{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Episode 478 - Bridging the Gap with Catherine Xiang","description":"\u200a 'I think that flow is quite important. It's almost like a cultural logic.' Intercultural communication is always complex, but for Western leaders seeking to build relationships as a way in to the mighty Chinese market, it's particularly tricky. From seating plans to changing job titles to how to ask for a solution to a problem, there are very different assumptions and unspoken rules. Which is why Catherine Xiang, \u200aUK Director for LSE's Confucius Institute for Business, wrote Bridging the Gap: \u200aAn introduction to intercultural communication with China, named Specialist Business Book of the Year. It's tricky enough when everyone is speaking English, but if you're learning Mandarin, it gets even trickier: get the stress on a word wrong and you could easily proposition someone by mistake! For writers with an eye to the global market, there's a deeper significance too: not only language and metaphor but even the way the book opens or an argument is structured can embody a particular cultural bias.  Practical strategies and a thoughtful perspective on how to build genuine, effective cross-cultural relationships, at the meeting table and on the page. ","author_name":"The Extraordinary Business Book Club","author_url":"http:\/\/extraordinarybusinessbooks.com\/","html":"