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Learn by Doing – How to Broach Delicate Topics

Posted On: August 1, 2015

The third tip in a series of tips on How to Broach Delicate Topics is to:  
Use Hands-on demos:   

Hands on demos and role plays are great tools to use for training programs where there is more time to do role plays and dos and don’t sessions. Some demos I have used in previous training sessions include:

Dress Code  

For those going to the US to seal business deals or working onsite with the client, the dress code may be different than the expectation in the local Indian office. This is especially true for those IT professionals that work in casual environments, and also for women in various parts of India who may wear more traditional Indian attire to work. For such demos, we may discuss or show pictures of the do’s and don’ts in an American/Western office. While remaining sensitive to the cultural needs, it is also important to set a good impression onsite, hence we attempt to present tips that build on their already well-defined dressing sense rather than changing it completely and compromising their modesty. 

Meal-time Etiquette 

Another example is learning table or eating etiquette in other cultures. Learning to eat with chopsticks, Western cutlery, or hands if not accustomed to it is best done with a hands-on real-life experience.

Body Language  

Body language, personal space, gestures, handshakes and introductions, and eye contact among other non-verbal behaviors vary from culture to culture. Demos help participants to see, experience and immediately compare differences between their culture and the foreign culture to attempt to fit in better whenever possible. A few modules in the training programs I deliver that include such demos are meeting time etiquette, face-to-face interview preparation, video (video-con) conference calls, and in-person (handshakes and business card exchange) introductions are all topics where hands-on demos have filled these gaps in easy, fun and interactive ways. 

Other

Other areas where demos work well in corporate environments include: