On the afternoon of March 14th, 2023, the International School organized and held a seminar on cross culture communication for freshman administration staff in the School Seminar Hall 4-205. Dr. Qingqing Zhou, the vice dean of the International School presented "Building Relationships with People from Different Cultural Backgrounds--Intercultural Communication". It was chaired by Professor Shuze Tang, the dean of School. All the staff and students of the International School participated in this activity.

In the 1-hour of the seminar, Dr. Zhou shared with teachers and students her international education, growth and work background and experience as a "global citizen".  As one of the first generation of master students of Guangdong University of Technology and undergraduate students of National University of Defense Technology, Dr. Zhou obtained her PhD degree in Information Science from University of Otago, New Zealand. 

Dr. Zhou Qingqing pointed out that in today's society, there are more and more international interactions within multinational companies in China, and they are conducting more in-depth exchanges and cooperation in China's coastal areas, especially in Guangdong. The growing diversity in different occupations is constantly increasing.

So how do we build relationships with people from different cultural backgrounds? Dr. Zhou gave three keywords: ¨Caring¨, ¨Responsible¨ and ¨Ethical¨. The atmosphere of the lecture was lively and electric, and both faculty members and students participated in it.

When talking about the characteristics of culture, Dr. Zhou expressed the views that ¨Culture can be learned¨¨Culture can be shared¨and¨Culture is dynamic¨.  

Regarding how to carry out effective cross-cultural communication, Dr. Zhou talked about two main ways: Verbal and Non-verbal. In Verbal expression, the Choices of right words and the Organization of Message are two keys.

In terms of non-verbally, body language, eyes contact, laughter, touch, tone, volume and speed, urn-taking and silence should be emphasized.

Dr. Zhou’s presentation attracted interested questions from the audience, and she replied all questions from her experience and examples, making this seminar more interactive.

Written by Jingxiang Chen

Revised by Hashmi

Approved by Shuze Tang