Intercultural competencies are among the soft skills sought after by companies.
According to Ang and Van Dyne, intercultural competencies enable you to “function effectively in culturally diverse situations.”
In other words, they allow you to adapt and adjust your behavior based on your understanding of these situations.
The term is plural because intercultural competencies include four dimensions: metacognitive, cognitive, motivational, and behavioral.
Being able to understand the cultural background from which the other person communicates, as well as the values and behavioral norms influencing their practices, is essential for working in broad multicultural contexts.