When you travel it is easy to notice a lot of differences in the places you travel through compared to what you are used to back at home. All of your senses are involved. Even music sounds different.

You may not notice it immediately. From the taxi, to the hotel, you may have heard a more international "pop" music. It might not be your favorite kind of music. But it might not sound "foreign".

If you have the time to turn the television in your hotel room onto the local channels, that's where it starts to sound different. And if you happen to turn the television on when the older local generation are watching for entertainment, any music will definitely give you a cultural shock.

That shock makes you realize that the background noises to the other local shows sounds different too. If you leave the television on while putting your suitcase away, you realize this foreign television station has a different sound to it. It has a sound that may be totally unfamiliar to you. It might even make you feel physically uncomfortable.

You may even feel so uncomfortable you get homesick for sounds that are familiar to you. Too much and you get up to change television channels. You might even be lucky to find your own familiar shows dubbed into the local language. Even with the translation, you can hear that the familiar television shows have a distinctive rhythm. The local television shows will have a different overall sound to them.

People listen to different music in different countries. The language sung may have a different sound. Favorite musical instruments may be different. People have different musical tastes.

We all get used to the music and sounds in our environments. If you live in a foreign country long enough, you may well come to appreciate the local music that first made you feel uncomfortable. That is when you realize you have adapted to your host country.

With the increase in use of audio online, small business should pay attention to their choice of jingles and how any audio or sales presentations may come across in each specific foreign market targeted.

Cross cultural communication is not an exact science. When you begin a cross cultural business conversation for the first time, you cannot be sure where it will end. Within cultures people are different. There are different ways of saying hello within the same cultural group.

Most people do not fully understand the way how differences in cultures impact communication. Some people enter a cross cultural conversation without making any concessions. Some go as far as behaving as if everyone is from their home town.

Other people are excessively studious and read up on specific local habits. They will want standardized answers on what to bring if you are invited to dinner, how to dress, when to arrive, what to say.

How can you prepare for your first intercultural meeting?

Both of these methods have their downfalls. The best way to go into your first cross cultural communication is to be relaxed. Be yourself. Let yourself be very open to meeting this new person. If you take a whole brain approach during to your first meeting, with a non-assuming quient inner confidence, you can expect to have a positive meeting.

Allow your right brain to become very in tune with the other person's emotions. Does he appear to be at the same place in your relationship as you are? Open yourself up to communication with this other person. Adapt your response to his.

With your left brain, look at the scene from a different perspective. Is this an interactive dialogue? If something seems out of place in your conversation, ask your left brain if there is something you can do to improve communication. Do not go overboard. Let your left brain keep control of your actions.

Appearing warm and communicative, ready to initiate conversation, and doing the appropriate thing for both parties will ensure great communication.

By the way, if you are asked to dinner in a different cultural environment, don't go overboard. Simple ask your host what would be appropriate to wear, and when to arrive. And then ask their secretary, your hotel concierge, someone local, as to what they would bring to the dinner, what they would wear, when they would arrive.

And remember, a respectful relationship goes down well in all cultures.

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