Competing for International Business

Companies must compete for international sales to stay in business. Every

business, whether large or small, has to appeal to diverse international markets to be
competitive. Each year a larger share of the U.S. gross national product (GNP)
depends on global markets. Some U.S. firms estimate that 40 to 50 percent of their
business is conducted outside of the United States. Walmart, for example, has opened
hundreds of stores in mainland China, and General Electric has plants in over fifty
countries. In fact, estimates suggest that 75 percent of the global Internet population
lives outside the United States. If your company, however small, has a website, then
it is an international business.

Communicating with Global Audiences

To be a successful employee in this highly competitive global market, you

have to communicate clearly and diplomatically with a host of readers from different
cultural backgrounds. Adopting a global perspective on business will help you
communicate and build goodwill with the customers you write to, no matter where
they live—across town, in another state, or on other continents, miles and time zones
away. As a result, don’t presume that you will be writing only to native speakers of
American English. As a part of your job, you may communicate with readers in
Singapore, Jamaica, and South Africa, for example, who speak varieties of English
quite different from American English.
You will also very likely be writing to readers for whom English is not their
first (or native) language. These international readers will have varying degrees of
proficiency in English, from a fairly good command (as with many readers in India
and the Philippines, where English is widely spoken), to little comprehension without
the use of a foreign language dictionary and a grammar book to decode your message
(as in countries where English is widely taught in schools and recommended for
success in the business world but not spoken on a regular basis). Non-native speakers,
who may reside either in the United States or in a foreign country, will constitute a
large and important audience for your work.

Seeing the World Through the Eyes of Another Culture

Writing to international readers with proper business etiquette means first

learning about their cultural values and assumptions—what they value and also what
they regard as communication taboos. They may not conduct business exactly the
way it is done in the United States, and to think they should is wrong. Your
international audience is likely to have different expectations of how they want a
letter addressed or written to them, how they prefer a proposal to be submitted, how
they wish a business meeting to be conducted, or how they think questions should be
asked and agreements reached. Their concepts of time, family, money, the world, the
environment, managers, and communication itself may be nothing like those in the
United States. Visuals, including icons, that are easily understood in the United States
may be baffling elsewhere in the world. If you misunderstand your audience’s culture
and inadvertently write, create, or say something inappropriate, it can cost your
company a contract and you your job.
Cultural Diversity at Home
Cultural diversity exists inside as well as outside the company you work for.
Don’t conclude that your boss or co-workers are all native speakers of English, either,
or that they come from the same cultural background that you do. In the next decade,
as much as 40 to 50 percent of the U.S. skilled workforce may be composed of recent
immigrants who bring their own traditions and languages with them. These are highly
educated, multicultural, and multinational individuals who have acquired English as a
second or even a third language.
For the common good of your company, you need to be respectful of your
international colleagues. In fact, multinational employees can be tremendously
important for your company in making contacts in their native country and in helping
your firm understand and appreciate ethical and cultural differences among
customers.
Using International English

Whether your international readers are customers or colleagues, you need to

adapt your writing to respect their language needs and cultural protocols. To
communicate with non-native speakers, use “international English,” a way of writing
that is easily understood, culturally appropriate, and diplomatic. International English
is user friendly in terms of the words, sentences, formats, and visuals you choose.
To write international English means you re-examine your own writing. The
words, idioms, phrases, and sentences you select instinctively for U.S. readers may
not be appropriate for an audience for whom English is a second, or even a third,
language. If you find the set of instructions accompanying your software package
confusing, imagine how much more intimidating such a document would be for non-
native speakers of English. You can eliminate such confusion by making your
message clear, straightforward, and appropriately polite for readers who are not
native speakers.
Here are some basic guidelines to help you write international English:
■ Use clear, easy-to-understand sentences, not rambling, complex ones. That
does not mean you write insultingly short and simple sentences but that you
take into account that readers will find your message easier to translate if
your sentences do not exceed fifteen to twenty words.
■ Do not try to pack too much information into a single sentence; consider
using two or more sentences instead.
■ Avoid jargon, idioms (e.g., “to line one’s pockets”), and abbreviations (e.g.,
“FEMA”) that international readers may not know.
■ Choose clear, commonly used words that unambiguously translate into
the non-native speaker’s language. Avoid flowery or pretentious language
(“amend” for “change”).
■ Select visuals and icons that are free from cultural bias and that are not taboo
in the non-native speaker’s country.
■ When in doubt, consult someone from the native speaker’s country—a co-worker or an
instructor, for example.
!!Video [Link]
 Achieving the “You Attitude”: Four Guidelines

