Marshall McLuhan said, The medium is the message. Nowhere is this truer than in cross-cultural communication. Cultures have unique preferences and bias toward oral versus written communication and face-to-face versus remote communication.

I came from an office in Dublin, Ireland, to work in an office in a large North American city. My expectation was that office processes would be fairly familiar. The big surprise was when someone in the same office had a question or comment for me; it would come by e-mail, even if the person was just two desks away. It seemed like such a waste of time and so impersonal. When I would step over to the desk of a colleague and ask a quick question, I sensed that I was breaking some unwritten rule.

Mutual funds professional from Dublin

Professionals in many other countries tend to prefer face-to-face communication, for the following reasons:

• Personal communication is preferred.

• It is quicker in many situations; one conversation can eliminate numerous e-mails.

• One is able to pick up nuances in body language and tone of voice that enhance understanding.

• It builds social cohesion in the office.

Professionals in North America tend to prefer e-mail, for the following reasons:

• Impersonal communication is often preferred.

• It reduces the number of interruptions (working without interruptions is thought to increase productivity).

• It allows the recipient to handle the question or message at the time and in the manner that best suits the person.

• It allows the recipient time...