Cross-Cultural Communication

Build skills to communicate across cultures, prevent misunderstandings, and navigate conflict with confidence through interactive learning and real-world application.

Strengthen Communication and Conflict Resolution Skills

Effective cross-cultural communication is essential in today’s diverse workplaces and communities. This interactive course helps participants understand how cultural values, norms, and communication styles shape everyday interactions.

Through discussion and real-world scenarios, participants will learn to identify common sources of misunderstanding and build practical conflict resolution skills. The course focuses on improving workplace communication, reducing tension, and fostering inclusive, respectful dialogue.

Participants will also gain tools they can immediately apply to strengthen collaboration, navigate differences with confidence, and build more culturally aware relationships in professional and personal settings.

Program Objectives: 

• Recognize how cultural values, norms, and communication styles influence interactions.
• Identify common sources of cross-cultural misunderstandings and conflict.
• Apply practical communication strategies to reduce tension and increase clarity.
• Use structured conflict-resolution techniques to navigate disagreements respectfully.
• Demonstrate increased cultural awareness and empathy in diverse environments.
• Develop a personal action plan for improving cross-cultural communication in their daily lives.

This course can be taken individually or as part of the Supervisory Management Certificate Program. This is an elective course. Take three core classes plus three electives in five years to earn your certificate.

• Dr. Brian J. Gunderson is a dynamic higher education leader who specializes in building workforce-ready programs and high-impact continuing education experiences. At Chippewa Valley Technical College, he partners with regional employers to deliver customized training, ranging from Business Spanish to cultural competency, and leads the development of innovative healthcare, apprenticeship, and technical programs that strengthen the local talent pipeline.

  With nearly twenty years of teaching and program leadership across multiple institutions, Dr. Gunderson brings deep expertise in adult learning, curriculum design, and industry collaboration. His work centers on creating accessible pathways, aligning education with employer needs, and supporting economic growth through responsive, community-focused programming.