As you draft and revise your work, pay special attention to the following four
guidelines for making a good impression on your reader.
1. Never forget that your reader is a real, flesh-and-blood person. Avoid
writing cold, impersonal letters that sound as if they were form letters or voice
mail instructions. Let readers know that you are writing to them as individuals.
The following paragraph violates every rule of personal and personable
communications.
It has come to our attention that policy number 342q-765r has been delinquent
in payment and so is in arrears for the sum of $302.35. To keep the policy in force for
the duration of its life, a minimum payment of $50.00 must reach this office by the
last day of the month. Failure to submit payment will result in the cancellation of the
aforementioned policy.
This example shows no sense of one human being writing to another, of a
customer with a name, a personal history, or specific needs. The writer uses cold and
stilted language (“delinquent in payment,” “in arrears for,” “aforementioned policy”).
Revised, this paragraph contains the necessary personal (and human) touch.
We have not yet received your payment for your insurance policy (#342q-
765r). By sending us your check for $50.00 within the next two weeks, you will keep
your policy in force and can continue to enjoy the financial benefits and emotional
security it offers you. Please call us if you have any questions. Thank you.
In this revision, the benefits to the reader are stressed, and the reader is
addressed directly as a valued customer.
Don’t be afraid of using the personal pronoun you in letters. Readers will feel
more friendly toward you and your message. Of course, no amount of “you’s” will
help if they appear in a condescending context, such as the letter in Figure 5.5.

2. Keep the reader in the forefront of your letter. Make sure the reader’s
needs control the tone, message, and organization of your letter—the essence of the
“you attitude.” Stress the you, not the I or the we.
(2 letters)

I-Centered Draft
I think that our rug shampooer is the best on the market. Our firm has invested
a lot of time and money to ensure that it is the most economical and efficient
shampooer available today. We have found that our customers are very satisfied with
the results of our machine. We have sold thousands of these shampooers, and we are
proud of our accomplishment. We hope that we can sell you one of our fantastic
machines.
3. Be courteous and tactful. Refrain from turning your letter into a punch
through the mail. Don’t inflame your letter or email audience. When you capture the
reader’s goodwill, your rewards will be great. The following negative words can
leave a bad taste in the reader’s mouth.
it’s defective unprofessional (job, attitude, etc.)
I demand your failure
 I insist your contend
we reject your allege
that’s no excuse for you should have known
totally unacceptable your outlandish claim

Compare the following discourteous sentences with the courteous revisions.

Discourteous Courteous

We must discontinue your service unless Please send us your payment by

payment is received by the date shown. November 4 so that your service will not
be interrupted.

You are sorely mistaken about the We are sorry to learn about the difficulty
contract. you experienced over the service terms in
your contract.

The new iPad you sold me is third-rate Since the iPad is still under
and you charged first-rate prices. warranty, I hope you can make the repairs
easily and quickly.

It goes without saying that your It was thoughtful of you to send me your
suggestion is not worth considering. suggestion, but,
unfortunately, we are
unable to implement it right now.

The last discourteous example begins with a phrase that frequently sets readers
on edge. Avoid using “It goes without saying”—it can quickly set up a hostile barrier
between you and your reader.

4. Don’t sound pompous or bureaucratic. Write to your reader as if you were

carrying on a professional conversation. Your tone should be polite but natural and to
the point. Make your letters reader-friendly and believable, not stuffy and
overbearing. To do that, don’t resort to using phrases that remind readers of legalese
— language that some writers use to make themselves sound important, but that only
alienates readers. It smells of contracts, deeds, and stuffy rooms.

In the following list, the words and phrases on the left are pompous expressions
that have crept into letters for years; the ones on the right are contemporary
equivalents.
Pompous Contemporary

aforementioned previously mentioned

as per your request as you requested
at this present writing now
I am in receipt of I have received
contingent upon the receipt of as soon as we receive
attached herewith enclosed
I am cognizant of I know
be advised that for your information
due to the fact that because
endeavor try
forthwith at once
henceforth after this
herewith; heretofore; hereby (drop these three h’s entirely)
immediate future soon
in lieu of instead of
pursuant concerning
remittance payment
under separate cover I’m also sending you
this writer I
we regret to inform you that we are sorry that

