Team Communications Training for Multicultural Teams, Intercultural Workforce and Cross-Cultural Teams

The need for Team Communications Training for Multicultural Teams is growing.

Three main reasons for acquiring Team Communications Training in Multicultural Teams:

"Worldwide intercultural cooperation drives corporate growth and development across the globe resulting in a heightened demand for a qualified but diverse workforce (Congden, Matveev, Desplaces, Journal of Comparative International Management, 2009)".
Intercultural Teams, Multicultural Teams, and Cross-Cultural Teams, if properly trained, can generate performances at higher levels compared to a single-culture team. Diversity Training for Team Communications in Multicultural Teams is really the key for empowering the hidden potential of true cross-cultural teamwork.
In companies that work to expand globally, team performance becomes vulnerable to cross-cultural interaction problems (Matveev & Nelson, 2004).

Training Approach & Methodology for Cross-Cultural and Inter-Cultural Training in Multicultural Team Communications

The training project can draw theories and methods from one or more of the following techniques, and combine them in a unique and tailor-made training concept

Lecture on basics of multicultural teams
Lecture on advanced models for multicultural teamwork and communications
Practical experiential works aimed at applying the principles and techniques provided
Analysis of Communication Situations (COMSITS)
Video analysis of participants groupwork
Analysis of specific videos and video scenes aimed at identifying best practices and illustrating more vividly the training concepts
Experiential Learning: Group activities in metaphorical tasks where the intercultural communication variables emerge and can than be highlighted and analyzed
Cultural Detective: exploration of hidden cultural beliefs and underlying working principles in the individual
Study of working papers
Teamwork
"Working under stress" simulations for cross-cultural teams
Internal team negotiations simulations for intercultural communication patterns testing
Communication Games
Psychodramatic sessions applied to real-life work situations, where participants dived among actors and observers and than share the experiential content of the action performed
Emotions in intercultural communication and comparative analysis of emotional reactions among different cultures and team members
Intercultural Empathy
Cultures as suppressors or facilitators of Personality Traits. Analysis of Cultural Personality Traits in Team Communications in videos and role playing.

Special topics for Team Communications Training in Multi-Cultural Environments

Interpersonal Skills and Team Effectiveness
Working with Cultural Uncertainty
Cultural Awareness seminars
Techniques for cross-cultural communication competence
Non-verbal communication and body language issues in multicultural teams
Cross-Cultural Team tasks -
levels of execution and disaggregation of objectives into SMART actionable goals

Special Extended Services for Team Communications Training in Multi-Cultural Environments

Intercultural Team Coaching in real Case Problem Solving and Work
Intercultural Team shadowing
Intercultural train-the-trainers programs
Psychometrics and measurement of cross-cultural team effectiveness and communication improvements
Assessment of intercultural and cross-cultural team communication competence
Analysis of critical incidents in Intercultural and Cross-Cultural Teams

Specific models for cross-cultural and intercultural team communication improvement

4DM - The Four Distances Model for Intercultural and Cross-Cultural Interactions, by Dr. Daniele Trevisani
The 5 Dimensions of Cultures for Cross-Cultural Comparison, by Dr. Geert Hofstede
The Holistic Spectrum of Interpersonal Communication Channels, by Dr. Daniele Trevisani
The 4 levels of Intercultural Empathy Model
The HPM Model (Human Potential Model) applied to Intercultural Teamwork highlighting Cross-Cultural Differences and Similarities
Shannon-Weaver model applied to Cross-Cultural Team Communications
The 7 Levels of Listening Model

Keywords for Team communication training in Cross-Cultural and Multi-Cultural environments

Multicultural team performance
Hidden impact of national culture of origin on habits and communication patterns
Successful performance of multicultural teams
Giving feedback and asking feedback in multicultural teams
The need to train managers to become more effective in culturally complex workplaces - train-the-trainers approach and coaching approaches for intercultural team coaching
Cross-cultural interaction problems - from misunderstanding to disagreement up to incommunicability
Degrees of incommunicability in multicultural team communications
Degrees of Freedom and Degrees of Structure in Cross-Cultural and Multi-Cultural Teams
Communication entropy and disambiguation of language
Semantic probing of personal understanding of a message. Disambiguation of possible meanings
Semantic redundancy needed for assuring understanding in cross-cultural teams
Clarity and Precision of Communication Messages, Goals and Tasks
Team coordination vs. personal action
Shared Situational Awareness (SSA) in a Cross Cultural Team
Intercultural Counseling
Training for Cross-Cultural and Intercultural Team Leadership
Training in Communication & Effectiveness
Organizational Communication Assessment & Improvement
Intercultural Key Leader Engagement
Intercultural Teamwork under stress
Intercultural Team Leadership
Intercultural Key Leader Engagement
Experiential Learning for Cross Cultural Teams
Team Building for Cross-Cultural Teams and Multicultural Teams
Intercultural Team combined skills set Analysis
Intercultural Communication Management
Diversity Analysis of Teams and Organizations
Team Building for International Organizations
Intercultural Management and Project Management
Cross Cultural Communication Campaigns,
Crisis Management in Intercultural Environments
Cross-cultural Persuasion
Applied communication skills, such as
- Listening skills and emphatic skills
- Interviewing Cross-Culturally
- Public speaking in International and Intercultural Settings
- Delivering effective presentations
- Meeting management in Cross-Cultural Teams

