Communication For International Business

Rus Slater

• Publisher: William Collins
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9780008133832
• eBook ISBN: 9780008133849
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Business

The communicating secrets that experts and top professionals use.

1.1

Listen to and for the ‘prepared speech’

When people are communicating in a non-native language they often prepare far more, and are much less spontaneous, than if they were talking in their mother tongue. One common element of this is a prepared speech which they may actually read from a script or they may have rehearsed to the point of memory.

There are several ways that you can tell when someone is reciting a prepared speech:

▪ They tend to plunge straight in with the minimum of ‘phatic’ communication.

▪ They tend to speak quite quickly with few pauses or hesitations.

▪ There is seldom any ‘um’ or ‘er’ in their speech.

▪ The delivery tends to be quite monotone with little modulation.

▪ If they are interrupted, they tend to lose the flow of what they were saying.

Listening to prepared speeches can be quite annoying for many people; the characteristics listed above don’t make interesting listening and the delivery style prevents (or at least discourages) you from asking any questions. However …

“To listen well is as powerful a means of communication and influence as to talk well” John Marshall, Chief Justice US Supreme Court, 1801–35

A prepared speech provides the speaker with a huge amount of psychological comfort that they are making their mark on the dialogue. It gives the speaker confidence that he or she is ‘present’ and contributing, when they may be struggling with unfamiliar words, phrases and sentence structure. If there are others involved in the dialogue who have the same concerns, it establishes a degree of camaraderie. So if you are on the receiving end of a clearly prepared speech and you find it annoying and are concerned that it is taking up time that could be spent on more pressing matters, tough it out!

▪ Listen.

▪ Thank the speaker.

▪ Summarize what you heard.

▪ Ask if others agree, or ask what parts they agree with.

▪ Offer you own opinions.

This may make initial meetings a little slow but in the longer run it will pay dividends as people recognize that they can communicate with confidence in a language which to them may be foreign.

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Think about more than just the message people are giving you, be considerate of their need to be listened to.

1.2

‘Look’ for the indicators of cultural differences

Biologically all humans may be the same but our cultures are different across the globe. When you are communicating with people from a culture different to your own you need to be constantly looking out for signs that a cultural difference may be getting in the way of the message you are trying to get across.

Consider the areas where there may be different expectations or levels of comfort:

▪ Forms of address. The practice of using people’s first or given names varies from country to country. There are also differences regarding the use of titles with family names. Try to check before you meet/talk/contact someone. If you can’t find out in advance, ask at the opening of the communication.

▪ Greetings. Culturally appropriate greetings are immensely diverse. Different cultures expect or eschew different forms of handshake, kisses and ‘air-kisses’ (one, two or three?), hugs and bows. The exchange of business cards at a greeting is also culturally important to many peoples but of little consequence to others – make a mistake and the whole relationship starts on the wrong foot.

▪ Physical contact. In some cultures it is a friendly gesture to pat someone on the back or touch their arm, elbow or shoulder during a conversation. In other cultures this is seen as overly familiar or invasive, either can lead to embarrassment.

▪ Self-aggrandizement. In many cultures self-confidence is a positive plus, but in others a more humble, self-effacing attitude is more acceptable.

▪ Taking an interest in a person’s private life. Seen as evidence of caring in some cultures, in others it is seen as prying until or unless you are well acquainted.

You will be less likely to make any cultural faux pas if you find out, in advance, about the cultural ‘norms’ of the people you are going to interact with.

Whether or not you do, look out for signs that you may have committed a potentially embarrassing boob:

▪ Someone frowning when you wouldn’t expect them to be.

▪ A sudden silence immediately after you say or do something.

▪ A physical reaction such as a person pulling away from you.

▪ Monosyllabic answers to questions that would normally elicit more response.

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Don’t try to replicate the other party’s cultural style; this may come over as patronizing and mimicry. Simply be aware of the differences and avoid causing embarrassment.

1.3

Check for real understanding

Over the years numerous comedy sketches and real-life anecdotes have produced belly laughs or awkward situations based upon a simple lack of understanding of cross-cultural communication. The problem is sometimes simply that one party clearly doesn’t understand the other and sometimes it is due to both parties having a clear understanding but the understandings being different.

Here are some DOs and DON’Ts to help you ensure that you avoid the situation that I (and countless others) fell into:

DOs

▪ Allow extra time to brief people who are not native speakers of your own language.

▪ Issue your input in short chunks.

▪ Get them to explain back to you their understanding of the task, situation, standard or resources after each ‘chunk’.

▪ Allow them time to make notes – the bluntest of pencils is better than the sharpest of minds when trying to remember something you heard in a foreign language.

▪ Once you have finished, get them to summarize to you their understanding.

DON’Ts

▪ Assume that you can brief a non-native speaker in the same time that you can brief native speakers. Be aware that this may create tensions if you are briefing the two ‘types’ of people together.

▪ Ask ‘closed’ qualifying questions: ‘OK, does everyone understand/agree with that?’ You are almost bound to get a resounding ‘Yes.’

▪ Don’t take silence to equal consent/acceptance.

▪ Leave it too long before you check that instructions are being carried out.

case study In the 1980s I was a young officer in the British Army. Attached to my unit was a unit of Gurkha specialists. At the end of a briefing the team, including the Gurkha in charge, went off to join their men and get on with the tasks they had been given. Several hours later I visited the Gurkha team and found that nothing had been done at all. I asked the senior chap if he had understood his instructions, ‘Yes, Sir,’ he replied. So I asked if he was now able to get on with the job in hand, ‘Yes, Sir,’ he replied. But he didn’t move to start. So I asked what the problem was. ‘Yes, Sir,’ he replied again. It dawned on me that he was too proud to admit that he hadn’t understood the instructions and I had been too dozy to realise that I wasn’t being a very good communicator.

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Leave nothing to chance; check that everyone has a common understanding.

1.4

Learn about their situation

When you are in the same office, talking to a person face to face, it is easier to understand their situation. When you are communicating with someone in a different country, it is easy to forget that their situation may be completely different to yours. This will probably have an effect on their perception of you and your message.

You may be sitting in your office in Europe or North America in the late morning. You are surrounded by colleagues sitting at their workstations in a large open-plan office. Everyone is wearing a suit and tie. The air conditioning is humming quietly in the background. You have your screen on your desk in front of you showing the latest figures. Outside the window you can see snow on the ground. You are on the phone talking to a colleague in another country. What is their environment like? Do you know?

Your colleague could be talking to you as she walks around the production facility. There could be m...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• 1 Listen and look
• 2 Say and write
• 3 Technology and media
• 4 Taking the environment into account
• 5 Netiquette
• 6 Intercontinental differences
• 7 Communicating with a remote team
• Footnotes
• Jargon buster
• About the Book
• About the Author
• About the Publisher