International Business Skills (Business English & Business Skills)

Imagine you have a business trip to China and you need to give a presentation to a client or supplier and Chinese Government officials using an interpreter.

How do you work effectively with the interpreter to guarantee your presentation is a success?

1. Write your presentation: You need to write your presentation to be able to practice it with the interpreter before you give it.
2. Read your presentation aloud: Read through your presentation with the interpreter to test how it sounds and to ask if it is clear in the other language. This requires practice and reading line by line and asking the interpreter how it sounds in their language and observing their body language when speaking your words.
3. Check for accuracy: Ask the interpreter to explain difficult words or phrases in their own words in your language. If they don’t understand them in your language they’ll interpret them badly in their own language.
4. Avoid slang and country specific idioms: Some idioms and expressions have an equivalent in another language and others are very country specific. Also the use of jargon, buzz words and hot words can sound strange to an audience if not everyone is an expert in your field.
5. Pauses: Speaking and working with an interpreter requires practice to know when and how often to pause. As well as learning to pause for maximum impact to emphasise key points. It also it allows time for your audience to reflect and absorb your key points.
6. Practice on stage: It takes a little bit of practice to learn to not get distracted by the interpreter, so practice together on stage or try to recreate the place where you will be speaking.
7. Appreciation: After finishing it’s appropriate to acknowledge your interpreter and show appreciation of their work (in public or in private – your choice and depends on the culture of the country)

Learn more about our Management Skills Programs at The Practice Office Group.

Los factores culturales influyen mucho en nuestras maneras de comunicarnos y recibir comunicación cuando trabajamos con personas de culturas y países diferentes.

Usamos mucho el ejemplo de Bill Murray de la película “Lost in Translation” para resaltar la importancia de desarrollar nuestras habilidades interculturales, que va mucho más allá que sólo aprender idiomas.

¿Qué falla en la comunicación entre Bill Murray y el director de cine? ¿Es sólo porque no hablan el mismo idioma?

Algunos factores a tomar en consideración: estas son generalizaciones que nos ayudan a entender que los filtros culturales de otros países y culturas, no son verdades absolutas.

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1. Las expectativas de la audiencia

Cómo cambian las expectativas de las audiencias de países diferentes. Algunas culturas quieren que una presentación sea entretenida, y para otras, como por ejemplo los países latinos, la retórica y la anécdota son más importantes. Alemanes, japoneses y finlandeses prefieren que una presentación se centre en los detalles e información técnica para que ellos saquen sus propias conclusiones. Mientras que otras culturas esperan que el presentador presente los beneficios y saque sus propias conclusiones para venderles o convencerles del valor de su propuesta o idea.

2. Estilos de Comunicación

Muchas culturas prefieren un estilo de comunicación personal, por lo que el presentador conecta mejor con su audiencia a través de anécdotas e historias personales para mostrar quién es y su sinceridad. A estas culturas, no les interesa una presentación súper elaborada con muchos gráficos y datos en PowerPoint. Otras culturas prefieren lo opuesto, un estilo de comunicación más neutral, es decir más impersonal.

3. Hábitos de escucha

Los hábitos de escucha de la audiencia varían mucho entre países. Todas las culturas buscan escuchar información útil, pero ¿que más es importante? Por ejemplo los saudís buscan escuchar las anécdotas, las historias personales y el toque personal. Los franceses buscan escuchar la lógica y los americanos buscan escuchar lo nuevo y el bottom line (la conclusión), es decir cómo se van a beneficiar.

4. Dar muchos o pocos detalles

Hay culturas de alto contexto y bajo contexto (La teoría de E.T. Hall). Para culturas de alto contexto el contexto les da muchas pistas sobre el significado de la comunicación y no requieren muchos detalles, por ejemplo muchas culturas del sur este de Asia. En cambio las culturas de bajo contexto cultural requieren muchos más detalles de forma explicita, clara y directa, por ejemplo los escandinavos y los alemanes.