Movie scenes highlighting intercultural and cross-cultural aspects of Negotiation

(pure examples... specific movies and genres are selected based on the specific training objectives of specific projects and specific clients)

Scarface - Negotiation with Sosa
The Godfather 2 - Negotiation with the Senator
Conan the Barbarian - the value of the Sword and trust - What is success? (analysis of cultural belief system)
Apollo 13 - team problem solving becoming emotionally hot
Gran Torino - Clint Eastwood and the Italian barber teaching a Chinese youngster "the way real men speak"
Communication Archetypes - Io sono Pdor (Aldo Giovanni e Giacomo, Italian comedians - cultural understanding)
The Truman Show (team efforts)
Bud Spencer and Terence Hill - Jesus Christ
Real interviews of Carl Rogers with a client - pure empathy at work and listening skills demonstration
Specific video shots taken in action during coaching and training in real-setting environments, such as:
- first manouver of a new Commanding Team on a cruise ship with 5.000 people and no margin for error
- Cross Cultural Muay Thai team warming up and motivating the athlete in the locker room in a World Title event (Petrosyan, Glory Rome)
- Team player losing situational awareness and emotional control in soccer (Totti-Balotelli, Zidane-Materazzi)
- ...several other videos chosen based on training needs analysis and training timeline development

Published books and papers connected to Intercultural Communication and Team Communications in Cross-Cultural Environments

Worldproof Leadership: Twenty-one leadership perspectives for the interconnected world, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (HvA), Personal Interview as Expert, 2019.

Stene, T.M, Danielsen, B.E., Trevisani, D. (2016). Preparing for human spaceflight to the Moon 2020–2030. In: Risk, Reliability and Safety: Innovating Theory and Practice. Proceedings of ESREL 2016 (European Safety and Reliability Conference, Glasgow, Scotland, 25-29 September 2016), by Lesley Walls and Matthew Revie. Article on Intercultural Crew Communications in Space Exploration.

Trevisani, Daniele & Stene, Trine Marie (2016). Training for the Unexpected. Human Factor in Extreme Conditions, Presentation at the ESA (European Space Agency) Moon 2020-2030 Conference: A New Era of Coordinated Human and Robotic Exploration, 15-16. December 2015, ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.4260.9529. Article on incommunicability and intercultural communication in Cross-Cultural Crews.

Intercultural Negotiation: Communication beyond cultural barriers. From internal relations to international negotiations. Franco Angeli Publisher, Milan. 2005

The Intercultural Manager's skill set. Article published in E & M – Economia e Management, Italian Review of Corporate Management, online edition, sept. 2003.

Trevisani, Daniele (1992). A Semiotic Models Approach to the Analysis of International/Intercultural Communication; published in “Proceedings of the International and Intercultural Communication Conference”, University of Miami, FL., USA, 19 - 21 May 1992.

Graduation Thesis in Communication: “Theories of Intercultural and International Communication in Intercultural Communication Research”, with Prof. Roberto Grandi (Mass Communication), and Prof. Fabrizio Bercelli (Interpersonal Communication). Graduation with score of 110/110 and Academic Honors (Lode), 1990

Dr. Daniele Trevisani, International and Intercultural Trainer Profile.

Languages spoken

1. English (Highly Pro Level)
Italian (Mother tongue)
German (Conversational)
French (Conversational)
Spanish (Conversational)

Highlights

Dr. Daniele Trevisani graduated “Cum Laude” in DAMS Communication at Bologna University and received the Fulbright Scholarship Award (USA Government) as distinguished European Scholar in Communication, living in the US for 2 research years. He Obtained the Master of Arts at University of Florida (USA) “With Distinction”

After his experience as Fulbright Scholar in Intercultural Communication, he worked, trained and consulted for over 25 years for Organizations, Companies, Business Schools, including Athletes and Clubs.

