If you are an ugly American, like me
Communicating across cultures by email
In my day-to-day work, I often receive emails asking for a quote from people I have never met. Usually these potential customers arrive by personal reference, looking for marketing or technical writing for their software products.Many of my customers are from Belgium, Germany, Russia, various Slavic countries, and India. Based in another country or just arrived in the United States, they need a writer who speaks American English as their his or her native language.
When looking at the foreign postal addresses for these customers on their web sites, I sometimes jump to quick conclusions about the type of person I might be interacting with. Over time, of course, I have found my perception of a potential customer’s cultural values might or might not be accurate. Moreover, in trading emails with so many different nationalities, I have found certain approaches work whatever my preconceived ideas of the person at the other end of the email trail.
These approaches seem to work with customers from any country, including the USA. And, on some level, many of these approaches point to the fact that, while cultural differences exist, on some level, we’re all just human with a need to re-assured and appreciated. And email, as it abruptly barrels into your In box, entering your personal space, is not the best medium to create trust and warmth, if you stick the terse, abrupt style that often pervades an office or corporation.
If you use email to add a personal touch to your messages, touches that might sound cheesy in live conversation, email becomes an asset to your business processes, not an obstacle. You’ll come across as nice, even on the days your dog died, your teenager crashed into another driver, and your documentsare were late. At the most practical level, email is an excellent way to communicate with customers, as you avoid the expense of a long-distance call and time zone difficulties. Most importantly, you can clarify your thoughts in email, ensuring that you are as clear as humanly possible. I pity the poor Japanese person who must listen to my Southern accent, with all its colorful nuances and ramblings.
I learned long ago from living in Europe that most people from a foreign country who converse with me probably speak English better than I could ever hope to speak their language. In Europe, most people know two or three languages. Americans usually only know one.
I remember the time I rode the German autobahn, in my mid-twenties. When stepping onto the train, I dropped my boom box on the railroad tracks. Without introducing myself or trying to get that question out in my broken German, I asked the train conductor if he spoke English. Glaring at me, the conductor pulled the door shut. Later, I heard him speaking to another passenger in perfect British English. My rudeness cost me that CD player. A cheap lesson, in the long run.
Make service your brand and humility your mode
Tone
When you think you’re falling all over yourself in email, you’ve probably set the appropriate tone for most folks who speak English as a second language. Create a collaborative tone to your emails. Regularly invite feedback at the end of your emails as a matter of practice. And explicitly say you are enjoying the project and appreciate the opportunity to work with them.
Write “thank you for your response and feedback” every time. Begin and end your emails with these phrases and sentences:
· I appreciate . . .
· I like . . .
· Thank you for your time and feedback . . .
· I look forward to . . .
· Your response was quick.
A cheerful tone is always preferable, even when the facts or information is are a little negative. Be honest, but don’t dwell on the negativity of your message.
Do not use humor. This often comes across as offensive. Humor does not always translate meaningfully across cultural barriers. However, keep your emails light-hearted. Laugh only at yourself, not others, in email.
Know thyself—and admit you’re biased
We are all biased to a certain extent. To understand another person’s viewpoint, feelings, and thoughts, I must get to know my own stereotypes, assumptions, and biases. You can tell yourself that people from different cultures are different, but we are all human beings too. Try to concentrate on the similarities in attitudes and experience that you might have with your customer, rather than dwelling on the differences that you perceive.
Getting acquainted with the customer . . .
Even if this person does not accept your proposal or ideas, even if they do not pay you, they are your customer. They get this status because you are teaching them about how to work with a technical writer and get the best product for their money. And you get an opportunity to learn something about their culture, beliefs, and values, so you can apply it to the next situation that is similar. So when you listen to a customer from another country, listen to learn. Take advantage of this opportunity to learn about their culture, whether this person pays you or not. Both of you benefit.
