There is a famous saying of ancient philosophers in China: "Sex is similar, but learning is far from it." Few words, but concise and profound. Humans have the same nature. No matter which country or nationality you come from, they all have love, compassion, love beautiful things, hope to be rich and hope to be respected. Therefore, it is not difficult to understand the whole human being. However, due to different habits, it is really a challenging problem to truly understand people and individuals in different cultural backgrounds.
Negotiation is a process of round-trip communication, and communication is the most important part in the emerging knowledge society. High-quality communication can solve the problems caused by cultural differences in international business negotiations, and successful cross-cultural communication is the key to improve the efficiency of negotiations.
One. cultural pluralism
Every country or nation has its own unique cultural heritage, common experience and cultural knowledge. This cultural background provides its members with a complex set of values, personality, morality and customs to guide their actions and adjust their responses.
In eastern and western cultures, western culture pays attention to self-awareness and personal struggle, and emphasizes independence and independence as the strong meaning of "I"; Oriental culture pays attention to collective consciousness and collectivism. There is a proverb in China, "No matter how strong a pillar is, it can't support a house." It has a strong meaning of "we", requiring the minority to obey the majority, and the national interest is higher than the collective interest and higher than the personal interest. Therefore, the differences in individual and collective understanding between the two cultures will affect communication.
Western culture emphasizes differences in thinking mode and personality; Eastern culture, on the other hand, emphasizes the same way of thinking, and tends to be consistent in negotiations, sacrificing self and seeking common ground while reserving differences. Gilte, a Dutch scholar, once made a survey on managers' self-awareness in some countries and regions in the world, and gave corresponding scores. The chart is as follows:
countries and regions
score
countries and regions
score
United States of America
9 1
Israel
55
Australia
90
Spain
53
Britain, England
Eighty-nine
India
48
Canada
77
Japan
46
Denmark
75
Argentina
46
Italy
74
Brazil
38
Belgium
74
Mexico
32
Sweden
7 1
Hong Kong, China
25
Switzerland
70
Singapore
20
France
70
Taiwan, China
17
It can be seen that the typical style of highly individualistic American culture is difficult to work in a more collectivist culture. In negotiation, negotiators with strong individualistic or egocentric characteristics show high initiative. For example, Americans will come straight to the point at once and don't beat around the bush. On the contrary, negotiators with the characteristics of collectivism have a slow pace and need to create a friendly atmosphere before negotiations. For example, the Japanese just exchanged business cards over tea at the beginning of the negotiation, so it is difficult to show flexibility in the negotiation, because any amendment to their proposal requires a long discussion by all members.
Contract issues are often involved in the negotiation process, and different cultures have different understandings of the content and function of the contract. Western culture, especially American culture, emphasizes objectivity and equality. Therefore, their contracts have strict provisions, often as long as 100 pages, to protect rights and stipulate obligations. In addition, they also regard the contract signing ceremony as a waste of time and money, so contracts are often signed by sending emails.
In the eastern culture, especially the culture that pays attention to relations, the settlement of disputes often depends not entirely on the legal system, but on the relationship between the two sides. Therefore, in these cultures, written contracts are very short, mainly used to describe the respective responsibilities of business partners, and sometimes they are even loosely written, only containing instructions on the principles of dealing with mutual relations. After the negotiation, they usually need to hold a formal signing ceremony attended by their respective CEOs.
Two. Verbal communication and nonverbal communication
Anthropologist and linguist Benjamin Lee Wolf (1965) put forward the Wolf Hypothesis: language determines culture, and there is a close relationship between language and culture. Most people can only understand the content of speakers with the same cultural background of 80 ~ 90%, which means that 10 ~ 20% of the information is misunderstood or misheard. It is conceivable that when a person speaks a second language, the percentage of misunderstanding or misunderstanding will rise sharply.
Therefore, cross-cultural negotiation always faces language barriers. In order to ensure smooth communication, translation is generally needed in international business negotiations. A good translator should not only be proficient in two languages, but also have corresponding technical knowledge and vocabulary. Twain once said, "The difference between an almost accurate word and a very accurate word is like the difference between the light emitted by fireflies and lightning." It also requires accurate words in written communication. Translation involves not only language differences but also cultural differences. In most African languages, the heart is a place to feel happy, but in Chadian, the liver is a place to feel happy. It is said that in Hebrew, the kidney is used to feel happiness, while in Zamaya, it is the abdomen.
