A society’s culture affects its member’s view of the world and thus their responses to people and events. Effective intercultural communication depends on recognizing ways in which people differ. Thus it is important to follow certain points while communicating in terms of international trade. Considering social customs is foremost in this regard. It means that one should be able to assess that how people in other cultures react to strangers, whether they react in a friendly, hostile or reserved way. Socially what words or gestures do people use to greet each other? It is also important to know the appropriate manners when you enter or leave room. It is also important to know that how names are introduced and even how one should be touching other person while greeting him or her. Summing up it is important being a cross cultural communicator to develop certain skills. Learning or acquiring these general intercultural communication skills will help you effectively adapt in any culture which is quite important in terms of international trade communication.

• Take responsibility for communication- Don’t assume it’s the other person’s job to communicate with you.
• Withhold judgment – Learn to listen to the whole story and accept differences in others without judging them.
• Show respect- Learn how respect is communicated- through gestures, eye contact and so on in various cultures.
• Empathize – Imagine the other person’s feelings and point of view; consider what he or she is trying to communicate and why.
• Tolerate ambiguity -Learn to control your frustration when placed in an unfamiliar or confusing situation.
• Look beyond the superficial – Don’t be distracted by such things as dress, appearance or environmental discomforts.
• Be patient and persistent - If you want to communicate with someone from another culture, don’t give up easily.
• Recognize your own cultural biases – Learn to identify when your assumptions are different from other persons.
• Be flexible – Be prepared to change your habits and attitudes when communicating with someone from another culture.
• Emphasize common grounds – Look for similarities to work from.
• Send clear messages – Make both your verbal and non-verbal signal clear and consistent.
• Increase your cultural sensitivity - Learn about variations in customs and practices so that you’ll be more aware of potential areas for miscommunication.
• Deal with the individual - Communicate with each person as an individual, not as a stereotypical representative of another group.
• Learn when to be direct – Investigate each culture so that you know when to send your message in a straightforward manner and when to be indirect.

These skills will be very helpful to communicate cross culturally in terms of international trade perspective. However, apart from verbal communication it is also important to handle written messages properly as business communication is also largely based on written documentation as well. Be especially concerned with clarity:

• Use short precise words that say exactly what you mean.
• Rely on specific terms and concrete examples to explain yourself
• Stay away from slang, idioms, jargon and buzz words. Abbreviations, acronyms (such as CAD/CAM) and unfamiliar product names may also lead to confusion.
• Construct sentences that are shorter and simpler that those you might use when writing someone fluent in your own language.
• Use short paragraphs. Each paragraph should stick to one topic and be no more than eight and ten lines.
• Help readers follow your train of thought by using transitional phrases. Precede related points with expressions like addition and first, second, third.

Your word choice should also highlight relationship between you and your audience. In general, US business people will want to be somewhat more formal than they would be when writing to people in their own country. In many cultures, people use a more elaborate style, so your audience will expect more formal language in your letter. A letter written by a supplier in Germany to a nearby retailer might appear stilted to a US reader on the grounds that people in the US like to be more direct and to the point. But indirect communication will be common in many cultures. Like in Germany many business letter open with reference to business relationship and end with compliments to the recipients. Of course, be careful not to carry formalities to extremes, or you will should unnatural.

Although language and cultural differences are significant barriers to communication, these problems can be overcome by maintaining an open mind. Unfortunately, many of us lapse into ethnocentrism, the predisposition to make assumptions about other groups according to your own group’s standards. To avoid ethnocentrism while communicating in terms of internal trade is vital as it can cause major misunderstandings and substantial loss to a business deal. A dose of open mindedness can prove to be an effective remedy in this regard.

There are different useful methods to assess the efficient and deficient areas of competitor’s territory.

In order to deal with competitors the company has to perform usually four steps.

1. Identification of the competitors.
2. Ascertain the characteristics of competitors such as:
3. Strategies.
4. Objectives.
5. Strength and weakness.
6. Reaction pattern.

Several points must be taken into consideration while making a wise assessment to beat the competitions.

Identification:

1. The first step should be to recognize the matrices of all relevant competitors in the market so you can make an accurate design and study material for managing the whole process of analysis.
2. You can easily examine competitors by considering various levels such as_ brand, industry, form, generic or by looking at the competition from an industry and a marketing point of view.

Strategies:

1. Identification of the successful products and services, are provided by the competitors to customers.
2. Determine the pricing strategies and terms of different offerings to both industrial and individual customers.
3. The terms and conditions on what the competitors are negotiating with suppliers and distributors.
4. Take a look on current and potential channels of distribution are being utilized by the competitors.
5. Make an assessment on the profitable marketing tools such as_ direct marketing, sales promotions, advertising and personal selling.

Objectives:

1. 1. The company has to take a look on the matter that what is the each competitor seeking in the market place and what drives each competitor behavior.
   2. Different competitors presume some mix of objectives: current profitability, market share growth, cash flow, technological leadership, service leadership, Knowing how a competitor weigh each objective, that will help the company in anticipating its reaction.

Strength and weakness:

1. Analysis of techniques, methods, processes and procedures are employed by the competitors for the satisfaction and attraction of existing and potential customers.
2. Scrutinize the competitor’s advantages that provide the basis for survival in both high growth industry and nitty-gritty world of business.
3. Look at the number of shares that are held and acquired by competitors.
4. Examine the level of loyalty of existing customers towards competitor’s offering_ products and services.
5. Try to make the most of competitors’ weakness while keeping on the track of their strengths.
6. The possible grounds on what the competitors are considered as superior or inferior to other competitors of the industry.
7. Bench marked the competitors against the world class organization to highlight their position in the metrics companies which are expected to procure more profit or loss in the future.

Reaction pattern:

1. Each competitor has a certain philosophy of doing business, a certain internal culture and certain guiding beliefs.
2. Most of the competitors fall into one of four categories.

• The laid-back competitors.
• The selective competitors.
• The tiger competitors.
• The stochastic

c. The company should consider its competitors’ reaction pattern so that right decision can be taken at the right place in the right time.