5. Mostrar emoción

Puede ser que este factor resulte extraño, pero hay culturas más emocionales y culturas neutrales, es decir no tan emocionales. En las culturas más emocionales no está mal visto expresar emociones, usar palabras o expresiones exageradas, estar muy animado expresándote y usar muchos gestos de manos. Mientras en las culturas neutrales ocurre lo opuesto y está bien visto saber controlar bien las emociones en muchas situaciones.

6. Transiciones para que la audiencia te siga

La última pauta es una de las más importantes. Es muy importante usar y señalar el uso de transiciones para las audiencias internacionales. No todo el mundo va a tener el mismo nivel de idioma para seguir el ritmo del presentador. Las audiencias de otras culturas, fácilmente pueden perder el hilo conductor porque no sólo escuchan palabras para comprender, sino que también se fijan en el lenguaje corporal y la información en las diapositivas.

El uso de pausas y señales verbales son claves en las transiciones para que la audiencia sepa que vas a comenzar o terminar una idea. Incluso las pausas más largas después de una idea importante ayuda a las culturas a las que les gusta reflexionar sobre las ideas.

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Estamos en un mundo más globalizado que nunca en lo que los factores y filtros culturales juegan un papel fundamental en la comunicación entre las personas (la comunicación intercultural).

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Leer más sobre los cursos de Global Mindset de The Practice Office Group.

Para comunicarte bien con personas de otras culturas en reuniones, visitas, negociaciones, presentaciones, conference calls, etc., hay que…

1. Desarrollar tu inteligencia intercultural y las habilidades interculturales – Tienes que entender la influencia de tu propia cultura a la hora de comunicarse con personas de otras culturas y al revés. Tenemos mucha práctica comunicándonos con personas de nuestra cultura. No es lo mismo hacer llegar tus ideas a un chino, un alemán o un brasileño.  Cualquier cultura tiene filtros culturales para dar y recibir comunicación.
2. Ser flexible – A la hora de comunicarte con personas de otras culturas hay que ser flexible. Esto no significa cambiar de forma radical tu personalidad pero sí tienes que adaptar tu estilo de comunicación a la cultura de la otra persona. Con Japoneses, Chinos y Koreanos del Sur tienes que saber manejar los momentos de silencio para que las personas tengan tiempo para reflexionar. Interrumpirte está muy mal visto y a veces la conversación es mucho más como un monólogo con cada uno tomando turnos que un diálogo.
3. Desarrollar un estilo de comunicación internacional – ¿Sabes hacer llegar tus ideas a la otra persona? Y en situaciones de negocios y sociales internacionales? ¿Sabes cómo personas de otras culturas captan tus mensajes claves?  ¿Sabes cómo tu lenguaje corporal (e.j. gestos de manos) está interpretado por personas de otras culturas?

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Leer más sobre los cursos de Habilidades Interculturales para los negocios de The Practice Office Group.

The Practice Office Group

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There are hundreds of web pages and sources about the elevator pitch. But when you don´t have time you need an expert to guide you and help you practice.

One of the most useful and practical “Elevator Pitch Models” that we´ve found and we use as part of our “Elevator Pitch” training program for Spanish Internet Entreprenuers wanting to pitch to European Investors in London and Berlin and to American Investors in Silicon Valley is K.Stone´s model.

