In 1983, one year later, when Gary penned ‘Communication’, international dealings relied on extremely rare face to face contact, the occasional very expensive phone call, and maybe just maybe, a new-fangled fax.
Nowadays of course, the world’s a lot smaller – whether we mean in terms of our ability to live, work or holiday on the other side of the globe, or the ease with which we can access the people living there.
As Gary so sagely noted, Communication can unfortunately let us all down – especially when we’re working with colleagues who hail from different lands.
Let people see your mouth when you speak. Bizarre, but it helps a non-native speaker understand and of course they feel special as you’re actually deigning to look at them.
In the same vein, we in Blighty often dissolve tension with humour. But do they? Will they think you don’t care? There is an argument that says “Well, they’ll need to get used to it if they’re living over here.” But if you’re talking in a native speaker’s own country, the rules of the game are no longer yours to decide. Just bear… OK, you know the rest.
Remember that, yes, a smile is an internationally understood gesture of positivity, and you won’t go far wrong by continuing to use one. But also remember that experts have identified up to 13 kinds of smile in Thailand – which convey very different nuances!
We’re assuming, here, that the communication is face-to-face, of course. But is it always the best option? And it’s certainly not always practical if your colleagues are abroad.
Never underestimate the pressure felt by a non-native speaker using the phone. Video conference is much more user-friendly, but if you have to use the phone, it’s obviously worth slowing down a little. And using what we in training call CCQs (Concept Checking Questions) – basically getting your correspondent to re-state or summarise what’s been decided in his or her own words. Measure twice, cut once as my Dad used to say. Not rocket science, is it?
But you take my point. That’s what they prefer, that’s what the young whippersnappers are familiar with, and that’s what they want to use. Embrace the difference, Shimwell, rather than fight against it. There must be something in it.
Emailing and DM-ing (yes, I had to look it up) are much more prevalent nowadays. But although we have emojis to help replace facial expressions that normally show humour, warmth, irony or gentle admonishment, Arial Size 11 does not. Could your message be misconstrued?
When writing to anyone that you don’t have regular human contact with, think twice about subtle or subliminal messages. Maybe review your text before you press send! Act in haste, repent at leisure. No, my Dad didn’t say that.
Well, that’s the end of the Communications dispatch. Anybody out there had any international communication nightmares for one reason or another?
Watch out for the mega twist at the end. Magic!
السابق: Deck the halls with boughs of holly… ’tis the season to be jolly!