Today, I spoke with Arjan Verdooren, an intercultural communication consultant and lecturer. He is also the co-author, together with Dr Edwin Hoffman, of the book ‘Diversity Competence - Cultures Don’t Meet, People Do’, which is a deep dive into improving our individual and collective intercultural competence. Arjan has authored various other publications on intercultural communication, intercultural competence, cultural diversity, and multiculturalism. We touched on many topics, such as the origins of ‘studying’ culture; cultural relativism, universalism, and pluralism; meaning behind ‘cultures don’t meet, people do’; the TOPOI model; building rapport and how to reduce intercultural miscommunication.
Additional episodes that explore the importance of dialogue and communication are:
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Full show notes:
My guest today is Arjan Verdooren, who has a background in communication studies and works as a consultant and lecturer in the field of intercultural communication and competence. He is associated with the Royal Tropical Institute, a knowledge centre in Amsterdam and until recently lectured at the Master in Communication program at the University of Gothenburg. He is the co-author, together with Dr Edwin Hoffman, of the book ‘Diversity Competence - Cultures Don’t Meet, People Do’, which is a deep dive into improving our individual and collective intercultural competence. Arjan has authored various other publications on intercultural communication, intercultural competence, cultural diversity, and multiculturalism.
Throughout the fifteen years he has spent in the field, he has consulted with various organisations ranging from state departments to multinationals and NGO’s on harnessing more effective international and intercultural cooperation. He is a frequent speaker on these topics and is someone who connects theory with practitioners facing intercultural situations every day in the field.
Some of the topics we covered are:
70. Dr Alexander Bellamy - R2P, Just War and prospects of World Peace - Part 1
69. Amanda Hsiao - China, US and Taiwan: A deep dive
68. Special Release: Dr Mike Martin and John Spencer - An update on Ukraine
67. Paul Ingram - On the threat of nuclear war and hopes of disarmament
66. Dr Jessica Wolfendale - On torture, war crimes and moral responsibility - Part 2
65. Dr Jessica Wolfendale - On torture, war crimes and moral responsibility - Part 1
64. John Spencer - On Ukraine, Urban Warfare and lessons learnt
63. Dr Ned Dobos - On the unaccounted costs of maintaining a military
62. Abby Zeith and Ruben Stewart: International Humanitarian Law in Urban Warfare
61. Brigadier Mark Ascough - On Military Intelligence
60. Dr Tony Ingesson - On military sub-cultures and their impact on behaviour
59. My personal reflections on war
58. Dr Mike Martin and LTGEN (Ret.) Arne Dalhaug - Update on the Russian invasion of Ukraine
57. John Gartner - Reflections on a lifetime of service in the Special Forces
56. Andy Norman - Mental Immunity: Inoculating against conspiracies and disinformation
55. Jason Pack - On the ’Global Enduring Disorder’
54. Duncan Spinner - The Fight for at-risk Ukrainians
53. Dr Deane-Peter Baker: State Ethics vs Soldier Morality
52. Dr David Whetham - On the Ethics of War, War Crimes and Ethical Decision Making
51. Carl Miller - On Information Warfare, Social Media and pro-Russian influence campaigns in BRICS
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