I engaged Sheida to provide targeted cultural training to our customer-facing personnel. She did an incredible job, researching our company and needs in order to customize a presentation that maximized our education in a compressed time frame.
Sheida Hodge
Global Diversity and Cross-Cultural Communication
Featured Topics
Fee Range
$7,500
Sheida Hodge
Biography
Sheida Hodge is an internationally recognized expert on cross-cultural communication, negotiation, and management skills. With over 27 years of business experience, her presentations are focused on helping business people succeed in domestic multicultural and international business. Ms. Hodge is the author of, Global Smarts: the Art of Communicating and Deal Making Anywhere in the World published by John Wiley & Sons. She has an MBA and a BS degree in mathematics.
Ms. Hodge recently presented at: International Trademark Association Conference in Berlin, The International Council of Shopping Centers, Microsoft, VeriSign, The US Bank, Bayer, Booz Allen Hamilton, Colgate, Ralph Lauren, Honeywell, Thyssen Krupp, The Gucci Group, Hugo Boss, European Relocation Associations, Thomson Prometric, Plastics Industry Association, and the University of Washington.
Ms. Hodge is an international presenter; recently she presented in Japan, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, France, U.K., Germany, Portugal, Italy, Hungary, The Czech Republic, The Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Mexico, and Brazil.
Ms. Hodge began her career with GE, where she gained invaluable international and cross-cultural experience traveling to Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East in support of GE's international business development. More recently, she led the Berlitz International's Cultural Consulting Division as its Worldwide Managing Director.
Ms. Hodge speaks and conducts seminars on Effective Cross-Cultural Communication; Effective Multicultural Teamwork; Global Diversity; Global Leadership; Cross-Cultural Negotiation; and Successful Sales and Customer Service in the Domestic Multicultural Marketplace. Through her first-hand corporate and international business experience she presents practical business applications and insights -- enabling participants to implement the tools they learned within their organization for immediate, tangible results.
Sheida Hodge
Featured Keynote Programs
Global Negotiating Skills
Tools to Keep You One Step Ahead
Mastering the skills of cross-cultural communication and negotiation is essential for succeeding in business in today’s highly competitive marketplace. Knowledge of etiquette and protocol is not enough. In order to get results—to bring home contracts that don’t fall apart—executives have to become skilled cross-cultural negotiators. You need to understand how other cultures negotiate; how they differ from American approaches in their strategies and tactics; how they handle conflict; and the ways different thinking patterns and styles of decision-making influence the negotiating process.
This topic is presented as a key note, structured as a seminar or as one-on-one coaching format. The presentation is always tailored to reflect the specific needs and challenges of the audience.
Effective Global Communication
People communicate differently in different countries, and recognizing these differences is an important asset when working with people from other cultures. What might be a successful communication style in your country might backfire in interacting with other cultures. However, an awareness of the values and behavioral norms of the target culture can help ensure a successful business relationship. This program is most useful for individuals working with international associates, or traveling to other countries to do business.
Working Effectively in the Domestic Multicultural Work Environment
This program thoroughly analyzes team dynamics and business objectives to ensure effective performance in a multicultural and global organization.
Effective teams have at least two common characteristics: (1) individuals’ behavioral styles and skills are complementary, and (2) individuals are aware of how cultural differences affect cooper¬ation and interactions. This knowledge will enable team members to work together to assimilate into new teams and quickly become effective. In today’s multicultural business environment, high-performing multicultural teams can out-perform homogeneous teams when their diverse skills and contributions are maximized.
The Deal on Doing Business in China
For those that have done business in China for a while, you have probably had the experience where you are talking to a prospective client or partner about your business proposal and it appears that you both agree on the details and the opportunity. Your meeting concludes with handshakes and beaming smiles. From your perspective, “yes” means “yes, we have a deal,” while you’re Chinese colleague is thinking “yes, I need to talk to more people about this idea.”
So, here’s the deal on doing business in China: besides having a sound business idea, you need to anticipate what your Chinese partner is thinking about the opportunity and understand the para¬meters of his authority. What are the steps (and how many steps are there) between discussion and decision? In a Chinese banquet, you know the end of the party is near when the fruit arrives. But in the realm of business, what would be analogous to orange slices in gauging where you are in the process?