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Learn 20 (or more!) Words of the Local Language Before You Travel!
By Dave Archer of International Business Trainers
One of the best pieces of advice I can offer is to learn 20 words (50 is even better!) of the local language before you visit a foreign land on a business trip.
This does NOT mean chuckling while using the worn-out cliché “dos cerveza por favor” from trips past on beach holidays while doing business in Mexico. Instead, it means making an effort to learn some words beyond asking for the restaurant bill or where the bathroom is.
Why? There are two main reasons. One is that it will help you to better understand what is happening around you. At least as important, however, is that the effort you make to communicate in the local language demonstrates your interest in – and respect for – the culture of the people you’re planning on doing business with. And in high-context cultures (that is, where words are only one component of a complex communication structure) mutual respect underpins the relationships that are critical to business success.
If you want to converse with the locals, you are going to make some mistakes. One of my most embarrassing happened one day early in the process of learning Spanish, when I was eating lunch in a beachside hut in Costa Rica. A guy came pedaling his bike in at top speed, leaned it against a pole holding up the grass roof, ran down to the beach, dove into the ocean and swam away as fast as he could. Some time later he came back, out of breath but no longer in a rush, and began chatting with some of the locals. So, I thought I would interject by calling him “Iron Man”. Hmmm, I didn’t know the word for iron, but I thought I knew how to say steel in Spanish (“Steel Man” was close enough, or so I thought), so I said “Hey, hombre de aceite!”. The people started to laugh, but then looks of bewilderment came over their faces. The trouble was that steel is actually “acero”, not “aceite”. So instead of “Steel Man”, I called him “Oil Man”! But he knew my intentions were good and he didn’t take offense … and the people there were very friendly and helped me to continue learning Spanish from then on.
Start out with the social graces, such as “hello”, “my name is…”, “thank you”, etc. Some of the phrases you might also learn include: “I really like your country”, “what a nice facility”, “what a beautiful location”, “your product is very impressive” etc. And to help you add words to your vocabulary as you go, learn how to ask what something is by pointing at it: “what’s that called?”. You will find that people are very happy to help when they know that you’re interested in them.
Learning enough about the history, culture, current events, and famous people from a country or region helps you to ask good questions that demonstrate your genuine interest in your counterpart. “I remember when (name a person) won an Olympic medal – there must have been a big celebration here” would certainly evoke pride and happy memories from a potential business partner – and pleasant surprise that you know about it.
Remember, building relationships with potential business partners is critical to your success – especially in high-context cultures (almost everywhere outside North American and western Europe) where you must often establish a personal relationship before doing business. Learning the basics of another language will help you to build your relationships faster – and achieve business success more rapidly.
Copyright International Business Trainers, a Division of ATM Export Management Inc., a company dedicated to helping its clients to sell internationally. All rights reserved. Dave Archer, President & Founder can be reached at dave@ibtrainers.com or by phone at +1 705 735 3397.
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