Essential Elements of a Powerful Elevator Pitch

1. Concise. Your pitch should take no longer than 30-60 seconds.
2. Clear. Use language that everyone understands. Don’t use fancy words thinking it will make you sound smarter. Your listener won’t understand you and you’ll have lost your opportunity to hook them.
3. Powerful. Use words that are powerful and strong. Deliver the “Sis-Boom-Bang” to grab their attention!
4. Visual. Use words that create a visual image in your listeners mind. This will make your message memorable.
5. Tell a Story. A short story, that is. A good story is essentially this: someone with a problem either finds a solution or faces tragedy. Either type of story can be used to illuminate what you do.
6. Targeted. A great elevator pitch is aimed for a specific audience. If you have target audiences that are vastly different, you might want to have a unique pitch for each.
7. Goal Oriented. A kick-ass elevator pitch is designed with a specific outcome in mind. What is your desired outcome? You may have different pitches depending on different objectives. For instance do you want to: make a sale, gain a prospect, enlist support for an idea, or earn a referral.
8. Has a Hook. This is the element that literally snags your listener’s interest and makes them want to know more. This is the phrase or words that strike a chord in your listener.
9. Intercultural differences. The Americans want you to entertain them (tell a story), to get to the point and to be passionate and enthusiastic when you speak. While German investors in Berlin will appreciate a more structured approach with specific facts and figures. While in London in the UK, the British prefer the American approach.
10. Remember to practice, ask for feedback, practice and ask for feedback! We suggest recording yourself using your webcam and to ask for specific feedback (you choose the criteria) from colleagues, friends and a trainer if you have one.

Read more about our The Practice Office´s courses Habilidades Comerciales en Inglés.

Imagine the scenario, you have just come back from an international trade fair or event and you want to set up a meeting with a new contact you made there.

Here is a business script to help you: For more business scripts go to this section of our website: www.thepracticeoffice.com/The_Practice_Office/Herramientas.html

Assistant: “Hello this is Priya Arya´s (Indian woman) office. This is Renu how can i help you?”

YOU: “Good morning Renu. My name is (YOU). I met Ms.Arya at XYZ trade fair last week. She asked me to call to set up a meeting. Could you put me through to her?”

Contact: “Hi this Priya Arya. May i help you?”

YOU: “Hello Ms.Arya. This is (YOU). We met at XYZ trade fair last week. As we discussed i said i would call to set up a meeting with you. Do you have a few minutes to talk now?”

3 SITUATIONS

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Contact: “No. I´m busy”.

YOU: “Ok. When would be the best time to call you?”

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Contact: “Yes”

YOU: “Good. As you recall, I´m with (COMPANY) we work with companies from the (CONTACT¨S SECTOR). We solve (MAIN CLIENT PROBLEM) by (SOLUTION). When would be the best time to meet for you?”

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Contact: “I´m not sure”

YOU: (Ask 2-3 questions about typical problems your clients have. If they answer yes continue below)

YOU: “As you may recall, I´m with (COMPANY) we work with companies from the (CONTACT¨S SECTOR). We solve (MAIN CLIENT PROBLEM) by (SOLUTION). When would be the best time to meet for you?”

For more business scripts go to http://www.thepracticeoffice.com/The_Practice_Office/Herramientas.html

If you don´t want to compete only on price then you need to communicate value added first.

The easiest way to do this is to develop a Direct Value Statement (DVS).

This is a statement that clearly, simply and concisely explains:

• why your organization exists
• what makes your product/service special

DVS include two sentences:

1. We assist our clients in…(Why…?)
2. We do this by… (What…?)

3 Examples:

1. We assist our clients/customers in the interior design industry to provide their clients with stylish Italian floors. We do this by…
2. We assist our clients in the real estate business to train their sales teams to provide friendly and helpful customer service. We do this by…
3. We assist our clients in the Energy sector to reduce their Carbon emissions and increase their solar energy production. We do this by…

You´re in a meeting and you need to persuade a colleague, a client or a supplier. What technique do you use?

Monroe´s Motivated Sequence (MMS) is a simple and highly effective technique to logically order your ideas to persuade. There are 5 steps.

1) Get their attention – ask a question or use an usual fact.

Have you ever wondered why…?

What if…? If I told you we could…, would you be interested?

It’s hard to believe but…    Did you know that…

2) Explain the other person´s need

The problem is due to…

The problem is because of…

The problem is caused by…

3) Solution

Doing (solution)….will give us… (benefit).

(Solution)…. ensures we can… (benefit).

(Solution)…. will help us to do…(benefit).

4) Visualise benefits – positive

Under this plan, we could see as much as a 35% increase in…

Imagine this, with a…

By implementing this plan immediately the company will see…

4) Visualise benefits  – negative

Without quick action the situation could…

If we don’t do anything the situation is going to…

If we don’t adopt this proposal there’s no telling what could happen.

