Cross-Cultural Dialogues* & Why Travel Matters
In the first part of this two-part presentation, Craig Storti will present an overview of the intercultural training technique known as a “dialogue” with which he is closely associated. Craig has written three books of dialogues—Cross-Cultural Dialogues: 74 Brief Encounters with Cultural Difference (revised edition, 2017), Old World/New World (2001), and The Art of Doing Business Across Cultures: 10 Countries, 50 Mistakes, and 5 Steps to Cultural Competence (2017)—and several of his other books also contain dialogues.
In his introduction to The Art of Doing Business Across Cultures, Craig observes that:
Cultural differences can be presented in numerous ways, but none have the same effect as the dialogue method. The power of dialogues lies in their immediate emotional impact, which is difficult to overstate. It’s not an exaggeration to say that these innocuous conversations are as close as you’re going to get in any print-based medium to an actual cultural encounter.
Later in the presentation Craig will discuss and read from his most recent book Why Travel Matters: A Guide to the Life-Changing Effects of Travel (April, 2018), copies of which will be available for purchase.
*The dialogue concept was the brainchild of Dr. Alfred Kraemer, a sociologist with the U. S. Army.
Presenter:
Craig Storti has over thirty years of experience training businessmen and women, diplomats, civil servants, and foreign aid workers in understanding and working effectively with people from other cultures and diverse backgrounds. As a trainer and consultant, Mr. Storti has advised Fortune 500 companies on international joint ventures and expat/repat issues, led cross-cultural workshops for international agencies and organizations on four continents, and assisted numerous corporations and government agencies to better manage global teams and a culturally diverse workforce. He has lived nearly a quarter of his life abroad—with extended stays in Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist cultures—and speaks French, Arabic, and Nepali.