Tolerance is golden
You will have a hard time finding a set of values shared by all cultures. Even values such as being on time, speaking truthfully, or sharing feelings, are viewed differently by different cultures. Do not assume that your customer wants a rigid deadline and do not assume they do not care if your draft is late.
Writing mechanics
Black-and-white words
Write your emails in literal, black-and-white language. Use short sentences. Write to the point that you think you might be over-explaining with a note like: “You might already know about the following . . .” Keep it humble and deferential.
Eliminate adjectives and adverbs wherever possible. These kinds of words are easily misunderstood. This is an easy way to simplify your language and the questions you send the customer.
As a minimum, when you compose email, do not use the following:
· Abbreviations or acronyms,
· Contractions,
· Possessives,
· Parenthetical phrases
· Idioms, jargon, or slang. Only native speakers of a language understand idioms, jargon, or slang. For example, avoid phrases like “bite the bullet,” “hard as a rock,” or “running on empty.”
Be direct and explicit
Emphasize the need for candor in your communications. Write to the customer that you welcome feedback on your ideas. Write this often and clearly. Many cultures have different expectations about feedback, opinions, and honesty. However, you do not need to discuss religion or politics.
Add your relation to Greenwich Mean Time to your email signature or any deadlines you give. Mine is GMT – 6, in the Central Standard Time zone. Your customer might not understand when you write “I’ll have it by tomorrow.” Always give the customer the GMT time, or better yet, the time in their time zone. You can get the GMT times and other time zones at the following link:
http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/
Use simple sentences
Keep your sentences simple, without clauses, phrases, or compound verbs. Use the subject + verb construction if at all possible. While this approach can read choppy or stilted, it simplifies the process for your reader.
For example, instead of
I have reviewed your software and have inserted my questions in the document.
Write this
I reviewed your software. My questions are in the document.
Use simple verbs
Write with present and past tense only in simple constructions—don’t use progressive, especially past progressive, a construction that does not exist in many languages.
For example, instead of
I am going to send you a proposal.
Write this
I will send a proposal.
Instead of
I have been looking at your software.
Write this
I reviewed your software.
Do not write the verb plus the preposition
So many customers I know comment that they cannot process a sentence with a verb and preposition. The customers ten to translate each individual word and then combine their meanings. This is a confusing mash.
For example, instead of
I have turned on the properties view.
Write
I displayed the properties view.
Instead of
Boot up the computer
Write
Start the computer.
Tone down your email
Don’t use capital letters or the color red, ever, in email. Because I usually send text only messages, without the benefit of .html or rich text formatting, I use brackets around a word to emphasize it, but only in a friendly way. I usually avoid exclamation points too.
I avoid questions with the word “why”. For some reason, this seems to be a fighting word, requiring the reader to justify or defend their words or actions.
Give out compliments
In email, you don’t have the opportunity to smile, pat someone on the back, or nod. So make sure you write “I like your ideas,” “I’m glad you wrote about . . . ,“ and other phrases.
Use patterns in your email
Organize your paragraphs the same way every time, use the same format, and the same length—, whatever you can to help the predictability of what you are writing. For example, I keep boiler plate emails around for when I notify a customer of a document delivery.
1. The email starts with a section that contains the link and the size of the document.
2. Then, I include a list of changes to the document.
3. At the end, I have a short paragraph inviting feedback and ideas.
Every time I deliver a document, I use this format and boiler plate text, with a little personal variation. The pattern is reassuring to my customer and saves them time in finding information in the email.
Process
Get acquainted with the customer and the culture
If you’re going to be working a few months with this person, do your research. Ask your friends from other countries, not just the customer’s country. For example, if you want to learn about Indians, ask people from
Prepare an introductory email for your first communication
Keep in mind that some business owners might not have worked with a contract writer before. This is your chance to educate them about the process in a nice way.
Most people enjoy sharing about their culture and language. Here’s a few ideas to break the ice:
· If you know a few phrases of German, Spanish, or whatever language the customer might speak, greet them and say good-bye to them in that language. They will love it and will correct you, if you are wrong. You can find out a few phrases at:
http://www.freetranslation.com
· Mention if you have traveled in their country, what places you visited, and a few details about your visit. I usually avoid commenting about current news events though. This can lead to political discussions, which you want to avoid at all costs.
