Cultural Differences
01/31/2005Finally, do some thinking about your audience's cultural background. The workplace is increasingly global as corporations have offices in several countries. What's considered good manners in the United States can be considered shockingly bad manners in other cultures. For example, American directness is seen as rude when communicating with people from Japan. And Germans often require more detail in their communications than do Americans. When in doubt, consult someone with more experience dealing with people from that culture.
SEVEN TIPS FOR GLOBAL LETTER WRITING
Few businesspeople know the rules of international correspondence, says Mary A. De Vries, author of INTERNATIONALLY YOURS: WRITING AND COMMUNICATING SUCCESSFULLY IN TODAY'S GLOBAL MARKETPLACE (Houghton Mifflin). Help your students avoid mistakes by passing along these tips for global letter writing:
1. Before you write anything, research the other country's customs and business practices.
2. Keep your letter clear and precise. Everything you write may be translated literally.
3. Businesspeople in other countries are often multilingual. You'll earn the respect of your overseas colleagues by learning some of their language.
4. Don't get too friendly too fast. It's better to be more formal than you'd be with colleagues at home.
5. Avoid confusion on business cards by eliminating abbreviations. Better yet, print one side of your card in English and the other side in your client's language.
6. Beware of unintentional racial and ethnic biases.
Taken from Elizabeth Janice, "Foreign Exchange: The Rules of Global Letter Writing," Black Enterprise, December 1995, via http://www.northernlight.com (accessed 11 June 2002).