Book report: the culture map, written by Erin Meyer.

I know that this book is written about a lot and that my love for it is no different. But I didn’t know about it until I started looking for better global communication skills. It has changed my life by teaching me other ways to communicate and more importantly, to listen better. I cannot encourage you enough to read this book, especially if you are working with people from many other countries who are working together to achieve goals.

It illustrates and explains what is “normal” in various cultures around the world and how easily subtle body language information can be misread. You can lose sight of the actual conversation if all you are armed with is your own culture of communication.

I'll reread this yearly and buy it for people I respect. I don’t want to give anything away, and I would butcher it if I did. She is incredibly smart. So consider this free advertising for books that are worth reading. Go read this book and make your world view bigger.

To quote David Sedaris: “ I know it sounds calculating, but if you’re not cute, you may as well be clever” -from his book “Me Talk Pretty One Day”. I have always taken those words to heart.