5) Take action

We need quick action and we need it now. I recommend that we…

I need your help to implement a winning solution for all of us.

The first thing we need to do is….

So you have just come back from an international trade fair / event and you want to set up some meetings. What do you say? Here is script to help you in 3 situations.

Situation 1

Receptionist: Hello Ms.Diwani´s office. This is Isha how can I help you?

You: Good morning Isha. I recently met Ms.Diwani at (event) and she asked me to give her a call. Is she there?

Receptionist: I´ll put you through.

You: Hello is that Ms.Diwani. Hi this is (your name). We met recently at (event). You suggested i call you to talk about (their main problem). Do you have a few minutes to talk now?

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Situation 2

Receptionist: Hello Ms.Diwani´s office. This is Isha how can I help you?

You: Good morning Isha. I recently met Ms.Diwani at (event) and she asked me to give her a call. Is she there?

Receptionist: No she´s in a meeting.

You: When would be the best time to speak to Ms.Diwani?

Receptionist: I´d suggest calling at 0930am tomorrow.

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Situation 3

Receptionist: Hello Ms.Diwani´s office. This is Isha how can I help you?

You: Good morning Isha. I recently met Ms.Diwani at (event) and she asked me to give her a call. Is she there?

Receptionist: I´m not sure. What is it referring to?

You: Ms.Diwani. told me about (their main problem) and we talked about how our we solved this problem for (important client). She suggested meeting to discuss (their main problem) in more detail. Does Ms.Diwani have a few minutes to quickly talk now?

Most people are not good at presenting themselves or their company in a concise, simple and clear way. They want to tell you everything. This becomes even harder when working in English at an International Trade Fair.

The 1 minute Script is concise and impacting.  Here are the 5 steps to develop your own 1 minute script.

1. “We work with….”
2. “Who have a problem with…”
3. “What we do is…”
4. “So that…”
5. “Which means…”

We work with: Be specific about your target market (Type of business, location etc)

Who have a problem with: Focus on what hurts for them, their main problem that gives them headaches. People pay attention and respond more to negatives.

What we do is: Explain how your product/service solves their problem. Be clear, simple and concise and write one sentence of 15 words or less.

So that: Explain the function the client that the customer receives. For example, Blackberry enables you to instantly receive and send emails from anywhere in the world.

Which means: List the Top 3 benefits.

Here is an example of a Management Consultant who works with Directors of SMEs.

“We work with the managing directors of fast-growing SMEs. Who have a problem with the pains of managing fast growth. What we do is we use our 15-20 years experience as directors of fast growing SMEs to work with them to develop practical solutions. So that you get practical and quick-to-implement business solutions. Which means that you can exceed your targets and have the business and lifestyle that you want.

See below the video blog post.

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Read more about our Business Skills programs and Management Skills programs at The Practice Office Group.

- We work with professionals who work in English and are non-native english speakers -

Selling is about providing solutions. To provide solutions we need to understand needs and until we perfect mind reading we need to ask questions.  Lets focus on needs based questions.

First we need to identify 5 needs our services / products satisfy. For example:

Here are 5 needs for an Air-Conditioning Repair and Check-up Service for offices:

1. To keep equipment operating efficiently
2. To maintain value of equipment
3. To keep your office cooled
4. To keep objects cooled in the office
5. To guarantee visitors feel comfortable

Before reading the examples below practice converting these 5 needs into 5 Sales Questions (1 question per need).  Write one question per need. Make your questions clear, simple and concise.

Here are our 5 questions.

1. What experience have you had with Air-Conditioning equipment that is not well maintained?
2. In this area how does good air-conditioning equipment affect office prices?
3. How often do you or your colleagues find your office uncomfortable?
4. What objects in your office need to be kept at 20C or below?
5. How much of a role does efficient Air-Conditioning equipment play in making your visitors feel comfortable?