【Background】

Communicate Across Cultures: Lessons Learned Aboard the International Space Station, with Chris Hadfield, Retired Canadian Astronaut and Author, An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth.

What is a “cultural difference”? In practice, it comes down to unconscious assumptions about how things are or how they’re supposed to be. Even within a single family, there are cultural differences based on generation, gender, temperament, and more. As the circle widens to other families, cities, states, and nations, these differences multiply. The bigger the differences and the higher the stakes, the more conscious effort is required to communicate effectively and avoid misunderstandings. Nowhere was this more apparent than in the complex international effort required to plan and execute the International Space Station.

今天我们请到了克里斯·哈德菲尔德。他是一位来自加拿大的退役宇航员，曾担任国际太空站的指挥官。他著有《宇航员地球生活指南》。

“文化差异”是什么？实践中，它涉及对于事物的不自觉设想和假定。即使是在一个小家庭里，也会产生基于年代、性别、脾气等等的文化差异。当范围拓宽到其他更多家庭、城市、州、国家时，这种差异会大大增加。差异越大，风险越高，想要高效沟通避免误解必须花费更多有意识的努力。而没有其他地方比国际空间站计划和执行中涉及的复杂国际协作更能体现这一道理了。

【Course】

High above our heads is the International Space Station. It’s an amazing, complex thing – the most complicated thing we’ve ever built in space and one of the most complex international projects ever conceived and ever completed. But the key word of that is “international.”

在我们头顶的天空之中运行着国际空间站。这是一个不可思议的、复杂的东西—-是人类有史以来在太空建造过的最复杂的东西了，也是我们构思和完成的最复杂的国际项目之一。但要注意，这件事的关键词是“国际”。

Rethink “normal” 重新思考“常规”

It is a place built by people from all around the planet – 15 different countries. And that just sounds sort of theoretical until you start thinking: Different languages. Different measurement systems of units – is it in feet or is it in meters? Different communications – are we using VHF or UHF? Different electrical systems – is it 220? Is it 110? Is it positive ground? Negative ground?

它是一个由这个星球上15个国家共同建造的地方。这听起来有点纸上谈兵，但你可以想想：我们使用不同的语言、不同的计量单位—是英尺还是米？不同的交流方式—我们用的是甚高频波段还是超高频波段？不同的电力系统—-是220伏电压还是110伏？是正极还是负极？

But the most complex problem to deal with is just people who have come from a wildly different cultural background – a completely different sense of what is normal. What do you do on a Friday night? What does “yes” mean? What does “uh huh” mean? What does “tomorrow” mean? What is the day of worship? When do you celebrate a holiday? How do you treat your spouse or your children? How do you treat each other? What is the hierarchy of command? All of those things seem completely clear to you, but you were raised in a specific culture that is actually shared by no one else. If you have brothers or sisters, ask them in detail about some stuff and they will disagree with you. They have a different culture than you do. So imagine if the people you’re flying a spaceship with come from a wildly different part of the world. Trying to find a way to share a sense of purpose so that you can overcome the natural barriers of a difference of culture to do something really difficult – that’s one of the biggest tasks that an astronaut faces.

但最复杂的问题还是和具有极其不同的文化背景的人们沟通—- 一个对于“常规”全然不同的重新体验。你周五晚上一般做什么？“是”代表什么意思？“嗯哼”代表什么？“明天”又是什么意思？哪一天是做礼拜的日子？什么时候庆祝节日？你怎么对待你的配偶和孩子？你们怎么对待彼此？指挥层级是怎么样的？这些事情也许对你来说非常清楚，但你其实是在一个独一无二的特定文化中被养育长大的。如果你有兄弟姐妹，问问他们对于一些事的具体看法，你会发现他们并不和你意见一致。他们和你有不同的背景。所以，想想那些和你一起在宇宙飞船里的人，他们甚至来自一个完全不同的国家。试试找办法和他们分享一种共同的目标感，这样你们可以跨越不同文化的自然壁垒，去一起做一些非常困难的事情—–这是宇航员们面临的最大工作之一。

Speak the listener’s language  说对方能听懂的话

You can start just by learning language. It’s obvious if it’s as discreet as learning English or Russian or Japanese. That’s a clearly defined language. But have someone from Louisiana talk to someone from Brooklyn. They both speak English, but it’s a different language. And if you want to speak clearly and communicate with that person, you have to recognize that the culture with which they interpret the world is absolutely necessary for you to understand if you want to clearly communicate with them. And for me the only real measure of clear communication – and successful communication – is a change of behavior of the listener. If all they did was go, “uh huh”, then you have no understanding of whether they actually comprehended and internalized what is was you were trying to communicate to them. But if you can see that their actions now reflect a different idea, then you can measure whether what you were intending actually got communicated across. Then the loop is complete, and you’ve successfully crossed whatever cultural barrier was there.

