at and industry event last month, a sale man who work for the company that supplies eqiupment to the Japanese mar ket asked me about my work. I explained that we help Americans and Japanese working together have more productive relationship by providing intercultural training and guidance. "Hmm," he said. "you rerally need to tell them about small talk" He proceeded to tell me about the recent conversation with a japanese costumer. " I took him out for dinner after our first meeting . Everything was going great, or so I thought. Then suddenly he clammed up. After that, the next day's meeting didn't go so well. I don't even remember what I said. What I would like to know is what to talk about. What did I say to mess things up?"
Small talk with customers is a great way to break the ice and get to know one another. It provides a lubricant for the give-and-take of a sales negotiation. Unfortunately the wrong topic can upset Japanese customers and make the negotiation harder, not easier. No matter where you go in the world, doing business is never "just business." That is why we help our clients develop cultural competency in interpersonal areas as well.
Most of us have probably wondered at some point whether we have inadvertently said something to offend another person, even a person we know well. And we probably have been uncomfortable with something some one has said to us because we "took it the wrong way." How much more so between