· If you haven’t traveled in the customer’s country, ask them for a list of the top five vacation destinations that they personally recommend.
In general, try to create a personal, collaborative tone, without getting overly familiar with your recipient, especially if he or she is from an Asian country. Imagine you are speaking to that person in their living room or home office and then write like that. Most customers will enjoy this type of attention.
Clarify goals and expectations
Establish common understanding of the tasks for the project. Make sure that the plan contains terms and conditions in simple sentences. I keep a list of boiler plate questions I ask, based on the type of project. I try to go through all these questions so that I do not assume the customer just knows what I am referring to. I explain all terminology and processes, assuming that the reader is learning for the first time. I also keep web pages on my web site to explain certain processes or terms. I include links to those articles in my contracts, emails, and proposals.
I record the answers to my questions in the estimate or project plan. I also let the customer know that I am doing this in an email.
Write contracts and project plans
When you first send a contract, proposal, estimate, project plan, or other plan, remember to write in your email that the plan is a guideline, not something you are trying to dictate. Explicitly ask for feedback and remind them that the wording can be revised. Let the customer know that you are open to discuss any terms that they might have concerns about or might want to modify. Remind them that you want to understand their needs and requirements. I often use a paragraph like the following:
“I have included a list of terms and conditions. This ensures that I understand your expectations and needs. Please let me know if the estimate is not clear or needs changes. I look forward to your questions and feedback.”
Get a deposit up front if you have never worked with the company before. You appear more professional. You will be treated better, regardless of the nationality. If you cannot get a deposit, you should not work with them. In my experience, this seems to be consistent for most of my customers, regardless of the nationality.
How to handle those tough situations
If you don’t understand . . .
Ask. I have never offended a customer by asking too many questions about what they need or what they meant. I do try to keep my emails to one per day. You don’t want to appear frantic or desperate.
When you feel angry or frustrated . . .
Never, ever express your anger or frustration to the customer. You can get past your emotions by asking questions---and you might be surprised at what you can learn. You need to take a deep breath and tell yourself that strong reactions, emotions, and unexpected responses often start with cultural barriers and language misunderstandings. Go back through all your emails and identify places where you could have been clearer. And then tell the customer you want to be clearer so you can meet their needs.
If you find that you have been offensive . . .
Be patient with yourself and the other person. Communicating through email can create the opportunity for mistakes and people sometimes react in surprising ways. Just apologize and move past these rough spots as quickly as possible. Don’t explain yourself in detail, or you will just sound like you are justifying your past offense.
If the customer has a problem with your documents . . .
Keep your email discussions focused on finding a solution. Do not dwell on assigning fault or finding the cause. Just make sure you write, “Here is my proposed solution. Please tell me your thoughts and concerns.” Make sure your discussion is reassuring in tone and, at times, apologetic, even if you believe you are not completely responsible for the problem.
If a customer starts correcting your English . . .
Chuckle to yourself and then ask the customer if they prefer British English or American English. This makes a difference in spelling and usage of plurals. And, of course, do not ever correct your customer’s English. I want to give them every opportunity to understand me and will change my writing to suit their learned style. I sometimes even go so far as to tell them what dictionary I plan to use for their documents. This amount of detail is comforting to a customer who usually has never met you in person.
In conclusion, most of the previous recommendations are effective business communication for many different situations, not just corresponding with a person who speaks a different language. If Miss Manners were to look through this article, she might possibly tisk, “Oh dear, why all the fuss? Most of these recommendations are just common sense.” And they are. And some people figure out these things flying by the seat of their pants. But many of us are born without wings. Luckily, effective business communication is not something you must be born with—you can teach yourself the techniques described in this article until they become second nature. And that is a comforting thought to those of us who are a little short on common sense.
