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...
Cross-cultural communication
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...
Japanese business culture – Being included
It is hard to overestimate this aspect of Japanese culture, particularly since it differs so completely from the experience of most Westerners. For a great many generations, the Japanese have...
Are Americans bad at organizing data?
Japanese executives often complain that their American colleagues are “bad at organizing data.” According to one Japanese manager who is a key decision-maker in his company’s operations in Japan,...