From Newcomer to Insider: Navigating German-American Culture

"How to best navigate and understand German-American cultural differences."

The focus of this cross-cultural communications workshop is:

• Identifying and understanding German - American cultural differences and how to understand and live with them successfully!
• Navigating the dreaded small talk! Is it really necessary (?)…yes!
• Understanding American-German friendship building? Friendly – or friendships?
• Peeling back the layers of American society, its culture and colloquial language idioms better to be able to adapt to life in the United States.
• Maximizing communication, minimizing conflict and building better relationships personally and professionally when living and working in the United States as well when traveling to Germany.

The following topics will be discussed in detail:

• Differences in Communication Styles: Germans and Americans are both “direct” – but in very different ways. How can we understand both styles and avoid potential misunderstandings?
• English as a “Global” Language: How can we better understand and communicate when using American expressions and sports idioms? What does “You better step up to the plate in case something comes out of left field?” really mean? What are Americans really saying with some typical American expressions?
• Problem solving/conflict resolution approaches: How can we best differentiate and reconcile various approaches to problem solving and STILL solve the problem!

About Karen Fenner:

Karen Fenner is a cross-cultural expert, educator and lecturer with over 30 years of corporate and Higher-Ed experience, specializing in cross-cultural and language training for corporations and universities. Her programs have been used by companies ranging from Fortune 100 to the lower middle market. With deep expertise in cross-cultural and language topics she has lectured at numerous top ranked U.S. MBA and Executive MBA programs.

Karen Fenner’s expertise focuses on conflict management, especially in the arena of cross-cultural training and offers various educational seminars for executives and global managers ranging from one-on-one coaching to large group settings to helping families settle in the United States as well as in Germany. She specializes in German/American topics ranging from language to cross-cultural management, and has been a frequent guest lecturer at German universities. In addition, she brings with her significant experience working with Asian cultures specifically regarding inter-cultural global team collaboration.

She is the founder and CEO of Globally Speaking, an internationally focused cross-cultural consultancy offering companies intercultural management training for over 30 years. Her focus is on providing companies and managers with cross-cultural tools to effectively bridge cultural and language barriers fostering productive and successful global teams.

Karen is also the Director of the German Studies Program at The College of New Jersey in Ewing, NJ which she has led for the last 15 years. Under her leadership, a thriving German language department has been built with new curriculum, relevant global topics, as well as frequent guests in the classroom from the German business community including German companies, politicians and government organizations.

Originally from Hamburg, Germany, she moved to the United States as a young student giving her the opportunity to grow up in a bi-lingual/bi-cultural environment. This cross-cultural upbringing, her

international education, teaching experience as well as working with global clients give her unique insight in helping students and business managers alike understand the value of language and cultural acquisition. She is a passionate educator who sees enabling people to learn a language, learn about new cultures as well as transcend cultural barriers as incredibly rewarding.

Karen is currently a member of the Board of Directors of The German Society of Pennsylvania and is a former member of the Board of the German-American Chamber of Commerce of Philadelphia. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in German Studies with a concentration in International Studies from Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA. She studied Germanic Studies and Political Science at the Universität Würzburg and received her Masters Degree in Germanic Studies from New York University (NYU) in New York City. She and her husband live in Bucks County, PA and are very proud of their three grown children.