New cross-cultural online video! Going somewhere this summer? Maybe across some international borders? Or maybe expecting a visit from someone from another culture? Well, it’s a good idea to get to know ahead of time what the cultural idiosyncrasies are where you’re going. It’s also important, of course, to know the traits that visitors from other countries bring with them.

All that is another way of saying: Be careful not to surprise or embarrass others with unintentional gaffes—little behaviors that are normal to you but may be offensive or surprising—even shocking—to others. Such as? How about casually sitting on the edge of a desk or table while chatting with a friend? Or maybe using the “OK” sign (thumb and forefinger in a circle)? Thumbs up, meaning “Yesss!”? Ordering steak as an appetizer?

If you’d like to know where these blunders would be made, check out our new online video, which may help you and your students prepare for traveling to other cultures. Called “Cultural Gaffes Beyond Your Borders,” it’s an eight-minute show with vignettes illustrating cultural gaffes in many different cultures, with advice on how to avoid them. We hope you’ll find it entertaining, perhaps eye-opening, and helpful.

The new video is available free. Have a look and encourage your students to watch it, talk about it, and perhaps bring up cultural warnings they themselves know about from other places. And you’ll find out where not to sit on a desk or order your main course as your entrée.

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