Face-to-Face Presentations – Effective Intercultural Communication within a French Corporation Operating in Australia

2023 – 2025  Technology Industry

Challenge

The client holds a contract with the Australian Government and operates through a local Australian subsidiary.

The brief was to build stronger understanding of culturally different communication styles and workplace practices, and to help participants recognise behaviours that could negatively affect motivation, inclusion, and collaboration. Following a number of culturally challenging interactions between French management and multicultural Australian staff, the People and Culture team sought support to strengthen effective intercultural communication across the organisation.

After a trial presentation for a selected management group, we were engaged to deliver the program to 25 groups of approximately 30 participants.

• 25 face-to-face interactive two-hour presentations on effective intercultural communication for multicultural staff and management.

Interventions and Presentation Topics

1. Participants completed a Training Needs Analysis to identify their challenges, experiences, and expectations for each presentation.
2. Mandatory face-to-face interactive two-hour presentations were delivered to groups of approximately 30
3. The presentations focused on cultural differences in language, conflict, feedback, and participation.
4. Participants completed a self-assessment to identify their preferred communication styles using a communication type profiler.
5. Participants completed training feedback forms, and summary reports were shared with the organisation and relevant contact people.

Results and Learning Outcomes

Increased cultural awareness to recognise and understand differences

• Participants strengthened cultural understanding through multiple-perspective thinking, including recognising cultural bias, stereotyping, and ethnocentrism.
• They explored both the visible and invisible dimensions of culture.
• Critical thinking exercises helped participants recognise the impact of cultural behaviours in the workplace.
• Participants mapped culturally diverse practices and communication styles to explore ways to bridge differences in language, conflict, feedback, and participation.

The project ran across 2023 and 2025, and we delivered 25 presentations in total.

Feedback of participants

Online training feedback forms showed close to 80% positive responses to the question: Your overall rating of the training workshop 42% “very good” and 39% “excellent”.

Some of the written comments:

• Excellent course and subject matter expert trainer!
• The presentation was quite interesting and useful. I left the session wanting to know more about the topic.

• A very relevant and useful I took a great deal from what was covered, and I feel this topic would benefit from more time and follow-up.

• It was unexpectedly a very engaging 2 hr session.