitive Disagreements

Day 5: Role-Play Practice and the Team Communication Charter

• Role-Play: Delivering Critical Feedback Across Feedback Cultures
• Role-Play: Leading a Decision Meeting with a Multi-Regional Team
• Critical Incident Case Analysis from Engineering, Healthcare and Finance Teams
• Team Communication Charter Drafting: Norms, Channels, Feedback and Decision Rules
• Peer Review and Personal CQ Development Actions

Skills You Will Gain

• Cultural Intelligence
• Intercultural Diagnosis
• Cross-Cultural Feedback
• Multicultural Meeting Facilitation
• International English Communication
• Cross-Cultural Conflict Resolution
• Virtual Team Coordination
• Trust Building

Why Attend This Course

• Return with a Team Communication Charter your international team can adopt at its next meeting
• Understand why a colleague's silence, directness or delay may mean something different from what you assume
• Practise the conversations that most often break down across cultures, with feedback from peers
• Learn alongside managers from many countries, whose own reactions become part of the learning

Conclusion

Cultural difference strengthens a team when its members understand how others communicate and agree on how they will work together. This course moves from the foundations of culture and intercultural sensitivity, through the major comparative frameworks, to feedback, meetings, conflict and trust in international teams. The final day turns that learning into a Team Communication Charter and personal development actions, rehearsed through role-play, giving managers a practical way to reduce misunderstanding and draw more value from the diversity already present in their teams.