Business Communication for International Communicators
Don’t struggle with business communication when English is not your first language
So, you are global. Communication is high on the list of your priorities. Geography, culture and language can cause differences. It’s time to consider that even when team members speak the same language, differences in semantics, accents, tone, pitch and dialects can be obstacles to successful communication.
To address the potentially corrosive effects of poor communication, it is important to recognise that conducting business across international borders requires the development of specific skills.
To truly be an effective communicator operating within the global arena, it is essential to understand the countries and the cultures that you are communicating in. Each country and its culture is different, and what may be a successful technique for one part of the world may be disastrous for another.
Let’s have a look at an example of this:
There was a well known car manufacturer that was unsuccessful at marketing the “Pinto” car model in Brazil.
What the manufacturer had not realized was that “Pinto” is a slang term in Portuguese for “small parts (and we don’t mean the mechanical parts of a car) ”…
Not surprisingly, very few Brazilian men were willing to be associated with a pinto.
(The car manufacturer managed to save its investment by changing the name of the car to “Corcel”, Portuguese for “horse”).
“Think globally but act locally” is a catch phrase that could be perfectly applied to this situation.
To “act locally” means understanding the country’s cultural background and the language you are negotiating in. Being able to decode the small details (nuances) behind every word will facilitate the business relationship and avoid misunderstandings.
In so many circumstances, it is understandable why language is such an important issue in the workplace. In a multicultural environment, in many cases, there is no room for misunderstanding. Think for example of construction sites or hospitals, where what is said or not said can have life or death significance.
Language choice also has implications for management, HR and employee satisfaction, therefore it is important to encourage and promote better communication amongst workers who may speak different languages.
Now, if English is your choice of language in the work place I strongly recommend this ½ day workshop: Grammar On The Rocks™ - Better Grammar for Better Business. Even though it may seem a little scary to confess that your confidence in your grammar is a little low, it is a good thing to remember that grammar may have changed since we learnt it. Modern business grammar is not as strict as academic grammar. This workshop is a great way to refresh your grammar and learn about some of the modernisations that have happened like AND and BUT. Old grammar rules said you could not start a sentance with AND or BUT. But modern business grammar has changed this. As long as it’s in the right context. Test your grammar with our FREE grammar test or take a look at more about the workshop ‘Grammar On The Rocks™ - Better Grammar for Better Business‘.
If you are more concerned about your writing, our 2 day Writing Dynamics™ course may be worth considering. Writing Dynamics™ focusses on planning, drafting and editing. All too often we spend a little time (if any) planning, concentrate on drafting and then rush the editing (we’ve all got deadlines). Writing Dynamics™ gives you the tools, techniques and practice to change this. You will concentrate on the planning, you will draft dynamically and edit effectively, cutting down a lot of the time you spend writing. If you are among those who realise that poor written communication can be costing your business more than expected, this is an investment for life. You’ll increase your ability to write clearly, persuasively and effectively. Find out more about Writing Dynamics™ here.
While it’s essential that people are trained to speak in the work place in ways that clarify issues like safety, or write clearly to benefit customers, it’s also extremely important to remember that language has emotional resonance. In a multicultural environment, communication connects people with similar preference and tastes, and it gives them a base from which to focus on their similarities rather than their differences.
After all, different languages help people to think differently. A different language background brings a unique approach to the same problem, because language is one of the main thinking tools we have as human beings.
Our full communication skillls course list can be viewed here.
Tags: Global Communication, Grammar on The Rocks™ (Training), Teams (Multicultural), Writing Dynamics™ (Training)