Speaking of India: Bridging the Communication Gap When Working with Indians

by Craig Storti, Ranjini Manian (Foreword)

"Storti's cultural observations about India are spot on." - Ranjini Manian, CEO, Global Adjustments and author of Doing Business in India for Dummies

Westerners and Indians are working more closely together and in greater numbers than ever before. The opportunities are vast, but so is the cultural divide.

Misunderstandings and frustration due to cultural differences wreak havoc on success. In this revised edition of Speaking of India , author and intercultural communications expert Craig Storti attempts to ease the frustration, and bring cultural understanding in business and life.

With a new foreword by Ranjini Manian, author of Doing Business in India for Dummies , the book also features new content on managing remotely, and the results of a five-year cultural survey. With more than a dozen years of experience working between the two cultures, Storti has identified key cultural flashpoints and the result is a powerful series of Best Practices , which is the basis of Speaking of India .

Genres: India, Business, Nonfiction, Self Help

228 pages, Paperback

First published September 19, 2007

Reviews

[Liz Licata · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was apprehensive when I picked this book up. It’s not a large book, and it’s written by a white man. How much useful information could really be in here? Turns out, a decent amount.

Storti immediately acknowledges that he is not an expert in Indian culture. He is rather an expert on communication. That means he will be dealing with *perceptions* of Indian culture and communication, rather than their reality. This is an important point. Interpretation is a major part of communication, and if the sender and receiver do not interpret things in the same way, miscommunication is inevitable.

To me (and whoever left sticky tabs in the book), the meat of the book is chapter three: “Yes, No, and Other Problems”. Storti states that Indian communication has a different purpose than Western communication. It is designed primarily to promote harmony, avoid offense, and save face. This means that it comes across as indirect.

For instance, the word “no” is often considered to be too blunt for polite conversation, therefore Indians don’t use it. They instead use a lot of other techniques to indicate disagreement *without ever saying no*.

I realized that the one and only time I was in India (not for work. This was before we had contracted Amnet, I believe), this happened several times and I thought the people I was talking to agreed with me because they never outright said no. If nothing else, this book made several experiences in my life make more sense.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone. As globalization expands, it is important to learn how to communicate with others. Speaking of India is a good starting point for that.

[Sam Rice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful but somewhat repetitive and slightly outdated practical guide to working with Indians from the Western perspective. The author takes great pains to ensure the reader knows that these cultural differences have real, understandable sources, which is nice but may be a source of repetitiveness. Also the book was written in 2015 before COVID changed the workplace significantly, so some of its assumptions and sections are no longer as relevant as they once were (e.g. “conference calls” vs. “video conferencing”). That said, worth a quick read.

[Suzy K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found the book enlightening and very useful. It offers a “decoder” for interactions and allows me to appreciate and better understand my colleagues in India. A bit repetitive at times, but I appreciated how they wrapped up each chapter with useful takeaways. Chapter 3 was seriously the most useful out of the entire book.

[Ioana · Rating 5 out of 5]

An eyeopener and a must for anyone with western culture, who works with Indians

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Focused, practical, seemingly well-researched cross-cultural analysis. Might be helpful if you’re working cross cultures in India as well to understand how Westerners see you.

[Christen Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

must read

Brilliant dive into differences we see in working styles. Highly recommend to those on international teams or traveling to India

[Samantha Samayoa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book could use an update. My biggest complaint is that it assumes that the “Westerners” will always be in the managerial role overseeing people from India, and ignores the fact that Indian leaders exist. I would have loved more insights on working alongside and for people from India. Other than that, there were some useful tidbits here and there about Indian culture, communication styles, etc. that have been very helpful insights to me while working for an Indian company.

[Sarah Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for understanding many of the cultural differences between India and the West that play out in the workplace and elsewhere. I found the chapters on "the meaning of no" and Indian management styles / hierarchy in the workplace particularly insightful. As an American, it helped me adjust to working for an Indian company in Bombay.

[Gingeraltoids · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was helpful to me in working with software development teams located in India. It clued me in to some common sources of cultural and language misunderstandings, and therefore helped me successfully avoid/mitigate those effects. I would definitely recommend it to anyone working with Indian teams.

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me awhile to finish since I read it sporadically but this is a solid read and useful study of differences in between India and the West in regards to communication style. Particularly helpful are the chapters that cover common obstacles to overcome when the west and Indians communicate with one another. Recommended to anyone who works with Indians, especially when on remote teams.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a lot of interesting information in here and the author clearly knows what he's talking about. But there's also a lot of padding. It feels like an article that was stretched into a book. Well worth reading, however.

[Brianaustin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wouldn't recommend it unless you're working with business partners in India, but if that's your situation, this is a decent book. It's a quick read and has some great examples of how to avoid communication problems.

[Marshall Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learn why Indians shake their head 'no' when they mean yes. The sub title of this book is "Bridging the Communication Gap When Working with Indians". The bood does a good job of that.

[Alex Mrvaljevich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good points but starts going round and round the same topic again, I feel 30% of this book could have been cut without impact

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has good examples and insights. Amazing how different some team members fit the molds discussed and others, it doesn’t seem to apply.

[Damon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was very helpful when outsourced our accounting department to India.