The American businessman's mistakes (Part 2): The right message from the right person.
Last time we talked about having a Japanese right-hand man, and not using the Japanese company's interpreter. Now let's look at the final two mistakes from our story:
3) Knowing who to contact. Our friend contacted the only person at the company he knew who could speak English in an effort to find out their decision on whether they would purchase the American's product. This guy was at the meeting, he speaks English, so perfect, right? Wrong. There are a couple things we need to keep in mind in these situations. We must remember the rank of the person we are contacting. Any business interaction is a formal situation, especially during office hours. It's important to, when possible, interact with people of similar rank as you. If the Japanese person is ranked much lower (as may be true in this case), his discomfort in the unbalance will set him in "fight or flight" mode, and he will often say anything he can to end the conversation. On the other hand, if the Japanese is too high up, he might be insulted by this subordinate's ingnorance or audacity, and will also try to end the communication quickly. The English-speaking Japanese is not a decision maker, nor the go-between (despite the American's beliefs), therefore he will not only try to end the conversation quickly, but we must also remember the second rule in today's discussion:
4) Japanese do not like to give bad news. The timid translator will never be able to muster the words, "I'm sorry, but we do not require your services at this time." By saying "It is really difficult at this time," he is basically saying "No" without actually saying "no". It is this subtlety in conversation which is so often missed by unprepared Americans. The translator is wondering at every call, "Why is he calling me back? I told him already! If he doesn't like the answer, why is he bothering me? He should be calling my superior!"
By not identifying the correct person to contact, and not taking the subtle hints, or not reading the kuuki, our American friend might have sat in his hotel for weeks or months "dancing" with this Japanese translator to no resolution (at least to the American, but surely the Japanese man's nerves will end up shot).
Last time we talked about having a Japanese right-hand man, and not using the Japanese company's interpreter. Now let's look at the final two mistakes from our story:
3) Knowing who to contact. Our friend contacted the only person at the company he knew who could speak English in an effort to find out their decision on whether they would purchase the American's product. This guy was at the meeting, he speaks English, so perfect, right? Wrong. There are a couple things we need to keep in mind in these situations. We must remember the rank of the person we are contacting. Any business interaction is a formal situation, especially during office hours. It's important to, when possible, interact with people of similar rank as you. If the Japanese person is ranked much lower (as may be true in this case), his discomfort in the unbalance will set him in "fight or flight" mode, and he will often say anything he can to end the conversation. On the other hand, if the Japanese is too high up, he might be insulted by this subordinate's ingnorance or audacity, and will also try to end the communication quickly. The English-speaking Japanese is not a decision maker, nor the go-between (despite the American's beliefs), therefore he will not only try to end the conversation quickly, but we must also remember the second rule in today's discussion:
4) Japanese do not like to give bad news. The timid translator will never be able to muster the words, "I'm sorry, but we do not require your services at this time." By saying "It is really difficult at this time," he is basically saying "No" without actually saying "no". It is this subtlety in conversation which is so often missed by unprepared Americans. The translator is wondering at every call, "Why is he calling me back? I told him already! If he doesn't like the answer, why is he bothering me? He should be calling my superior!"
By not identifying the correct person to contact, and not taking the subtle hints, or not reading the kuuki, our American friend might have sat in his hotel for weeks or months "dancing" with this Japanese translator to no resolution (at least to the American, but surely the Japanese man's nerves will end up shot).
posted by John T at
5/10/2006 02:36:00 PM
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