Monday, July 30, 2012

Doing Business in England: Business Tips for England

Doing business in England can be a disconcerting affair.

Aside from the obvious and much-publicized cultural differences, American executives doing business in the British Isles are placed in the peculiar position of speaking a common language but meaning things that are entirely different from the British interpretation.

Click here to read the rest.

[from morebusiness.com]



Wednesday, July 25, 2012

3 Tips For Effective Global Communication

3 Tips For Effective Global Communication
3 Tips For Effective Global Communication
By Alain Bordier
Global communication is a major concern of every International business. The success of every International business depends on the effectiveness of the Communication. It is a well known fact that International businesses need communication with people of different cultures. Apart from the language differences, they need to focus on social attributes, attitudes and thought patterns of different cultures. All these communication terminologies are collectively known as intercultural communication. This Intercultural communication is the base for any International business and hence it has to be made effective. Just keep reading on the article to see the 3 most wanted tips for effective Intercultural communication.
1. Intercultural Communication - Not all about Language
Many people have a misconception about Intercultural communication that, it is all about managing a different language. The true fact is that language is just a part of Intercultural communication. Intercultural communication is about understanding different cultures, languages and customs in a particular country. For example, if you are an American, traveling to India, you should be able to cope up with the Indian culture along with understanding the language in India. You should also make an approach to learn their culture which will induce a positive relationship with the host. Learning the culture of a Country is not that easy as it seems. This is where the cross cultural training comes into play. There are many cross cultural training service providers available today who will be able to feed you with the much needed Intercultural communication skills.
2. Avoid Native Slang and Explain in Simple words
When traveling to a foreign country or delivering a speech to people of different cultures, you should make sure to avoid your native slang and style. Using your native slang and style in a different Country will confuse the listeners. For example, people living outside Canada may or may not understand the phrase "you can't squeeze blood out of a turnip (which means that you cannot get something (money) from a person that they don't have)". Hence it is always wise to explain things in simple words for effective Intercultural communication.
3. Judge the behavior of people according to their cultures
The way of expressing the feelings and behavior greatly differs across different cultures. For example, people of different cultures have different ways of greeting (say) A the way of greeting a Brazilian is offering a hug, whereas an Indian will greet you with shake hands. You should be able to understand the different behaviors of people worldwide for effective Intercultural communication. You should be able to express your behavior according the culture of different people you are communicating with.
Learning Intercultural communication was pretty difficult in the olden days. Today, with the introduction of different cross cultural training and professional translation service, learning Intercultural communication is just a breeze.
Effective communication and cultural awareness is a basic necessity of each and every human being. Knowing the importance of cultural awareness, the author of this article gives many tips to develop it. He has also written many articles which can be used a valuable resources for developing communication skills and cultural awareness.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alain_Bordier
http://EzineArticles.com/?3-Tips-For-Effective-Global-Communication&id=2097437

Monday, July 23, 2012

The Subject Line Debate

The Subject Line Debate
The Subject Line Debate
By David Bateson
Is it more important to have a short or long subject line?
The answer to this is not I think simply a yes or no. The answer depends on what the email is setting out to do and who the target audience is. Business emails that are sent out to many recipients can be many different types, all of which serve valid purposes. There is the email update or email newsletter type email, there is the sales or product focused email, there is the news alert or news release type email. So let's have a look at the differences:
The newsletter/email update
The major purpose of this type of email - particularly for B2B and professional services types of businesses - is simply to remind recipients of your existence and your expertise. If you are able to provide your readers, clients and prospects alike, with useful information, you become a trusted source of information and advice, and when they are ready to use your expertise, they know where to find you. The purpose is less to directly sell your services than to reinforce your expertise and enhance your credibility.
With these types of email, the subject line needs to be as long as necessary to convey all the items in the email the reader might be interested in, to encourage them to open and read it. The online business news website Smartcompany does this with their daily news emails - their subject lines are always very long, but informative when you're scanning your inbox.
The sales/product focused email
This type email is the one where a short and sharp subject line is going to get the best results. It is better with these type emails to only be talking about one thing. If this is the only type of email you send however, be prepared for low open rates and higher unsubscribe rates, as those people who are not interested in taking up your product or service offering immediately, tire of only getting promotional messages from you. This applies particularly in B2B and professional services, less in consumer and retail where there is a greater likelihood of an impulse type purchase.
The news alert/news release email
If you have some important news, it's a good idea to tell everyone. The subject line here should be reasonably short and to the point. Don't necessarily wait until your next update is due out if the news is important enough.
In our opinion businesses should be sending out a judicious mix of all three types of email - if you're only sending out email newsletter type emails you may not be making the most of email to promote specific products and services. If you're only sending out promotional emails, people soon tire of being sold to all the time and will start unsubscribing or ignoring. It's also good to mix things into your regular (monthly) update, but certainly send single subject emails from time to time to promote individual products and services.
David Bateson is principal of Brisbane-based email newsletter and email marketing agency NewsBusiness. Prior to setting up the agency David has a successful career in sales where he had seen first hand the power and effectiveness of email newsletter campaigns he had initiated. Although he has worked for large corporates in his time, his experience and enthusiasm is with the SME (small/medium enterprise) sector. Originally from the UK David is now based in Brisbane, Australia. For more information go to http://www.newsbusiness.com.au
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_Bateson
http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Subject-Line-Debate&id=6902315

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Friday, July 13, 2012

10 Etiquette Mistakes You Didn't Know You Were Making

Surprise: It's not okay to wait a year to send a wedding gift. From Peggy Post, a refresher course on this and other tricky rules.

Click here to go to the article.

[from shine.yahoo.com]

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Doing Business in Russia

This is a site with comprehensive information if doing business in Russia or with Russians.

Click here to go to the site.

Monday, July 9, 2012

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

How To Speak With Foreigners

How to speak to foreigners

Avoid jargon, technical language, idioms and acronyms if you're making a presentation abroad, advises The Influence Business managing director Jack Downton.

Click here to read the rest.

[from realbusiness.co.uk]

Monday, July 2, 2012

Title: How to Communicate Globally.
Author(s): Gundling, Ernest
Source: Training & Development; Jun99, Vol. 53 Issue 6, p28, 4p, 1 graph
INTERCULTURAL communication
Abstract: Discusses the use and selection of technology in cross-cultural business communication. Counterproductive effect of technology in communication; Context content of various communications; Creating context using facilitation techniques; Aspects to consider in selecting communication technologies.
ISSN: 10559760 Accession Number: 1941178
Database: Business Source Premier
Section Communication Skills Global Teams

Click Here To Read The Report