Understanding Asian Communication Styles — Transcript

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1. 0:01andrew is a marketing manager at a
2. 0:04global pharmaceutical company
3. 0:06he works closely with his colleagues in
4. 0:08japan and us on a global marketing
5. 0:11initiative
6. 0:13at a recent coaching session
7. 0:15he looked frustrated and upset
8. 0:17this is what andrew told me
9. 0:20he had recently asked his japanese team
10. 0:22member named kenji
11. 0:25do you think my proposal will be
12. 0:27accepted by japan
13. 0:29he replied
14. 0:30it may be difficult
15. 0:32andrew thought this man there would be
16. 0:34challenges but we expect challenges
17. 0:38he thought it just meant that we would
18. 0:39have to work harder
19. 0:41so andrew and his american colleagues
20. 0:43continued to work on it for weeks
21. 0:47then he found out that kenji never
22. 0:49thought it had a chance
23. 0:52why didn't he just come out and tell me
24. 0:54no i don't think it would succeed
25. 0:56we were just wasting our time
26. 1:00what was going on there
27. 1:01did kenji try to trick him
28. 1:04or did andrew misinterpret his message
29. 1:07for americans
30. 1:09no it's just another word
31. 1:11they don't want to hurt people's
32. 1:12feelings but sometimes it can be much
33. 1:15more harmful to not tell someone the
34. 1:18honest truth
35. 1:19however
36. 1:20japanese culture is quite different
37. 1:23i contacted my good friend diana roland
38. 1:26who is the japan expert and the author
39. 1:28of the book japanese business rules of
40. 1:31engagement
41. 1:33i asked diana
42. 1:34what is the japanese mentality of not
43. 1:37saying no
44. 1:39diana said there are three key reasons
45. 1:43number one keeping good relations is
46. 1:45always important in a close-knit society
47. 1:48like japan
48. 1:50number two
49. 1:51social harmony is always the first
50. 1:54priority
51. 1:56number three confrontation is always
52. 1:58rude and saying no
53. 2:01sounds like a rejection of the other
54. 2:03person
55. 2:04that's why they don't like to say no
56. 2:06directly the same mentality
57. 2:10also applies to other asian cultures
58. 2:12such as china and the philippines
59. 2:16instead of saying no
60. 2:17they would say something like this
61. 2:20it's not possible means i would rather
62. 2:23avoid it
63. 2:25this may be difficult
64. 2:27means it is impossible
65. 2:30let me think about it
66. 2:32the answer is no
67. 2:34do you have any plan to come to this
68. 2:36area
69. 2:38actually means can you come to my office
70. 2:42did i just confuse you even more you may
71. 2:44ask
72. 2:45how do i know a japanese yes
73. 2:48means yes
74. 2:50well
75. 2:51if they agree with you
76. 2:53this is what they would say
77. 2:55i agree
78. 2:57i get the point
79. 2:59hi hi
80. 3:00i'm listening
81. 3:03what is the next step
82. 3:05have you heard of this classic japanese
83. 3:07saying
84. 3:08here one understand ten
85. 3:12here one
86. 3:13understand ten
87. 3:15in other words
88. 3:16for each point expressed
89. 3:18the listener is expected to understand
90. 3:21at least nine others by implication
91. 3:25since the most important part of the
92. 3:26conversation is often left unspoken
93. 3:30it becomes the responsibility of the
94. 3:32listener to pick up on what has been
95. 3:35implied
96. 3:37so it's important to use your inner
97. 3:40antenna to stay on the same wavelength
98. 3:43with others
99. 3:44and to read or direct their unspoken
100. 3:47thoughts and intentions
101. 3:50you must be able to interpret subtle
102. 3:52gestures and facial expressions
103. 3:56very little in japan is random
104. 3:59so hold back
105. 4:01listen
106. 4:02watch
107. 4:04and get a buddy to fill you in on the
108. 4:06things that you may be missing
109. 4:09eventually
110. 4:10if you are patient enough
111. 4:12and humble enough
112. 4:14you start to see clues
113. 4:16and hopefully
114. 4:18you'll be able to hear one
115. 4:20understand 10.