It’s all Greek to me. Did you know that the Greek say it’s all Chinese to me? I wonder what the Chinese say.
I am very fortunate to speak a few languages and understand a number without being able to converse in these. However, I do make an effort when on business to at least learn the local greetings and to play with the greetings once I get to know my audience better.
A number of years back I was in Hong Kong and our interpreter was unfortunately not available for the meeting with a potential supplier. Many technical and commercial questions were to be discussed as well as give the supplier a more in-depth understanding as to the global vision of the project I was managing.
My HK colleague confirmed that she was happy to lead the meeting and if/when she needed my help, then she would do the interpreting for me. As I had put the session together and had done it already in three other languages, I knew how it would go and luckily for me, the technical speak was done in Chinglish (Chinese and English). So, there I was sitting and nodding. My colleague was well versed in the finer details of the program as I had spent a few days with her on this before we invited suppliers in and this was the third time she would be sitting in this meeting. So, when a particular question came up, before she could go into the translation thereof, I was able to answer the question in English and the meeting progressed without too many stoppages. How was I able to do this? PREPARATION & REPETITION. I had built the playbook blueprint, sold it to my internal stakeholders and played it a number of times. The supplier also knew that the main person in the room was following and were 'present' making them feel that their time was valued and appreciated.
A similar experience happened in Brazil and in Mexico. Both languages, I do not speak. My colleague in Brazil blushed every time I said “Ciao Bello” to him. Yes, the deal is important, but delighting the people you meet with a kind word and consideration takes nothing away from you, but it does show your respect for them, their time, their organization and their culture.
*Hello, how are you? in Afrikaans
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