With many of your business partners based overseas, communication is key. [+] Keep your relationships strong, dynamic and long-term.
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Many trade journal articles have argued that globalization is in reverse, citing a variety of reasons, from rising tensions between the U.S. and China to continued disruptions to logistics. However, a report from Harvard Business Review points out that the global flows of trade, capital, and information had already recovered beyond pre-pandemic levels by 2021, and the recovery of people flows will also accelerate from 2022 to 2023.
Against this backdrop, more businesses than ever are turning to international partners to achieve their organizational goals. International partners can bring a wide range of skills and perspectives to your efforts, but communication can also be a challenge. By focusing on simple ways to improve communication with your international partners, you can ensure more successful outcomes.
1. Establish cultural fit
I recently wrote about how cultural fit can help improve international relationships, and it bears repeating here: if you want to have quality communication with your international business partners, you need to establish cultural fit before entering into a partnership.
This can be achieved by completing a compatibility and reliability assessment, which reviews your prospective partner’s approach to areas such as communication preferences, team orientation, innovation mindset, and performance reliability. You don’t have to be from the same geographical culture to have a compatible business culture.
Ensuring cultural fit at the start of a relationship helps establish clear expectations on both sides and goes a long way to ensuring effective communication in the future.
2. Use clear, concise language
Even if you and your overseas partner are aligned in vision and performance, language barriers can remain: Even someone who speaks your language well may not be able to pick up on all the subtle nuances that a native speaker can.
It helps to keep this in mind when meeting with international colleagues by using clear and concise language. Try to avoid slang and idiomatic expressions that may confuse non-native speakers. Some languages have many idiomatic expressions that cannot be easily or directly translated into other languages. Similarly, avoiding business jargon or industry-specific jargon may be necessary to ensure effective communication.
This doesn’t mean you have to simplify what you say, but be careful how you say it so your message isn’t lost in translation.
3. Speak the words literally
Of course, your ability to communicate effectively with your international partners is greatly improved if you speak their language. Investing in language training for yourself and your staff will increase engagement and develop your skills. Such efforts will also show your partners how much you value your relationship.
Thanks to new technology, it’s easier than ever to speak someone’s language, even if you don’t have the time to learn it. I recently had the chance to speak with Artem Morgunov, co-founder of GalaxyVoice AI, an AI-based tool that translates your voice into other languages in real time while preserving your authentic voice.
“AI is now so advanced that it can provide not only instant translations in different languages and accents, but also translations in real voices,” he explains.
“Thanks to voice cloning technology and AI, it’s now easier than ever to speak in another language. For example, you can give a presentation in perfect Chinese and still speak your own language, including emotion and intonation, without needing to know a single word of Chinese. The days of relying on slow, expensive interpreters or tedious computer translations are over.”
4. Streamline communication with the right technology
While tools like AI voice translation are appealing, they are not the only tools available to streamline technology. As the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated remote working, it also increased the adoption of a range of tools designed to improve communication among geographically distributed teams.
For example, video conferencing allows international partners to meet “face-to-face” without time-consuming travel, and workplace collaboration tools also streamline the sharing of files, ideas, questions, and more, allowing each team member to contribute from their own workspace (and time zone).
The right tools will vary depending on your partnership, but you and your partner should always look for solutions that make communication more convenient for everyone.
5. Improve your writing skills
So much of business communication relies on writing. Yet many business people who communicate effectively when speaking struggle with writing. According to a report by Verbal Identity, two-thirds of employees at large corporations write as part of their job, but poor quality and inefficient writing is estimated to cost companies $400 billion a year due to wasted time, miscommunication, and other issues.
These challenges become even more complicated when communicating with international business partners through writing. In addition to getting language training for yourself and your team, you also need to pay attention to your writing skills. The ability to write clearly and concisely can make a big difference in achieving your partnership goals, especially when face-to-face meetings are infrequent.
Investing in writing training (and using tools to improve your employees’ writing abilities) can help prevent misunderstandings and the need for frequent clarification, making your partnership more effective. When you and your team are able to write more efficiently, you’ll be better able to achieve the other goals of your partnership.
Communication is a priority
Communication skills can make or break any partnership, but they’re especially important when working with international partners. Avoiding misunderstandings and working together to find solutions that get everyone on the same page can lead to more streamlined, efficient working processes and help you achieve your desired outcomes.