Cultural Sensitivity Training: Developing the Basis for Effective Intercultural Communication

Develop your intercultural sensitivity—and confidently manage personal and business relations in an intercultural environment!

With this book, you will learn why we all act ‘automatically’ in interactions with people from other groups and cultures, and how you can counteract these automatisms. The many exercises will guide you through recognizing your own cultural background, and identifying similarities and differences between cultures, to learning how to effectively interact in an intercultural environment.

• Gain a compact overview of models that help you to understand intercultural differences
• Assess and compare your own culture with the culture of your communication partners
• Learn different ways of reflecting on and resolving intercultural situations
• Apply what you have learned through the many practical exercises to situations you are currently facing
• Create a plan for developing your intercultural competencies to a higher level

Use this book for self-study, to accompany a course in intercultural competence or intercultural communication, or to find inspiration for additional exercises for the courses you offer yourself.

“Intercultural competency is one of the top skills that employers seek. Cultural Sensitivity Training provides a simple, yet elegant framework to help readers navigate the cultural minefield in our global work world. It's loaded with exercises and resources that help students and experienced business leaders work more successfully with culturally diverse colleagues. I highly recommend this great and timely book.”
-- Dr Carol Scovotti, Arno Kleimenhagen Professor of Marketing, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (USA)

“Susann Kowalski’s book is essential reading for anyone who would like to improve their communication style in multilingual and multinational settings. Th is book will significantly increase your self-awareness and knowledge around intercultural communication issues. It gives a really useful broad and deep synopsis of the main models and theories and provides superb practical advice and guidance. A great piece of work!”
-- Dr Alexandra Morgan, Author of Coaching International Teams: Improving Communication, Inclusion and Productivity (UK)

“This book puts together the theoretical framework about intercultural communication in a unique perspective. This is an amazing book and an added value to the intercultural communication educational library.”
-- Dr Eva Haddad Al-Faraj, Assistant Professor SBSH, German Jordanian University (Jordan)

About the author
Dr. Susann Kowalski is a professor at TH Köln University of Applied Sciences and has been teaching courses in intercultural competencies and management, as well as personal development, at both undergraduate and graduate levels for over 20 years. She has years of experience teaching interculturally mixed groups of students in Germany as well as in countries as diverse as India, Russia, China, and the USA.

Dr. Susann Kowalski is a professor at TH Köln University of Applied Sciences and has been teaching courses in intercultural competencies and management, as well as personal development, at both undergraduate and graduate levels for over 20 years. She has years of experience teaching interculturally mixed groups of students in Germany as well as in countries as diverse as India, Russia, China, and the USA.