Telling them before they go

Abstract

The founder of International Briefing was a missionary, and those who have any contact with the missionary work of the churches will understand why. The missionary, above all people, has to be absolutely acceptable to the people with whom he is trying to communicate. He is not bringing them wordly riches; and all he can do in the first place is to try to show that he is one of them and that he cares for them. He has not gone out to live in a foreign colony, in an enclosed compound, and he must not be cut off by an alien life‐style. I am sure that the discipline of briefing for a missionary movement has been of enormous value in briefing for more technical occupations. Missionaries understood about culture shock long before the term was invented. They understood that their personal privacy had ended, that their house was always open to all‐comers, not only from nine to five but in many countries around the clock. Even so, the missionary movement has had its drop‐outs: those who could not accept or assimilate to an alien culture.

Citation

Catherwood, F. (1975), "Telling them before they go", Education + Training, Vol. 17 No. 8, pp. 194-198. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb016384