Skills

You need to train for lot of things that you can do to handle cultural differences and many of them go way beyond simple tricks and require hours of training and lots of practice. One of the widest ranging skill is to speak the language of the other, literally and figuratively. Learning another language is not easy and sometimes or for some people next to impossible. However, showing an effort may already be welcomed, e.g. by greeting or thanking the other in his or her language. Figuratively speaking the language of the other implies that you can perceive the situation like the other. This requires amongst others a dose of empathy, also mentioned under attitudes.

Related to language is the set of skills that enable you to communicate without being offensive, in particular the use of different communication styles, according to the situation at hand. In addition, you need to keep in mind the aspects of tone-of-voice and body language. The communication in question may not focus on the content you want to discuss.

Body language also points at all the different ways of adapting your behaviour to different situations. The question is to what degree you are willing to adapt, to know where your personal limits are and then to communicate about it in a non-confrontational manner.

In a more general sense a key skill is a continuous monitoring of the situation around you and to spot cultural aspects that you need to deal with. Lots of events evolve one way or the other without requiring any intervention from your side. However, you do not know whether you will be involved at a later stage; better prepared than at a loss.