Strategies for Effective Communication
Introduction Protocol
- Even if you are on a first-name basis, it is appropriate to use the visitor's full name in the presence of colleagues, to avoid causing any embarrassment.
- The person who knows both individuals should begin the introductions.
Introductions are generally based on power and heirarchy, so the person
of lesser authority is introduced to the person of greater authority.
The name of the person being introduced is mentioned last, and the person
to whom the introduction is made is mentioned first. For example:
"President Anderson, I would like you to meet Mr. Kim, who is visiting from Korea to exchange ideas on his research on genetics.
"Mr. Kim, this is President Anderson."
- With delegations, make sure you know who the leader is and address that person.
Greetings
How do I greet someone? Do I bow? Shake hands? In preparation for your guests, you are studying up on Japanese culture and your guests are studying you. They are learning the importance of a handshake, and you are learning the intracacies of a Japanese bow. What do you do when you meet? Take just a second to see if a hand is extended, and use your skills of observation.
Name Pronunciation
Pronouncing names correctly can be extremely difficult and sometimes literally impossible if the sound does not exist in English (even languages with similar alphabets often have slight variations and can include unique sounds). These pronunciation difficulties do not mean that you should dismiss getting as close as you can. Here are a few strategies:
- Practice in advance. But no matter how well practiced, it is possible that your pronunciation of the visitor's name could still carry slight foreign intonations that might change the meaning of the word or cause it to sound ridiculous to the visitor. It is best to ask a native speaker of the language or your guest if your pronunciation is understandable.
- Your guest may assume an English name. Ask "what name would you prefer I call you?" Some people prefer to use an Americanized name because they don't understand their given name when you pronounce it, they are embarrassed for you at your pronunciation, or they just simply like the Americanized name.
- Many cultures have stories or a great deal of symbolism to their names. Asking a visitor about the meaning of his or her name can be a good icebreaker and way to learn a bit more about your guest’s culture.
Forms of Address and Names
Unlike the U.S., where you may often call people by their first names shortly after the first meeting, in many countries, only intimate friends and family members may call someone by their given name. Other cultures often observe strict protocol in both spoken and written forms of address. (See Appendix C for more information on titles and forms of address.)
- Asian cultures: It is common to address others by their surname and a title. One would address the Vice Minister Wei Yu of the Ministry of Education in China as Vice Minister Wei in writing and Minister Wei in person. In face-to-face communication, one would only note her "vice" status in the presence of the Minister of Education.
- China: Chinese names appear with the family name first followed by a given or "first" name. Each person has, in this order, a family, generational, and given name. Generational and given names can be separated by a space or a hyphen, but are frequently written as one word. Be aware that well-traveled visitors may reverse their names while in the U.S. Make sure you know which is the correct order and which one they prefer to use while in the U.S.
- Russia: Usually, Russians have three names. The first name is a given name, while the last name is the father's family name. The middle name is a version of the father's first name, known as a patronymic. For a man, it ends with the suffixes "vich" or "ovich" meaning "son of." For a woman, the patronymic is also the father's first name but with suffixes "a" or "ova" added, which means "daughter of." In verbal communication, Russians use the first name and patronymic, and in official communication or documentation all three names are used. When you become well acquainted with a person, you may be invited to refer to him or her by the first name.
- Iceland: Most Icelanders still follow the ancient tradition of deriving their last name from the first name of their father (last name is made up of the father's first name plus "son" or "dottir"e.g., the children of a man named Gunnar would have the last names of "Gunnarsson" and "Gunnarsdóttir"). These patronymics refer to their fathers. For this reason, Icelanders should be referred to by their given names only or by their full names (not Mr. Gunnarsson). [From "Why Always -Son and -Dottir? Icelandic Names and the Icelandic Alphabet," a pamphlet by New Horizons (2001)]
Managing Conversations
How a conversation flows and how people take turns in a conversation varies across cultures. In the Midwest, the exchange is often like a tennis matchone player has the ball at a time and the goal is to get rid of the ball fairly quickly. In other cultures, it can be more like golf where the approach to the ball takes time and no one interrupts until it is very clear the player is finished not just with hitting the ball (making the main point) but has been given time for the follow-through (additional thoughts). In other cultures, the conversational game is more like rugby in which the rules specifically allow for individual and group handling of the ball (conversation). Given these differences, here are a few tips for managing conversations:
- Don't interrupt unless your guest interrupts you. If you do interrupt unintentionally, apologize and immediately allow your guest the chance to speak again.
- When your guest appears to have finished speaking, wait a few seconds before speaking to make sure the point has been made. If you have more than one guest, watch how they make exchanges in their own language. Are there longer pauses than you are used to?
- Topics to avoid: child care and elder care. Until you know some one well, these topics can lead to value judgments that can be difficult to recover from if discussed early in a re lationship, before understanding the other person’s culture.