Guidelines for Communicating with International Readers

The following eleven guidelines will help you communicate more successfully
with an international audience and significantly reduce the chances of readers’
misunderstanding you.
 1. Use common, easily understood vocabulary. Write in basic, simplified
English. Choose words that are widely understood. Whenever you have a choice, use
the simpler word. For example, use stop, not refrain; prevent, not forestall; happy,
not exultant.
2. Avoid ambiguity. Words that have double meanings force non-native
readers to wonder which one you mean. For example, “We fired the engine” would
baffle your readers if they were not aware of the multiple meanings of fire.
Unfamiliar with the context in which fire means “start up,” a non-native speaker of
English might think you’re referring to “setting on fire or inflaming,” which is not
what you intend. Or because fire can also mean “dismiss” or “let go,” a non-native
speaker of English might even suspect the engine was replaced by another model.
Such misinterpretations are likely because most bilingual dictionaries list only a few
meanings.
Be especially careful of using synonyms just to vary your word choice. For
example, do not write quick in one sentence and then, referring to the same action,
describe it as rapid. Your reader may assume you have two different things in mind
instead of just one.
3. Be careful about technical vocabulary. While a reader who is a non-native
speaker may be more familiar with technical terms than with other English words,
make sure the technical word or phrase you include is widely known and not a word
or phrase used only at your plant or office. Double-check by consulting the most up-
to-date manuals and guides in your field, but steer clear of technical terms in fields
other than the one with which your reader is familiar. Be especially careful about
using business words and phrases that an international reader may not know, such as
lean manufacturing, reverse mortgages, best practices, toxic assets, and so forth.
4. Avoid idiomatic expressions. Idioms are the most difficult part of a
language for an audience of non-native speakers to master. As with the example of
fire, the following colorful idiomatic expressions will confuse and may even startle a
nonnative reader:

(Home Assignment)
I’m all ears think outside the box
throw cold water on it sleep on it
hit the nail on the head give a heads-up
new blood land in hot water
easy come, easy go touch and go
get a handle on it pushed the envelope
right under your nose it was a rough go

The meanings of those and similar phrases are not literal but figurative, a
reflection of our culture, not necessarily your reader’s. A non-native speaker of
English will approach such phrases as combinations of the separate meanings of the
individual words, not as a collective unit of meaning.
A non-native speaker of English—a potential customer in Asia or Africa, for
example—might be shocked if you wrote about a sale concluded at a branch office
this way: “Last week we made a killing in our office.” Substitute the idiomatic
expression with a clear, unambiguous translation easily understood in international
English. “We made a big sale last week.” For “Sleep on it,” you might say, “Please
take a week to make your decision.”
5. Delete sports and gambling metaphors. These metaphors, which are often
rooted in U.S. popular culture, do not translate word for word for non-native speakers
and so can interfere with your communication with your readers. Here are a few
examples to avoid:
(Home Assignment)

out in left field a ballpark figure

strike out fumble the ball
drop the ball out of bounds
down for the count make a pass
long shot beat the odds
be in left field win by a nose

Use a basic English dictionary and your common sense to find nonfigurative
alternatives for these and similar expressions.
6. Don’t use unfamiliar abbreviations, acronyms, or contractions. While
these shortened forms of words and phrases are a part of U.S. business culture, they
might easily be misunderstood by a non-native speaker who is trying to make sense
of them in context or by looking them up in a foreign language dictionary. Avoid
abbreviations such as pharm., gov., org., pkwy., rec., hdg., hr., mfg., or w/o. The
following acronyms can also cause your international reader trouble: ASAP, PDQ,
p’s and q’s, IRA, SUV, RV, DOB, DOT, SSN. If you have to use acronyms, define
them. Finally, contractions such as the following might lead readers to mistake them
for the English words they look like: I’ve (ivy), he’ll (hell), I’ll (ill), we’ll (well),
can’t (cant), won’t (wont, want).
7. Watch units of measure. Do not fall into the cultural trap of assuming that
your reader measures distances in miles and feet (instead of kilometers and meters as
most of the world does), measures temperatures on the Fahrenheit scale (instead of
Celsius), buys gallons of gasoline (instead of liters), spends dollars (rather than euros,
pesos, marks, rupees, or yen), tells time by a twelve-hour clock (many countries
follow a twenty-four-hour clock), and records dates by month/day/year (most
countries record dates by day/month/year).
8. Avoid culture-bound descriptions of place. For example, when you tell a
reader in Hong Kong about the Sunbelt or a potential client in Africa about the Big
Easy, will he or she know what you mean? When you write from California about the
eastern seaboard, meaning the East Coast of the United States, the directional
reference may not mean the same thing to a reader in India as it does to you.
Moreover, referring to February as a winter month does not make sense to someone
in New Zealand, for whom it is a summer month.
9. Keep your sentences simple and easy to understand. Short, direct
sentences will cause a reader whose native language is not English the least amount
of trouble. A good rule of thumb is that the shorter and less complicated your
sentences, the easier and clearer they will be for a reader to process. Long (more than
fifteen words) and complex (multiclause) sentences can be so difficult for readers to
unravel that they may skip over them or simply guess at your message. Do not,
however, be insultingly childish, as if you were writing to someone in kindergarten.
Also, always try to avoid the passive voice. It is one of the most difficult sentence
patterns for a non-native speaker to comprehend. Stick to the common subject-verb-
object pattern as often as possible.
10. Be cautious about style and tone. Culture plays a major role in how you
word your message. Americans expect business letters to be concise and to the point,
without flowery compliments and personal details. They want to see conclusions and
recommendations up front, followed by descriptions of key items leading to the main
point. Readers in other cultures, however, would find this approach offensive. For
instance, German readers expect long letters that unfold slowly through a highly
factual and scrupulously documented narrative of events, all of which would lead to a
recommendation at the end of the letter. Japanese or Korean readers, unlike American
or German readers, expect the first paragraph or two of a letter to center on the
friendship and respect the writer has for the reader

