Going Beyond Curiosity: Cultural Intelligence on the Thoughtful Travel Podcast
I met Amanda Kendle when I cold emailed her to ask if I could be on her podcast, The Thoughtful Travel Podcast. She was gracious enough to invite me on her podcast, and I enjoyed the conversation and learning a little more about her unique experiences living and traveling around the world. I originally was a guest on episode #358, Solo Travel For Women.
In this new episode, we did something a little different. She asked if we could record her 2-hour Individual Intercultural Training, including a debrief of her cultural intelligence assessment. We did just that, and it created an opportunity to explore what cultural intelligence actually looks like in practice, as a skill set. Amanda did a great job editing the session into a 24 minute episode.
As you can hear in the episode, we start by talking about cultural values and also go through the details of the 4 dimensions of cultural intelligence. Amanda was open and honest about her life experiences, and she showed a lot of wisdom when got to CQ Strategy. Interestingly, she spoke about how she often follows her intuition for how to adapt and interact cross-culturally, which is usually accurate, but she rarely actually plans ahead for cross-cultural interactions. It never occurred to her that she could plan ahead for those types of interactions.
We spent time discussing what to do with cultural knowledge once you have it. How can increased awareness improve everyday communication? How can travelers use cultural intelligence to build more meaningful connections? And how can this mindset extend beyond travel into work, relationships, and community life?
One of my favorite parts of the conversation was exploring how cultural intelligence isn’t about “getting it right” or becoming an expert in every culture. It’s about curiosity, humility, and adaptability. It’s about recognizing your own cultural lens, understanding that others see the world differently, and learning how to bridge those differences with respect.
I’m grateful for the chance to share this conversation and to collaborate in such an open, reflective way. If you’d like to experience the Individual Intercultural Training featured in this episode, you can schedule a session today and start building the cultural awareness and confidence needed to navigate cross-cultural experiences with intention.
