I Totally Misunderstood.

"I'll talk to my manager."

That's an answer I heard a lot as a young ad sales guy.

I had been in Asia only three months and was working for a magazine as an editor.

Or so I thought.

They needed me to double-up selling ads, and I was happy to give it a shot.

"Wow, she's going to talk to her manager! Looks like I got a sale!"

That's what I thought more times than I'd like to admit.

I had just moved from Las Vegas where if somebody didn't like what I was selling, they'd say so, bluntly.

I sold cars and suits there and had my fair share of brutal rejections.

Suddenly everybody in Singapore is a lot more friendly, it seemed.

Nobody ever said "no".

But what I didn't know is that Singapore is a lot more of a high-context society.

What is said is less important than how it's being said, or the context around it.

But I was used to low-context situations where if somebody didn't like it, they'd be blunt and direct.

In high-context cultures like Singapore, communication often involves reading between the lines.

"I'll talk to my manager" wasn't necessarily a positive sign.

It was a polite way of saying they weren't interested, without outright rejecting me.

It took me some time to understand this, and I missed many cues along the way.

Over time, I learned to decipher this gentler approach and learn the cultural differences better.

So, here's the lesson: when doing business in a different culture, take the time to understand their communication style.

And if you're from Singapore or another high-context culture and you go to Helsinki, New York City, or another to-the-point culture, don't be offended by their blunt approach.

Needless to say, I never heard back from her manager.