你可以就从学习语言开始。如果是清晰界定的语言，比如英语、俄语、日语，这会比较显而易见。这些都是拥有清晰定义的语言。但让一个从美国路易斯安那州来的人和纽约布鲁克林区的人说说话呢。他们都说英语，但实际上是两种完全不同的语言。如果你想要清晰明白地和一个人交流沟通，你必须识别他的文化背景，从而了解他们理解世界的方式，这样才能理解他们。对于我来说，唯一真正且成功的沟通方式，就是去发现对话人行为的变化。如果对方一直说，“嗯哼”，那你不知道他们有没有真正理解和内化你想要和他们沟通的内容。但如果你可以看到他们的行为实际上反映了一个不同的想法，那你可以衡量你是否成功传达了想要沟通的内容。这个循环就完整了，你就成功跨越了那些文化上的障碍。

So that requires a lot of extra effort. Learning to speak the language, learning to express yourself in a way that is meaningful to the person you’re talking to, and then doing it on a frequent enough basis to be able to see that your message got through, and see that that person is doing what it was that you were talking to them about, seeing a change of behavior so that you know for sure that the two of you are on the same page of this new thing that you’re doing. It’s complex. It’s not natural. It’s difficult, but it’s necessary. And the higher the stakes are – if you’re doing something that is life or death, or doing something that has big financial consequence, then the necessity to communicate effectively and clearly just continues to skyrocket, continues to go up. And it really puts more pressure on your own shoulders to learn to be a good communicator, but also learn to be as sensitive and aware as you possibly can of the people that you’re speaking with. Try to overcome all those natural barriers. Try to accomplish something together no matter where you’re from.

所以这需要非常大的额外努力。学习去说这门语言，学着用对方能理解的方式表达你的意思，这样频繁地尝试，直到能确认你的信息是否被成功传达了。同时，你要确认对方是否按照你说的去做了，看看对方有没有行为转变，这样你才能知道你们两个在要做的这件新任务上是保持同一步调的。这的确很复杂。这不是一个可以自然发生的过程。它很难，但非常必要。而如果风险越大—-如果你在做什么生死攸关的事，或是有巨大金融风险的事—-那么高效、清晰地沟通的必要性就像火箭一样，直线上升了。学着做一个好的沟通者，真的会给自己很大压力，但还是要尽可能地保持敏感，意识到和你对话的人是什么样的。试着去克服那些所有自然的障碍。试着一起去完成些什么，无论你们是来自哪里。

【Summary】

Communicate Across Cultures: Lessons Learned Aboard the International Space Station, with Chris Hadfield, Retired Canadian Astronaut and Author, An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth

Rethink “normal” 

•There are natural barriers to overcome when working with people from different places than you. (E.g. Language, units of measurement, communication systems)

•Oftentimes the most complex problem to deal with is a difference of culture. Ask: What does the other person consider “normal”? What do they do on a Friday night? Do our words have different meanings? Do we have different customs around worship or holidays? Do we have different expectations for our relationships? Do we have a different understanding of hierarchy and command?

•Recognize that you were raised in a specific culture that is shared by no one else.

Speak the listener’s language 

•Try learning both the spoken language and the cultural language of the other person. Recognize that you need to understand their culture in order to communicate with them.

•Successful communication is measured by a change of behavior in the listener. Analyze your interactions: Did the other person comprehend and internalize what I said? Do their actions reflect a different idea? Did what I was intending to communicate actually get across?

在这节课中，克里斯·哈德菲尔德为我们讲解了他在国际空间站中执行任务时的体会，以及如何才能进行高效的跨文化交流。

一、重新思考“常规”

当你和来自不同地方的人共同合作时，需要克服一些自然的障碍。（例如，语言、计量单位、交流系统）

大多数时候，最复杂的问题在于不同的文化背景。问问：别人认为的“常规”是什么？他们周五晚上一般做什么？我们表达的词语是不是有不同的隐含意义？我们是不是有不同的宗教崇拜和节日风俗？我们是不是对于彼此间的关系有不同的预期？对于指挥和层级，我们是不是有不同的理解？

要理解你是在一个独一无二的特定文化环境中被养育长大的。

二、说对方能听懂的话

试着学习对方说的口头语言和文化语言。要知道你必须首先理解他们的文化，才能和他们沟通。

沟通成功与否可以用对方行为的改变来衡量。分析你们的互动：对方是否理解、内化了我说的话？他们的行为是否表达了一种不同的看法？我想要沟通的内容被成功传达了吗？