Rus Slater - Communication For International Business

Contents

With over 15 years experience as a line manager, associate and independent consultant Rus Slater can bring performance improvement to most individuals and teams in most situations and sectors.

The communication secrets that experts and top professionals use.

Get results fast with this quick, easy guide to the fundamentals of communication for international business.

Includes how to:

Listen and look

Say and speak

Use technology and media

Take the environment into account

Use Netiquette

Negotiate intercontinental differences

Communicate with a remote team

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The world is getting smaller. Most of us will probably have clients, or suppliers, in another country at some time or other.

And if we dont well probably belong to a business community of practice that is global. The way we communicate across these boundaries can make the difference between success and failure.

With this book you should be able to communicate effectively with colleagues, suppliers and customers who come from different cultures, speak different native languages and live in different environments to your own. The chapters are:

It is easy to cause offence if you dont understand the people you are communicating with. But if you understand them, you can be as successful as if you were communicating with your own family.

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 dont 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, 180135

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.

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

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 peoples 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 cant 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 persons private life . Seen as evidence of caring in some cultures, in others it is seen as prying until or unless you are well acquainted.