Intercultural Training and the Iceberg Model

The Iceberg Model of Culture: Understanding Visible and Invisible Culture

During intercultural training, many people ask, “What is culture?” How can it be defined? What analogies can be used to describe it?”

So, as an exercise, we usually ask participants to think about what culture means to them. What picture can they draw to describe it?

Whether they draw a tree, a cauldron, a plate of food, or a tapestry, they are all valid, as culture means different things to different people.

In essence, what they are trying to describe is something that is made up of lots of things and is multifaceted.

What Is Culture? Understanding the Iceberg Model of Culture

Within intercultural training, though, there is one model or analogy of the concept of culture that most agree sums up the concept best, and that is the iceberg.

The iceberg perhaps lends itself best to this, as it so graphically demonstrates the idea of having both a visible and invisible structure.

Furthermore, the fate of the Titanic, whose crew failed to appreciate the true size of the unseen part of the iceberg, adds another dimension in illustrating to people within intercultural training what can happen when this is ignored.

Why the Iceberg Model Is Used to Explain Culture

The iceberg, as mentioned above, has the visible tip. These are the areas of culture that we can see manifest in the physical sense. In addition, more often than not, these are the elements that we come into contact with first when diving into a new country or culture.

Such “visible” elements include things such as music, dress, dance, architecture, language, food, gestures, greetings, behaviours, devotional practices, art, and more.

In addition, it can also relate to behaviours such as seeing people ignoring red traffic lights, spitting on the floor, smoking in public or queuing for a bus. All, depending on your own culture, may come across as weird, strange, rude, ignorant, or simply silly.

None of the visible elements can ever make real sense without understanding the drivers behind them, and these are hidden on the bottom side of the iceberg, the invisible side. It is these invisible elements that are the underlying causes of what manifests on the visible side.

So, when thinking about culture, the bottom side of the iceberg will include things such as religious beliefs, worldviews, rules of relationships, approach to the family, motivations, tolerance for change, attitudes to rules, communication styles, comfort with risk, how to manage conflict, the difference between public and private, gender differences, and more.

Example of the Iceberg Model: Why the British Queue

So, for example, why do the English queue for everything, including ice creams?

This relates to their approach to fairness, justice, order, and individual rights. The rationale behind the queue is that those who get there first should, by rights, be served first or get on the bus first. Many other cultures simply do not queue in this manner, as it is not part of their cultural programming.

It is for the reasons of clarity that the iceberg model has become so popular. As one can see from the brief example above it perfectly demonstrates the idea of an unseen world manifesting in many different ways in the seen.

Learn More Through Cultural Awareness Training

Understanding culture requires looking beyond what is immediately visible. While food, language, and customs are often the first things we notice, it is the deeper values, beliefs, and assumptions beneath the surface that truly shape how people think, behave, and communicate.

For professionals working across cultures, developing the ability to recognise and interpret these hidden influences can make a significant difference in building trust, avoiding misunderstandings, and working more effectively. If you would like to develop these skills further, explore our cultural awareness training course, designed to help international professionals navigate cultural differences and succeed in global business environments.

Photo of ice cream van in London by Florencia Viadana on Unsplash