Communicating Successfully In Today`s Global Marketplace, by K.C. Chan Herur, MBA

Please, Thank You and A Smile. That was the headline that a Chilean journalist chose to use for her article about my book, Communicating With Customers Around The World. While it usually takes a bit more to be able to communicate effectively with our customers and business partners (or friends) from around the world, she did summarize some of the key points that I recommend for our clients for successful global communication (see What To Know Before You Go.)

When I was a marketing manager at Sun Microsystems, a leading computer company in Silicon Valley, I was guilty of doing what many in a high-pressure deadline-driven high-technology environment do. Even though we are normally very nice and courteous (one manager in another large high-technology company said once: We don`t have time to be nice!), I remember dashing into a colleague`s office with a perfunctory "hi" and proceeding to discuss the business at hand. He very wisely, smiled and asked "How are you?" and really wanted to know the answer! That prompted me to smile, apologize for my abruptness and take time for a few minutes of social conversation before getting back to the product introduction discussion that I had launched into earlier.

In most countries around the world, especially in Asia and Latin America, people take time to nurture their relationship at every meeting before plunging into any business discussion. They take time to share photos and talk about their families, especially their children, the food and sights of the city and even the weather! They also use excuse me, please and thank you at least twice as often as most of us do in the U.S.

Learning From Kids. Other keys to successful global communication include: Patience, Adaptability & Flexibility. A great way to learn patience is to be around children. Ever since our sons came into our lives, my husband and I have had a crash course on patience, adaptability and flexibility. There are indeed many similarities between interacting with a child, especially a baby, and interacting with a business partner from another culture: Different languages, cultures, timing, importance of verbal versus nonverbal communication (High context versus low context.)

Learning From Our Customers. I was thrilled when one of our clients told us that our work together really made a difference in the way that they train and interact with their own Fortune 500 multinational clients. They started doing three things : 1. Finding out in advance the participants` name and home countries, 2. Practicing a few words from some of those countries, and 3. Decorating their training room with flags from the represented countries. Results: Their clients and participants loved their extra efforts! These folks are creative in many ways, not just in applying new knowledge, but also in strengthening partnerships. They invited managers from one of their major clients to join them in the staff training session that I had the pleasure to lead!