A conversation with your supervisor

1
A conversation with your supervisor

• Barbara E. Hanna
• QUT Languages Centre
• Faculty of Business

2
Surviving and thriving in a cultural overlap
Strategies for intercultural communication

• The search for common ground
• Verification of comprehension

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Common ground

• The search for common ground.
• The belief that we already are working on common
  ground.
• Two sad stories.
• Haircuts
• Conclusions

4
Haircuts

• Two quite different looks

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Conclusions

• My essay
• Introduction Explain what I will do.
• Body Do what I said I would do
• Conclusion Explain what I did.

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Verification of comprehension

• Anthony Pym We cant rely on shared knowledge,
  intercultural communication is characterized by
  high levels of negotiation.
• If you dont say that you dont understand, how
  can the supervisor tell?

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Some strategies for your intercultural
communication with your supervisor

• Search for the common ground your project!
• But make sure that it is common ground do you
  and your supervisor(s) share the same
  understanding of it?

8
Some norms of cultural communication

• Expectations about the supervisor-candidate
  relationship.
• High context v. low context
• Indirectness
• Trust transparency

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Expectations about supervisor-candidate
relationship

• Another supervisors experience
• The idea that our Australian PhD theses are
  written with only the students name (without any
  reference to the supervisor except in
  acknowledgement!) is a cultural shock to many of
  my students.
• What would you like to call your supervisor?
• Jill? Professor? Maam?
• Bill? Dr Blinky? Sir?
• How do you think of your supervisor?
• Fellow author?
• Guide? Mentor? Coach? Counsellor? Life coach?
  Friend? Colleague?
• Supervisor as someone to help you do your
  independent research project.
• Someone who is available who expects that you
  want to see him/her who will advise but
  shouldnt boss you around.
• Someone whose experience you should respect, but
  who doesnt need lavish praise.

10
High context v low context

• Official Australian university communication is
  low context the information is all out there,
  and is available to everyone
• Upset student from Poland, studying in Australia.
• The QUT Helpdesk sent me away to look at the
  website.
• Upset student from Melbourne, studying in France
• No-one got all the information.

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Indirectness

• Situation number one
• Scene A restaurant
• Australian tourist I think Ill have the steak.
• American waiter Well, Ill come back when youve
  made up your mind.
• Situation number two
• Scene A university office
• Australian supervisor So you might and this is
  just an idea you might want to have a bit of a
  think about maybe doing a few interviews.
• Student Mmmm.
• Scene A university tea room
• Supervisor to colleague That student isnt very
  interested. I suggested he do some interviews and
  he really didnt seem interested at all.

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Trust - transparency

• Accountability
• Intellectual property
• Ethical clearance
• Its not that the university thinks YOU will do
  the wrong thing rather, administration likes to
  see the right thing being done.

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Personal variation within cultures

• More matters to negotiate
• What is your supervisors preferred method of
  communication?
• How quickly do you both reply?
• Who should set up meetings?
• Where should meetings take place?
• Whose responsibility is it to do the language
  correction work?

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After the conversation two unwise strategies

• Accept everything that (you think) your
  supervisor said because he or she must be right,
  even if it doesnt seem right to you.
• Reject everything that (you think) your
  supervisor said because it doesnt seem right to
  you.

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Your mission for the week

• Making sure that you and your supervisor(s) have
  the same understanding of your project and how
  you will be doing it.