Therefore, even if you can fully understand the original text, it is difficult to find an equivalent translation, so the translator should not only have rich practical ability, but also have profound knowledge.
Language communication is very important, but it is only a way of communication. A study shows that in face-to-face communication, no more than 35% information comes from verbal communication, and 65% information is transmitted through nonverbal forms. Sometimes nonverbal information is more convincing than verbal information.
The main way of nonverbal communication is body language, including eyes, expressions and body language. Understanding body language helps to improve communication.
Eyes play an important role in receiving information. Of all our senses, the most dependent is vision, which is the main source of information around us. Managers often say, "I'd better take a look around and see how the work is going?" It can be seen how much we rely on vision to collect information. At the same time, "eyes are the windows of the soul", and emotions can be expressed through eyes and face at the same time. According to statistics, the human face can make more than 250,000 different expressions, so in international business negotiations and exchanges, we should be good at capturing the body language information sent by the negotiating opponents.
This kind of nonverbal expression is different in different cultures. In America, a circle between thumb and forefinger indicates that everything is going well. However, in some parts of Germany and South America, this gesture expresses a dirty meaning. Touching your nose in England and Scotland means "only you and I know this secret", while in Wales it means "you really mind your own business"; In Holland, touching your forehead with your finger means "you are so smart", but in other parts of Europe, the same gesture means "you must be crazy" or "what a crazy idea". The Greeks nodded in agreement, just like the United States, but when they said "no", they raised their faces and threw their heads back. They raise one or both hands to their shoulders at the same time to show "resolute no". In Japan, long-term eye contact is regarded as rude, threatening and disrespectful, but Arabs believe that this kind of eye contact is a concern for each other and helps to evaluate the authenticity of each other's words.
In the process of communication, besides body language transmitting nonverbal information, there are several external factors transmitting information, which are time, space and distance.
Fast-paced life and fierce competition require everyone to be punctual. In some countries, such as the United States, time is money, and punctuality in negotiations represents your integrity and helps to communicate better. But in other parts of the world, time is flexible and is not considered limited, and people may be late or not show up at all, such as the Middle East and Latin America.
Everyone has his own private space, and when he invades, we will become extremely uneasy. But the scope of this "private space" varies from culture to culture. Generally speaking, a culture that emphasizes individualism needs more personal space than a culture that emphasizes collectivism. For example, Arabs and Latin Americans like to stand close to each other when talking to others. The distance between them is no more than 0.5 meters, while the more comfortable distance between Americans is much wider, close to 1 meter, but for Americans, 0.5 meters to 1 meter is the usual distance.
Three. Interpersonal skills
Recognize cultural differences.
Before conducting international business negotiations, we must first acknowledge the cultural differences and make psychological preparations, so that we can adjust our psychological state in time when we make mistakes. Try to avoid vague language and actions when negotiating.
2. Actively and patiently listen to and recognize the ideas expressed by the other party.
Listening is an important activity in international business negotiation. The first task of negotiators is to collect information, so as to enhance creativity. As a negotiator, you can understand the other side's point of view, but you totally disagree with the other side's idea.
Negotiators want their ideas to be understood by the other side, and the other side's understanding does not mean agreement. So, if you keep nodding, or repeat the other person's point of view. For example, "You mean this?" Let the other party pour out their views and try to understand each other's ideas, needs and conditions. In this way, the other party will not blame you at all, but will gradually feel satisfied and understand, so as to understand your point of view. Active and serious listening will also help to clarify some vague problems caused by cultural differences and increase the possibility of successful negotiations. There is a saying in foreign negotiators that "the cheapest concession is to let the other side know that his words have been heard".
Make sure the other person understands your expression.
In order to let the other person know what you think, you must let the other person know what you are talking about. Changing the subject and beating around the bush usually do not increase the possibility of successful negotiations. Although the negotiators in some countries in the East are more subtle, which will cause some trouble for communication, if you are also subtle, the negotiation process will be more difficult, so international business negotiators should learn to express their feelings instead of blaming each other.
Consultation is not a debate, nor is it a communication relationship between the plaintiff and the defendant in a case, but a relationship between two judges who are in the same position to try the same case, that is, although the two sides have different opinions, they will eventually reach an agreement on the "ruling."
4. The content of communication should be targeted.
Negotiators should also pay attention that too much content and lack of pertinence will also hinder the efficiency of negotiations and sometimes have the opposite effect. In the negotiation, wasting time and energy is a loss for both sides. Especially for those highly individualistic negotiators, "business fails and benevolence exists."