Speaking Different Languages: May 2024

I’ve been very fortunate in my consulting career to have worked with clients in many different places around the world.? At last count, I’ve worked in 24 different countries and all continents except Antarctica (maybe one day…).? Every country had a unique culture, sometimes more than one, and many of these places spoke different languages from my own.

Some people have a natural “ear” for languages, and can quickly become passably fluent, particularly when the languages have a common root like Latin. ?Unfortunately, I’m not one of those people.? I managed to use my high school and university French on a project for a client in Paris, but I’m sure I was never mistaken for a local.? On another occasion I tried very hard to learn Japanese, and while I became able to speak and understand many phrases for various business and social situations, I would always be a gaijin in Japan.? Even my native English is often different.? I’ve worked in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Singapore, New Zealand, and Australia, and each place speaks their own versions of the King’s English.

Yet, business is global, and consulting is global.? To be a successful consultant, we often have to solve problems, conduct meetings, deliver speeches, and create presentations, with clients whose native language is different from our own.? In these situations, how do we best communicate effectively, so that we are understood and persuasive?? ???

Here are three tips…

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1.?????? Speak in shorter sound bites

The stereotypical advice given to English speakers in foreign countries is to speak slowly and loudly.? Of course, we know that’s not really correct, and rarely is it effective.?

However, one technique that does work when speaking in English with many international clients and colleagues is to speak in shorter sentences and sound bites, with more frequent pauses.? This gives your listener sufficient time to mentally translate your words into their own native language and absorb what you are saying.? If you do not allow for this additional mental processing time, you can be several points further along in your discussion while your listener is still trying to understand what you said many minutes ago.

This technique is also particularly important if using a third-person translator to speak with an audience that has no English capability.? Shorter sentences will be easier for your translator to process than long complex constructions.? Discrete sound bites of three or four sentences, with pauses afterward, enable your translator to understand your message and adequately express it in the listener’s language.

While you can use your rehearsals to slice and carve your prepared presentation materials into shorter and more discrete sound bites, it is often harder to remember to do so when responding interactively to questions.? For questions which you have not anticipated, you may be so engrossed in formulating your answer that you default back to a long, complex series of responses.? Remember to speak in shorter sound bites during Q&A also, allowing sufficient time for mental translation and understanding.

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2.?????? Ask a local consultant for help

Nowadays, we have a multitude of electronic tools which can help us with languages.? These tools can translate documents, street signs, restaurant menus, typed phrases, and live real-time speech, across dozens or hundreds of different languages.? These tools have made the world a more understandable place.

However, it would be wrong to rely exclusively on these electronic/AI/online translators. ?While powerful, they still can make mistakes, particularly when using industry-specific terms and acronyms, or idiomatic phrases which can mean different things.? It can easily lead to misunderstandings and embarrassments.

Instead, enlist the help of a consulting colleague in the international country, who is knowledgeable about the industry, local client and business situation.? Have an upfront discussion about your objectives, goals, and desired outcomes for the project so that you colleague has the needed context.? Then, use the available electronic tools to create first drafts of documents and presentations, and ask your local colleague to proofread and make corrections to align your translated materials with your objectives.

Your colleague can also help with local differences across presentation formats and styles.? PowerPoint slides in Japan, for example, have extensive details and a unique look and feel, well beyond the differences in language and written character sets.? A simple electronic translation of an English PowerPoint slide is not likely to impress a Japanese audience.

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3.?????? It’s not only language that’s different

Differences across countries go well beyond mere language.? The global consultant faces a multitude of ways to go wrong:

• Local business customs such as introductions and how quickly to get down to business.?
• Physical mannerisms and gestures like bowing, handshaking, cheek kissing, and waving.?
• Social obligations like gift giving, entertainment, drinking, and eating the local cuisine.?
• Whether, when, and how to exchange business cards.?
• Expectations around meeting start and finish times, and durations.

It’s a complicated world.

The effective global consultant should do extensive research prior to going to a country for the first time.? Learn some key phrases in the local language, and also about how that country and the specific client will expect to do business.? Talk with your colleagues in that country, and ask a lot of questions.

While many clients will forgive the occasional misstep, they will appreciate it more if you correctly adapt both to their language and culture.

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Conclusion

The two dogs in the title caption of this article are both dogs, but while the Labrador might say “Woof”, the Japanese dog will say “ワンワン”which sounds like “Wan Wan”.? ?Other dogs in other countries each bark in their different native languages.? I doubt, however, it causes much difficulty for them down at the dog park.? The animals probably understand each other perfectly well.

Consultants aren’t so fortunate.? To work with clients in other countries, we have to hold meetings, deliver presentations, and make ourselves understood across many different languages and cultures.? To be effective, speak in shorter sentences and sound bites.? Enlist the help of local colleagues and don’t rely exclusively on electronic translators.? And remember that there’s a lot more than language differences across different cultures and business practices.?

You’ll be a better global consultant.? And you’ll be able to be understood by all the various canine breeds down at the dog park.

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Did you like this article?? What things have you learned about being a better consultant?? Contact me at [email protected].

Scott Frederick is Managing Director of Barkley Services, providing short term or part-time consulting services in business analytics, sales and marketing, business strategy and planning, change management, and process automation and outsourcing.? Prior to starting Barkley Services, Scott was a Partner at Accenture and IBM Global Business Services.? Scott is based in Brisbane Australia and has over 30 years’ experience in management consulting.