Business Communication Today: An Analysis (part 5)

Communicating Interculturally
by:
Charles Lamson

Wriiting Clearly

In addition to learning the preferred style of your communication partners, When sending written communication to businesspeople rom another culture, familiarize yourself with their written communication preferences and adapt your approach, style and tone to meet their epectations. To help you prepare effective written communications for multicultural audiences, follow these recommendations:

• Use simple, clear language. Use precise words that do not have the potential to convey multiple meanings. For eample, the word rich has at least half a dozen different meanings whereas wealthy has exctly one, leaving no room for ambiguity.
• Be brief. Use simple sentences and short paragraphs, breaking information into smaller chunks that are easier for your reader to capture and translate.
• Use transitional elements. Help readers follow your train of thought by using transitional words nd phrases. Precede related points with epressions such as "in addition" and "first, second and  third."\]
• Address interational correspondance properly. Be on the lookout for different address elements and salutations commonly used in foreign countries.
• Cite numbers and dates carefully. In the United States, 12-05-16 means December 5, 2016, but in France, Germny and many other countries it means May 12, 2016. Dates in Japan and China are usually expressed with the year first, followed by the month, then the day. Therefore, to write about December 5, 2016 in Japan, write it 2016-12-2016. Similarly, 1.000 means one with three decimal places in the United States and Great Britain, but means 1 thousand in many European countries.
• Avoid slang and idiomatic phrases and business jargon. Every day speech and writing is full of slang and idiomatic phrases, phrases that mean more than the sum of their literal parts. Many of these informal usages are so deeply ingrained that you may not even be aware that you are using them. Examples from U.S. English include phrases like "Face the music", "Off the top of my head" and "Crossing the finish line." Your foreign correspont may have no idea what you are talking about when you use such phrases.
• Avoid humor and other references to poular culture. If your everyday business correspondance is sprinkled with jokes, references to TV shows and other cultural tidbits, make a conscious effort to avoid these when writng to people from another culture (Business Communication Today 8th ed. by Courtland L. Bovee and John V. Thill; pgs. 76 - 77).

Speaking Clearly

 Whether you are traveling to another country or teaming up with someone who is visiting or immigrating to your country, chances are good that sometime in your career, you will need to converse with people whose native language is different from yours.

These guidelines will help you be more effective with intercultural conversation:

• Speak slowly and clearly. Your listener may need to consciously work through several steps - steps that you do automatically and nearly instantly in your language - from decoding what the sounds mean, to translating individual words, to even rearrangng the order of words in a sentence, if necessary.
• Do not rephrase unless it is necessary. A common mistake is quickly rephrasing a statement or question if you think the other pperson does not immediately grasp what you have just said. Rather than helping, this often makes the situation worse because your listener now has two sets of words to translate and comprehend. Be paitient while he or she tries to extract the meaning from your message. If you get a clear sign that he or she does not understand what you have said, then try another angle. And when you rephrase, choose simpler words and more concrete language. Do not fall into the mistake of simply saying the same thing again but louder.
• Look for - and ak for - feedback. Be alert to signs of confusion in your listener. Realize that nods and smiles do not necessarily mean understanding. If the other person's body language seems at odds with the flow of conversation, ask questions to see if your message is getting through.

• Do not talk down to the other person. Try not to overpronunciate. Do not simplify sentences to the point of spouting gibberish and do not get frustrated with the listener for not undertanding;
• Learn foreign phrases. Learn common greetings and a few basic phrases in the other person's native language. Even something as simple as knowing how to say "please" and "thank you" in the other language will show your good intentions and respect for others.
• Clarify what will happen next. At the end of the conversation be sure that you and tre other person agree on what has been said and decided. If appropriate, follow up by writing a letter or a memo that summarizes the conversation and thanks the person for meeting with you.(Bovee, Thill; pgs. 77 -80).

End