Kommunikation und Zusammenarbeit in internationalen Teams. Verhandlungen auf Englisch führen, selbstbewusst auf Englisch telefonieren und korrespondieren.
E-Book, Deutsch, 280 Seiten, E-Book
Reihe: Haufe Fachbuch
ISBN: 978-3-648-16933-9
Verlag: Haufe
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Wasserzeichen (»Systemvoraussetzungen)
Der richtige Ausdruck im entscheidenden Moment kann viel bewirken. Mit diesem Englisch-Buch sorgen Sie dafür, dass Ihnen nie mehr die Worte fehlen! Wichtige Textbausteine, nützliche Phrasen und Vokabeln sind übersichtlich und thematisch sortiert aufgelistet. Dabei wird auch zwischen britischem und amerikanischem Englisch unterschieden – schließlich bestimmen oft Kleinigkeiten den Ausgang einer Verhandlung.
Auf Englisch erfolgreich Geschäfte anbahnen, in Kontakt bleiben und Meetings führen – mit diesem Buch gelingt es Ihnen!
Inhalte:
- Lesen und Üben zugleich: Das ganze Buch ist in leicht verständlichem Englisch verfasst
- Telefonieren in englischer Sprache: wichtige Phrasen und Tipps bei unerwarteten Anrufen
- Eine Verhandlung auf Englisch führen: Wie Sie bei Meetings punkten
- Von der Anrede bis zur Verabschiedung: englische E-Mails schreiben leicht gemacht
- Kulturelle Unterschiede und false Friends: So vermeiden Sie typische Fehler
- Mit korrektem Business-English zum Erfolg: trotz Fremdsprache klar kommunizieren
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1 Introduction
Many people who use English as a second language for international communication believe that simply by learning more English — improving their grammar and increasing their vocabulary — they will be able to communicate effectively. In other words, they believe that their main challenge when communicating internationally is a question of language. If this were true, we might expect to find that native speakers of English are the best international communicators. Yet they are often the worst: speaking too quickly and unclearly, and using too many complex words and idioms. They also often dominate conversations with their non-native speaker colleagues, who then struggle to follow and to find the time and confidence to speak. 1.1 Not just language
There are, of course, language-related challenges for people who use English as a second language for international collaboration. And, naturally, these can increase the risk of misunderstanding. But language is not the only problematic factor, and at times it may not be the most significant one. Many of the challenges of international communication have nothing to do with people having different language backgrounds. They are fundamental human challenges that we also face with colleagues, friends and family even when we share a common mother tongue. Working internationally — with people we don’t know well and with whom we often communicate virtually — can increase these challenges but it doesn’t change their fundamental nature. To become an excellent international communicator, it is important to think beyond language and to consider a range of factors that can create communication challenges. When we understand these, we can put in place solutions to make communication function more effectively. 1.2 What makes communication difficult?
There are various things that can make communication difficult, particularly when we are working internationally. a) Different experiences and beliefs
When we work with people who come from very different places and backgrounds, we often struggle to understand each other because our starting points are so diverse. We have had different life experiences, which can mean we have opposing beliefs and values. We may have a different way of expressing the same thing. We probably have different levels of professional competence. We are also likely to have different priorities in our local work situations. These differences mean that we will struggle to understand each other. b) Quick assumptions
We often like to think of ourselves as being tolerant when working with those from different backgrounds. When working in a high-pressure business context, however, most of us lack patience and openness. We tend to judge others too quickly and too harshly if they don’t meet our expectations of professionalism — for example, if they are slow responding to an email or communicate in a way that we see as too direct. In other words, one of the greatest challenges to communicating and collaborating internationally is our own attitude. We become our own challenge. It’s important therefore to stay positive, manage any negative emotions we feel and work hard to remain patient and supportive towards others at all times. c) Poor relationships
Generally, we don’t know international colleagues as well as we know the people who sit next to us in our own office. We see them less often. We spend less time with them. We are not as close emotionally. As a result, we find it more difficult to know what they really mean when they communicate with us. Many of the problems that we associate with working internationally come down to the simple fact that two strangers are communicating with each other who have not invested enough time to enable deep mutual understanding. d) High workloads
People working internationally are usually very busy — often too busy. So, if we send an email asking someone to do something, the fact that we receive no reply is not necessarily the result of the other person’s poor communication style or bad attitude. It may simply be that they are too busy. Indeed, many communication problems are caused by organizational, not people factors — dimensions such as time pressure, high workloads, technical problems and a lack of resources. If we keep in mind this bigger organizational picture, we will be less likely to blame others, which itself damages relationships and undermines collaboration. e) Different communication styles
When working internationally, there is sometimes a conflict of communication styles and around expectations of what is effective communication. For example, what we think of as clear, honest and focused communication might be too direct, confrontational and even unprofessional for another person. What for us is a consultative and inclusive discussion may be an inefficient way of making decisions for someone else. And when someone asks us “How are you?”, as an effort to be polite, we could see the other person as wasting our time when we have important tasks to do. It is very difficult to communicate in the right way for everybody. This means we need to be senstive and flexible, and develop the skills to interact with others using a style of communication that is perhaps very different to our natural one. f) The leader in the background
When we communicate virtually with people in another country, we need to remember that we are not simply communicating with this person’s personality. We are communicating with them as a professional, someone who is performing a role managed by a leader in the background. In other words, the behaviour we experience may be highly influenced by the other person’s relationship with their boss and their sense of professional duty. This means that if a person is not cooperating fully with us, it might be because their boss wants them to focus on a local priority. Perhaps their boss has a problem with our boss, which can make it difficult for the team members to interact openly and easily. Politics are often in play in large organizations. We should always make an effort to understand the background of the people we are working with, their role, their manager and their local working pressures. g) Language issues
Language issues can, of course, present difficulties when we are working internationally. Often the challenge is not inaccurate grammar or problems with vocabulary as such. More fundamentally, it’s that people are often less clear when they speak a foreign language. They may have to say what they can say rather than what they truly want to say. This is similar with respect to listening. People’s comprehension of what has been said is often lower. Decoding another person’s meaning and intention is more difficult in a foreign language. The solution to this problem is, of course, to improve your English. However, this is a longer-term goal and insufficient as a solution. Additionally, we need to change the way that we speak and listen. We should make sure that, as far as possible, we are understandable when we speak and that we understand others correctly when we listen. Specific techniques for this are explained in this book. h) A first word about culture
“Culture” is a complex concept and there is still no clear consensus among experts about its correct definition. Fundamentally, it’s important to think about culture in two ways: first, understanding culture (building up your knowledge of how others are different from you), and second, managing culture (developing the skills to manage differences effectively). In this book, we will look at both approaches, but we focus much more on managing culture. This means developing a mindset of patience, tolerance and openness to diversity. It also means developing a range of behaviours to handle different situations flexibly. This requires that we think more consciously about key communication processes such as team building, managing conflict, and giving and receiving feedback. Taking thoughtful decisions about how best to communicate can help to overcome and avoid any problems that diversity can bring to collaboration. Remember: With challenges also come opportunities. Working with people who are very different from us — with diverse beliefs and working styles — provides a motivating and enriching working landscape in which we can develop new skills more quickly. Focusing on the opportunities in front of us is a key element of intercultural competence. 1.3 Communicating across cultures
Most people who work internationally see national cultural differences as one of the major challenges they face — and as a potential barrier to communicating and collaborating effectively. This is why books about national cultural differences sell so well, and why courses with titles such as “Working with Americans” or “Doing business in China” remain popular. What is culture exactly?
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