Respecting Your Reader’s Nationality

and Ethnic or Racial Heritage
Do not risk offending any of your readers, whether they are native speakers of
English or not, with language that demeans or stereotypes their nationality or ethnic
or racial background. Here are six precautions to take.
1. Respect your reader’s cultural traditions. Be aware of how cultures
differ in terms of traditions, customs, and preferences—how people dress,
communicate, and celebrate holidays. When writing a letter to someone
from a different country, show respect for your reader’s background and
perspectives. Don’t assume that your culture is the only culture. For
instance, not everyone celebrates the same holidays you do, or on the same
days. As we saw, Thanksgiving is celebrated in October in Canada.

2. Respect your reader’s nationality. Always spell your reader’s name and
country properly, which may mean adding diacritical marks (e.g., accent marks) not
used in English—for example, Muсoz. If your reader has a hyphenated last name
(e.g., Arana-Sanchez), it would be rude to address him or her by only part of the
name. In addition, be careful not to use the former name of your reader’s country or
city, for instance, Malaya (now Malaysia), Czechoslovakia (now the Czech
Republic), Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), or Bombay (now Mumbai).
Not only is it rude, but it also demonstrates a lack of interest about your
reader’s nationality.
3. Honor your reader’s place in the world economy. Phrases like “third-
world country,” “emerging nation,” and “undeveloped/underprivileged area” are
derogatory. Using such phrases signals that you regard your reader’s country as
inferior. Use the name of your reader’s country instead of such phrases. Saying that
someone lives in the Far East implies that the United States, Canada, or Europe are
the center of culture, the hub of the business community. It would be better to simply
say“East Asia.”
 4. Avoid insulting stereotypes. Expressions such as “oil-rich Arabs,”
“timerelaxed Latinos,” and “aggressive foreigners” unfairly characterize particular
groups. Similarly, prune from your communications any stereotypical phrase that
insults one group or singles it out for praise at the expense of another: “Mexican
standoff,” “Russian roulette,” “Chinaman’s chance,” “Irish wake,” “Dutch treat,”
“Indian giver.” The word Indian refers to someone from India; use Native American
to refer to the indigenous people of North America, who prefer to be known by their
tribal affiliations (e.g., the Lakota).

Some Guides to Cultural Diversity for Businesspeople

Bridging the Culture Gap: A Practical Guide to International Business
Communication,
by Penny Cartй and Chris Fox (Kogan Page, 2008).
Cultural Intelligence: A Guide to Working with People from Other Cultures, by
Brooks
Peterson (Intercultural Press, 2004).
Cultural Intelligence: People Skills for Global Business, by David C. Thomas
(Berrett-
Koehler, 2004).
Essential Do’s and Taboos: The Complete Guide to International Business and
Leisure
Travel, by Roger E. Axtell (John Wiley & Sons, 2007).
International Business Etiquette Resource Page: [Link]/besite/
resource .htm.
Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands: The Bestselling Guide to Doing Business in More Than
60 Countries, by Terri Morrison and Wayne A. Conway (Adams, 2006).
Multicultural Manners: Essential Rules of Etiquette in the 21st Century, rev. ed., by
Norine
Dresser (John Wiley & Sons, 2005).

5. Be sensitive to the cultural significance of colors. Do not offend your

audience by using colors in a context that would be offensive. Purple in Mexico,
Brazil, and Argentina symbolizes bad luck, death, and funerals. Green and orange
have a strong political context in Ireland. In Egypt and Saudi Arabia, green is the
color of Islam and is considered sacred. But in China, green can symbolize infertility
or adultery. Also in China, white does not symbolize purity and weddings but
mourning and funerals. Similarly, in India if a married woman wears all white, she is
inviting widowhood. While red symbolizes good fortune in China, it has just the
opposite meaning in Korea.
6. Be careful, too, about the symbols you use for international readers.
Triangles are associated with anything negative in Hong Kong, Korea, and Taiwan.
Political symbols, too, may have controversial implications (e.g., a hammer and
sickle, a crescent). Avoid using the flag of a country as part of your logo or letterhead
for global audiences. Many countries see this as a sign of disrespect, especially in
Saudi Arabia, whose flag features the name of Allah.