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...
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What to do if you have lost the thread of the conversation — Cross-Cultural Meetings part 15
Something mentioned in the conversation has sparked a train of thought that temporarily distracts you, when your attention returns to the discussion you realize that you have missed important information....
Japanese language use during meetings — Cross-Cultural Meetings part 14
Choosing to use a language that others present do not understand may be viewed as intentionally being secretive and some of the participants who do not speak Japanese might feel...
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...
Why Japanese don’t speak up in meetings — Cross-Cultural Meetings part 12
Japanese are often quiet in meetings because they have trouble getting a word in edgewise. When things are moving too quickly, or too much slang or technical jargon is...
HoRenSo – (Report, Contact and Consult)
Using the Ho Ren So system to keep in close communication with the Japanese may seem time-consuming, but it will increase their trust in your decision-making ability…by not fixing everything...
Keeping the conversation on track — Cross-Cultural Meetings part 11
Digressions happen easily, particularly so in a meeting which is going well, because that’s when people are participating actively and contributing…The trick is how to handle the digression in a...
Brainstorming — Cross-Cultural Meetings part 10
Brainstorming is improvisational, unplanned, and unstructured, and is designed to maximize the creativity…But if one doesn’t realize that brainstorming is happening, or doesn’t know the unwritten rules, it can be...
Encouraging participation — Cross-Cultural Meetings part 9
Not everyone feels comfortable speaking up in a meeting…And when cultural and language differences are added in, the situation becomes even more complicated....
Keeping a positive atmosphere in the meeting — Cross-Cultural Meetings part 8
Meetings can be the site for a variety of nonproductive, dysfunctional behaviors, such as cutting someone off, being argumentative, or making negative comments. If positive action is not taken...