066 – Guest Interview: Breaking the cultural autopilot with Vanessa Paisley

Vanessa Paisley, trainer and lecturer in the field of intercultural communication and English as a global language, was born in Tanzania, grew up in the UK, lived and worked in Austria for 23 years, and repatriated to the UK 9 years ago.

In her work she helps people to meet the challenges of living and working across cultures, both in relocating individuals from one country to another (especially to the UK and Austria) and in supporting multicultural project teams to communicate and cooperate effectively. Vanessa also works on a cross-cultural study program for professional students from Austria and India.

Vanessa and I explored how to break the cultural autopilot to understand the people we work with, how globalisation does not automatically lead to a successful global mindset, and why slowing the pace of communication is critical for connection and inclusivity.

What you will learn in this episode:

Culture with a small ‘c’ what it means and why it matters
Intercultural competence is not automatic in globalisation
It starts with developing and growing a global mindset
How to encourage a more equal share of voice in team meetings to encourage innovation and creativity
Cross cultural training is a great way to prevent project and team challenges
What you need to know about cultural differences in communication styles and behaviours between the UK, India and Austria
Culture is not static, it is always evolving
Virtual working and Gen Z, the culture of different generations
Key communication learnings for inclusivity- silences, slowing down the pace of communication and pauses

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