Mediation

If an interpreter knows both cultures they work with, they might avoid hours of misunderstandings with the help of a seemingly irrelevant added phrase, or ten seconds of explanation. Good interpreters around the globe do not only translate the words of their clients, but enter both worlds, feel the intention of the parties and adapt their verbalisation accordingly.

When doing cross-cultural consulting, our consultant may act as a sort of of ’cultural interpreter.’ They will continuously keep you informed about the wider context of the communication, expected behaviours, possible solutions and so on. ’He said they need to study the proposal further. This means they don’t like it and will not accept it in this form. We somehow need to find out their objections.’

The other side of the same coin would be effective presentation of your goals. Especially when communicating key information, it might be advisable to choose the situation and the means with great care, then proceed in a careful fashion. ’If we directly ask them what they would want differently, they will say everything is fine as it is. We should invite them for supper, talk about personal affairs the whole time, and subtly pose the question at the very last moment.’

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