Some of the current fields of training:

Mental Training
Safety and Security
Leadership in Command and Control in Stressful Conditions
Intercultural Communication and Intercultural Negotiation
Storytelling & Narrative Structures
Emotions & Persuasion
Process Analysis & Organizational Development
Improvement of Organizational Communication and Team Communications
Human Potential Development
Active Training Methods
Adult Education, Active Learning Experiences
Intercultural and International Leadership
Intercultural Training and Team Building
Wellness Research
Mental Training for Sports Athletes, Teams, Business, and Personal Development

He is active in Human Factor and Human Capital Research, contributing also to Seminars and Symposiums in the area of Human Factor for Space Exploration and Crew Performances (Speaker at the ESA Moon 2020-2030 Symposium)

His activity as researchers in Communication and Human Factor, Research for Intercultural Communication, includes a special focus on Psychological Operations (PSYOPS), Information Operations (INFO-OPS), Intercultural Operations, Persuasion and Transformational Semiotics (Semiotic studies applied to influence and change across cultures), Emotional and Behavioral Analysis, Key Leader Engagement.

His research deals with effective communication, strategic research, intelligence, active training techniques, experiential learning, psychology of persuasion, psychology of management in intercultural environments, psychology of leadership, negotiation and intercultural negotiation, human potential research, Crew Communications and Human Motivation in Cross-Cultural & Inter-Cultural Management.

His status of Fulbright Scholar was achieved for his studies on effective communication and international/intercultural communication research, with a specific focus on “Incommunicability”, identifying sources of miscommunication, misunderstanding and disagreement, and how to leverage Diversity as success factor in organizations. His work produced a model (4 Distances Model) nowadays used as training method for special training projects in the Army and NATO Courses in Cimic (Civil-Military Cooperation), Diversity Communication and Intercultural Communication. He obtained the Fulbright Scholarship Award in 1990 (USA Government Fulbright Commission). Under the Fulbright Program he attended Fulbright courses in Intercultural and International Communication at the American University of Washington D.C, and obtained the Master of Arts in Mass Communication (with “Academic Distinction”) at the University of Florida (USA) in 1992.

He also obtained a further Master in International Marketing in 1989 after attending a 1 year full-immersion training funded by the European Union, a specialization in Psychometrics and Statistics for Social and Psychological Research from University of Padua (Summer School), studies in Drama from University of Hull (UK), in Philosophy at La Sorbonne University (Paris), Intercultural Research at Utrecht University (NL).

As a Senior trainer, he holds a distinctive ability in combining and merging several disciplines, from psychology to strategic management and communication skills, with a focus on generating action and change, increasing awareness and focusing abilities to integrate culturally different perspectives and studies with a holistic perception.

Beyond front line training and coaching, he is active in the production of new models and concepts in the field of Diversity studies, strategic communication, psychology and human potential, distinguishing his work as a frontier research work.

Research and Training for Military Special Forces: Daniele has been the first European researcher to work for NATO through its Italian Army branch, bringing knowledge and training in Intercultural Psyops, studying and analyzing Psychological Operations, the ability to generate psychological effects using communication and Cross-Cultural Research.

As researcher keynote speaker for NATO as subject matter expert in Information Operations and Psychological Operations (Strategic Communication), Officers from 19 Nations attended his seminar lectures. His experience brought him to create and deliver special training programs also for selected Army groups, on several innovative areas. Training programs have been conducted since 2005 in

Communication & Leadership
Humint (Human Intelligence)
Communication across cultures
Info-ops - Information Operations
Train-the-trainers programs
Team building
Train-the-Mentor Programs for UN Forces
Full-immersion experiential courses on “Phenomenology of Communication” and “Methodology of Intercultural Communication and Negotiation”, “Key Leader Engagement”, “Local Leader Engagement”
Writer of several books in intercultural communication, psychology of marketing, interpersonal communication, human potential and HR, he combines a strong academic background with practical business experience, focus on contribution, and passion for active training, especially in multicultural and international environments.

Timeline of Academic Study Curriculum.

1993. Specialization in Psychology and Psychometrics (University of Padua, Italy).
1992. Master of Arts in Mass Communication, specialization in Research Methods for Social and Psychological Research (University of Florida, USA), “Graduation with Distinction”, attending also MBA and Statistics courses.
1991. Fulbright Training Program in Intercultural Communication and International Communication (American University of Washington DC, USA)
1990. Laurea Degree (equivalent to PhD, with a 600 pages research thesis) in DAMS - Performing Arts and Communication Science (University of Bologna, Italy), obtaining the graduation with Academic Honors, advanced research thesis on Intercultural and International Communication Research
1989. University of Utrecht, personal research project on Intercultural Communication, with European Union Study Grant
1988. La Sorbonne University (Paris), summer course in Philosophy and French Culture and Civilization (with European Union Study Grant)
1988.Professional Master in International Marketing (IFOA Institute, Italy), 1 year in residential full-immersion (admitted while ending his doctoral thesis)
1987. Training in Communication, Drama and Theatre (University of Hull, UK), with European Union study grant obtained for academic achievements

Expert in Emotional & Behavioral Research and Software Technologies related to F.A.C.S (Facial Action Coding System)