Non-verbal communication in Japanese business
Western communication style relies heavily on words. In contrast, Japanese communication relies less on verbal manipulation, and more heavily on non-verbals. Japanese are able to rely more on...
Cross-cultural communication
Low-tech can sometimes be best when presenting to Japanese
Japanese can be turned off by slick presentations…handwritten things more clearly show the effort of the person who was making it, and thus have more power to pull on the...
Overcome kishotenketsu to improve your communication with Americans
For Americans who are used to a more straightforward style, kishotenketsu can be very confusing…It can be hard to follow what Japanese have to say as they go on and...
Working effectively with Mexicans – What Japanese companies need to know
Japanese companies often fail to appreciate the unique aspects of Mexican culture. The result, many Japanese firms experience high turnover and other problems in their Mexican operations. These can be...
Providing data effective for persuading Japanese
When wanting to convince someone Japanese to do something in accordance with American customs or commonly-accepted practices, I find that it’s useful to assume that they are not necessarily familiar...
Stay away from irony with the Japanese
The Japanese excel at indirect communication, they do it though extreme tact and understatement, rather than irony. When they listen to Americans, the Japanese tend to believe our words and...
“Hear one understand ten” sums up Japanese communication style
This style difference between Americans and Japanese often causes Americans to have difficulty determining what Japanese want to say…The Japanese assume that there is shared background information that put both...
Stating your opinion clearly — Cross-Cultural Meetings part 23
Often Japanese sit quietly in the meeting and do not offer their opinions...
Dealing with conflict in a meeting — Cross-Cultural Meetings part 16
Just because people are debating a point intensively or excitedly does not necessarily mean that harmful conflict is occurring...
Kisho-tenketsu and speaking persuasively — Cross-Cultural Meetings part 13
What seems like a logical way of explaining things in Japanese may not necessarily seem logical in English. By switching to a more natural English discourse style, Japanese can...