When I asked what is culture to a group that I'm training, I get a variety of answers. often they'll say tradition, a way of life, beliefs, values, behavior. And indeed all of these things are true about culture. In just a few minutes, we're going to give you our definition of culture. But we want to do more than giving definitions of culture during this training session. We want to give you tools to know how to use culture, how to interpret it, and to make culture work for you using this triangle, I would like to make some observations about what it is to be a person.

We are all human. We think we're creative. We feel happiness and joy, pain and sadness. We have hopes and dreams. An interesting study was done showing that babies around the world like sugar water better than plain water, it didn't matter what Which country or what culture beyond water. There are deep connections of the soul which are significant.

There are connections that we make because we are all human. And before we start talking about differences, it's important to affirm the ways in which we connect their significant. They are the links that bind us together. In the US, we pay a lot of attention to personality assessments, there are many Myers Briggs and dis only to mention a few. You'll no doubt be taking some sort of assessment as you begin your studies. In the middle of the triangle is culture.

Culture is what we share with a group of people, but not with all humans. So we are different, not only by personality, but also by culture. We have been shaped to think, act and react by groups of people, the society around us Notice the lines between human nature and culture, and personality are not solid. They impact each other and at times blur together. We all feel anger from time to time. That's human nature.

And some of us may struggle with anger more than others. That's personality. It's also true that our culture's tell us when and how we should express anger. We all feel pride when we get a good grade on the exam. But our culture tells us if it's proper to tell others about those grades. In Japan, there's a saying that the nail that sticks up will be pounded down.

There's a lot of hesitancy to be projected above the crowd. While at DPS here in Delhi, the toppers of the class are given a green blazer to wear which makes them stand out apart. Notice in the triangle to the right that culture is smaller, and personality is bigger. In some cultures, personal decisions and beliefs are encouraged. People are more likely to express what they think and what they feel. To make choices that their family will disapprove of.

The US is a highly individualistic culture, where we're taught to speak our mind and to do our own thing. The singer Frank Sinatra summarized that in his song, I did it my way.